In foodservice marketing, the National Restaurant Association show is the premiere event where thousands of buyers, vendors and the press descend on one of the busiest trade show floors in the business. It's one of Boomm's favorite annual events and it's got us thinking of ways that our clients can evolve their trade show presence, and stand out from the pack, using simple, affordable technology features. Here are a couple of ideas you can easily put in place to enhance your trade show presence: Pre-show outreach - before you even head to the event, reach out to your prime customers to set up appointments or announce your booth presence. Contact the show for attendee

Marketers across the board are seeing the value of inbound marketing as a way of generating quality sales leads. Are you on board? If so, great! If not, what's preventing you? If you're stymied by the thought of generating good, quality content that your customers will want you're not alone. According to #B2BChat, a weekly B2B marketing chat on Twitter, content creation is the core challenge of developing an effective inbound marketing program. Don't allow content creation to become a roadblock for your program. Here are three simple ideas to generate content that effectively converts prospects into leads: Audit your resources for content that's already on your shelves. Think of reports, case studies

Marketers know that finding the most relevant terms is key when it comes to search engine optimization and keyword advertising. For B2B marketers, it's especially important to identify keywords that are highly resonant and effectively attract customers. Here are a few ideas that will help you zero in on the best terms. Think like an outsider - Brainstorm for terms that are very close to your customers' needs, not just for terms that are meaningful from your own purview.  For example, words that are central to the customers' work process are more effective than your own brand names or product titles. Use social media to listen to industry conversations and identify the

Encourage employees to maintain current profiles and let your talent shine. Many corporate websites today give readers a chance to “meet the team” through profile pages that blend professional background with snippets of personal information and photos. What’s the business value and how far should you take the trend? Including profile pages on your site is your first chance to present the human face of your company. Whether you’re recruiting new employees or making a new business pitch, people will be more interested in working with a smart team that is dedicated to the company – and shows it. Encourage your team to network and highlight their experience on LinkedIn, where every employee

In the B2B marketplace, reaching top decision makers is often critical to making the sale, but breaking through with your message can be difficult. New research from the Financial Times and Doremus indicates that top-ranking executives in the Americas, Europe and Asia are consuming media 24/7 to stay informed and that they are using multiple formats including digital,social media and print. The lesson here is that cross-channel brand and advertising campaigns are still the most effective way to reach global executives.  Additional findings include: Respondents who read traditional print publications do so, for the most part, in printed formats. Those under age 45 were more likely to read online. Executives are viewing online

Have you been wondering when you're going to get your marketing budget back? Analysts are beginning to say that a number of sectors, including manufacturing, technology and the food industry, are all on the rebound. That's great news -- but doesn't necessarily translate into loosening marketing budgets. Marketers whose budgets were disrupted at the onset of the recession are still feeling the squeeze to do more with limited resources and prove their impact on revenue. Here at Boomm, more of our clients are beginning to explore the strengths of marketing automation as  a means to affordably drive and nurture more and better leads. Want to get your head around the basics

B2B marketers who are looking for new ways to engage customers are exploring gamification -- which is the technique of adding game dynamics into business activities to drive new behaviors and outcomes. It's easy to spot examples in the consumer world and now, more examples are arising in the B2B realm. Check out this video clip posted on Forbes.com to see how software firm, SAP turned everyday sales functions into an engaging new activity. Download the report Interested in learning more? Our friends at Bunchball are sharing a white paper about the basics of using gaming to motivate behavior. Get it here: Gamification 101: An Introduction to the Use of Game Dynamics to Influence Behavior