Check out this video from when Arketi helped Reveille Software win a TAMY!

Judson Phillips, vice president of marketing for Reveille Software, discusses earning a Technology Marketing Excellence Award (TAMY) from TAG Marketing, a society of the Technology Association of Georgia.

Reveille Software, an experience and performance management solution provider for enterprise content management applications, earned this award for Arketis work in the development of a new messaging and positioning platform.

In addition to renaming the company, formerly VSR Networks, and positioning it around the tagline Keeping Your Promises, Arketi created a PR and marketing plan to serve as the marketing foundation for its initiatives, launched a new website, developed sales collateral and supported a webinar series.

To date, Reveille Software has experienced a doubling in demo requests from the previous year as well as considerably high click-through rates on its e-marketing campaigns.

Let’s be clear upfront.  As a marketing firm that has embraced automated lead nurturing and has experienced the results firsthand, we’re not having a change of heart.  But based on our experiences helping clients navigate through this new and still somewhat murky world, we present a few quick thoughts below on what should be done before jumping into the pool.

1. Your list isn’t clean. No automated program or lead nurturing strategy will be effective if you don’t have a clean list of prospects to address.  Install the discipline to maintain database hygiene before installing your new automation solution.
2. You lack content. There’s no getting around it; nurture marketing programs require content and a lot of it. Don’t underestimate this requirement or you’ll end up falling back into the “batch and blast” marketing approach.
3. Low lead count. There’s a reason it’s called lead nurturing vs. lead generation.  Automated lead nurturing is great at transforming cold leads into warm leads and warm leads into opportunities.  But it won’t by itself create a large demand funnel.
4. Sales and Marketing just can’t get along. A basic requirement before beginning any type of automated long-term nurturing strategy is an agreement from both Marketing and Sales on the basic definitions of a “qualified” lead, how leads are transferred to Sales and when Marketing gets them back if Sales is unable to engage.  Without agreement from both organizations on these basic but critical elements, no lead nurturing program can achieve success.
5. You aren’t ready to make the long-term commitment. Automated lead nurturing requires a long-term commitment to be successful.  And a good dose of change management.  You need to look at every aspect of your marketing operation and adjust the approach to adopt a nurturing program that works.

Arketi Group Principal Mike Neumeier, APR discusses findings from the 2009 Web Watch Survey on how business-to-business media are using the Internet and social media. Full results can be found at www.arketi.com/surveys.

With budgets tapped out and resources running thin, Rory Carlton, principal of Arketi Group ( www.arketi.com ), a high tech business-to-business public relations and marketing firm, advises marketers to try to reuse content across all marketing channels when possible.

After reading an entertaining article in Lexus magazine on the top mobile apps for Lexus owners, it got me thinking, “What are the top apps for BtoB technology marketers?”

I posed this question to the Arketi team, and here is our list of recommended apps for BtoB tech marketers:

1. AP Mobile: Receive breaking international, national and local news, especially with push notifications on your phone. (http://www.ap.org/mobile/)

2. IEEE Standards Wireless Dictionary: New to the wireless industry? Or lost in a sea of tech acronyms? This app contains more than 3,200 wireless technology terms and definitions with an emphasis on commercial systems. With this app, you’ll know the difference between WMANs and WRANs! (https://standards.ieee.org/)

3. HootSuite: Stay connected on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare while on-the-go. This wise Owl helps you send and schedule social media updates 24×7 through your smartphone. (http://hootsuite.com/iphone)

4. WordPress: Update your blog while on the road. This app comes in very handy if posting blog entries from a tradeshow or conference. (http://wordpress.org/news/2010/02/wordpress-on-the-go/)

5. TiVo: Have a broadcast story running in the evening news, but you’re still in the office or stuck in traffic? Schedule and record this segment from your iPad. (Sorry iPhone and Android users: TiVo just launched its mobile app for iPad, but other apps like DVR Remote or i.TV manage TiVo remotely via smartphones.)(http://m.tivo.com/)

6. OpenTable: You never know when you will need to book a solid restaurant for a client lunch. With OpenTable, you can make free reservations at more than 15,000 restaurants in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Another great restaurant-related app is Urbanspoon. We like the Urbanspoon slot machine to discover good eats nearby. (http://www.opentable.com/mobile/)

7. WorldMate: TechCrunch described WorldMate as “the Swiss Army Knife of Apps.” We agree. This app helps you find flights, check flight departure times, book hotel rooms, convert currencies and see weather forecasts worldwide. (http://www.worldmate.com/)

8. Meebo: Keep up with your office through instant messenger while on-the-go. Meebo supports all major IM networks, including AOL/AIM, Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger, Gmail/Google Talk and Facebook. (http://www.meebo.com/meebomobile/)

9. Vlingo: Dictate to your phone and text or search while away from the office. This app is ideal if you are in state with laws against texting while driving! (http://www.vlingo.com/)

10. Quickoffice: Read Microsoft Office documents from your smartphone. This award-winning app comes highly recommended from CTIA, Macworld and countless others. (http://www.quickoffice.com/quickoffice_connect_suite_iphone/)

Do you have a favorite business- or marketing-related app that is not listed above? If so, please feel free to post a comment and share your suggestions. We’d love to hear from you.

Arketi Principal Mike Neumeier, APR, discusses the BtoB high-tech PR and digital marketing firm’s third annual Atlanta High-Tech CMO Roundtable, featuring marketing executives from leading technology companies throughout the Southeast. The collection of top marketing minds gathered to discuss the current and future state of BtoB marketing, and a handful of themes emerged:

1) The newfound convergence of Sales and Marketing to generate leads
2) Social media’s role as a strong supplementary communications channel
3) The importance of relevant and compelling content to fuel lead nurturing initiatives

To learn more about the Roundtable’s proceedings, download The Outlook for Business to Business Technology Marketing in 2010 white paper at http://www.arketi.com/wp

Arketi Group Principal Mike Neumeier, APR highlights a few fundamental tenets to abide by when conducting outreach with the media. Some of the tactics and best practices to employ include:

1) Perform due diligence; be cognizant of a journalists habits and preferences
2) Avoid over-the-top jargon when corresponding with a reporter; simplicity is key
3) Don’t over-promise; expect the reporter to assess the validity of your claim
4) Leverage the appropriate social media platforms to engage the reporter

For more tips on how to build relationships with the media and deliver value visit, http://www.arketi.com/newsletter/news…