Today’s marketers plan to focus their lead generation efforts on optimizing their websites, social media and search engine presences. According to the MarketingSherpa survey, “2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report,” 52 percent of marketers said their top lead-generation strategy for the next year was to meet or exceed quantifiable return on investment goals. Next was optimizing the marketing/sales funnel (51 percent), gleaning more audience insight (51 percent) and maximizing the lifetime value of customers (47 percent).

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By Martha Guidry

Why is developing and launching a new product or service so hard? It takes time and resources – both human and financial – to make it happen. According to various research studies, between 50 percent and 80 percent of new products launched each year fail, costing companies and shareholders billions of dollars. While the concept is not always the only reason a product or service fails, a winning concept is an essential cornerstone for all successful marketing communications.

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According to BIA / Kelsey’s Media Ad View reports, local advertising spending will experience a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 percent between 2011 and 2016, with revenues climbing from around $132 billion to more than $150 billion. BIA / Kelsey expects spending to shift more from traditional media and direct advertising to digital alternatives. Mobile and online will account for the largest increase in local ad spending, nearly doubling from $11.1 billion in 2011 to $21.8 billion in five years.