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BMA-Minnesota Explores Secret to Increasing Sales and Marketing Share

Posted on: Friday, 5 June 2009, 12:59 CDT

Validated case history of Fortune 50 company can be applied to nearly any business-to-business company

MINNEAPOLIS, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its commitment to professional development of business-to-business professionals, the Minnesota chapter of the Business Marketing Association (BMA-Minnesota) hosts a discussion about integrating data-driven marketing and improving channel effectiveness to increase sales and market share on June 25, 2009. Facilitated by Amy Anderson Sherek, executive vice president of Client Service at SmartBase Solutions and Mark James, president of Mark James & Associates, the session is ideal for business-to-business marketing directors, managers and vice presidents.

Using insights from a Fortune 50 manufacturing company challenged to rethink its dealer support and customer marketing strategy for a proprietary line of products, Sherek and James will demonstrate how to combine a channel "push" strategy and a marketing "pull" strategy to close the marketing loop. The proven case study resulted in more engaged dealers, a 500 percent growth in sales, a significant return on investment and validated best business practices.

"Marketing spend is always under high scrutiny, but even more in today's budget-constrained climate," said Chris Schermer, president of BMA-Minnesota. "The best return on investment comes from understanding and segmenting audience groups, ensuring marketing dollars are spent on individuals that are most likely to convert to paying customers. Sherek and James have found a perfect process through the use of a solid direct-to-customer campaign and an informed dealer network armed with the right tools - a solution that can be replicated for almost any business."

Attendees will walk away from June's session with a better understanding of how preparing a dealer network improves marketing effectiveness, how modeling isolates a customer group 10 times more likely to buy and how an integrated strategy can produce a return on investment of 60 to 1. Sponsored by Minnesota's only professional organization dedicated exclusively to the needs of business-to-business marketing professionals, the event will be held at the Minneapolis Club located at 729 Second Avenue South in Minneapolis.

The program will run from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with registration and light hors d'oeuvres beginning at 5:30 p.m. The cost of the event is $30 for BMA members and $45 for non-members. Attendees can register online at www.bmaminnesota.org through June 24. A limited number of walk-up registrations also are available.

About Amy Anderson Sherek

A co-founder of SmartBase Solutions, Amy Anderson Sherek has worked in database marketing for more than 18 years. Prior to helping found SmartBase Solutions, Amy was the lead database analyst at GfK Custom Research where she worked to translate actionable marketing information for clients including U.S. Bank, UnitedHealthcare, Roadway, ShopNBC and Caterpillar. Amy is an expert in solution design and high-level analytics with a deep working knowledge of database marketing. She also has held key positions in corporate research, analysis and credit risk management at a leading direct mail company.

About Mark James

Mark James has 28 years of business improvement, marketing, and sales experience. He has a background in distribution channel performance, employee involvement, improvement process management as well as business-to-business and consumer marketing. His industry experience includes petroleum, construction equipment, power systems, financial services, building materials, rental services, automotive, retailing and transportation.

About Business Marketing Association

Business Marketing Association is the leading professional resource for business-to-business marketers and communicators. The organization develops and delivers services, information, skill enhancement, and networking opportunities that help its members grow, develop and succeed throughout their marketing careers. For more information on BMA-Minnesota, visit www.bmaminnesota.org.

SOURCE BMA-Minnesota

Source: PR Newswire

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