B2b

What's in our mailbox this month: B-to-b direct mailers

Staples, Inc. launched a new e-commerce site for its b-to-b division, Staples Advantage, said Laura Brooks, VP of b-to-b e-commerce at Staples. The new site is designed to feature faster and easier search navigation, alternative product recommendations and enhanced site customization, among other changes.

B-to-b marketers should expect realistic growth, evolve with new technologies, and use data to drive business decisions, said Terry Jukes, president of B2B Direct Marketing Intelligence, a marketing services consultancy, on July 14.

Anderson Direct Marketing will launch a b-to-b direct mail and email campaign on August 1 to introduce the company's interactive services division, as well as the firm's new tagline and website.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) highlighted the growing importance of digital content this week when it released its first audit report specifically for e-newsletters. ABC's interactive unit, ABCi, had offered multimedia reports that include e-newsletter information, but this report, for Advertising Age, is the first to focus solely on a publisher's combined e-newsletter products. Previous e-newsletter audits appeared on Consolidated Media Reports or Multimedia Publisher's Statements.

Business-related social media sites are an effective way to expand reach and generate quality leads — and are gaining popularity for those purposes. Four experts discuss the best ways to develop social media programs

With too few dollars in the ever-shrinking b-to-b marketing budget, marketers are hard-pressed to quickly generate qualified, sales-ready leads. M. H. (Mac) McIntosh, president and principal consultant of Mac McIntosh Inc., suggests eight tips for making the most of a minimal budget.