We’ve talked frequently in the DocuStar (now Vya) blog about the importance of providing convenience with the QR scan. Here we share some innovative ways insurance companies are using QR codes to add value and provide convenience with the scan.

Joint, co-branded events are an effective tool in your marketing promotions mix to help distributed sales channels reach new prospects and close the sale. Events and seminars are excellent opportunities for new prospects to learn more about your product or service, and in-person meetings with current customers can also generate new up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. Co-op marketing events and seminars also provide a means for insurance, financial services and manufacturers, such as building products companies, to get closer to their end-customers while overseeing delivery of the brand message. Here’s your checklist for executing a seamless co-op marketing event or seminar from start to finish.

As new marketing technologies proliferate, businesses face a dramatic shift in the traditional model of technology management, creating an emergent need to bridge the IT-Marketing gap with marketing technology champions. With this shift has come the advent of the Marketing Technology Office, which, according to a new report from Forrester Research, works to organize all customer data in a central framework for the adaptive enterprise.

DocuStar’s MarketHUB+ marketing resource management system is a finalist for the Cincinnati USA Innovation Awards to be announced tonight! In the spirit of that designation, below we share some of our ideas to encourage marketing innovation.

Marketing innovation cannot and should not be an isolated process. One of the pitfalls of functional silos is that information can tend to stay within the department, but with so many departments directly interacting with customers in the customer value chain, it’s critical to engage all functional groups in the innovation process to help inspire new ideas. Here are four suggestions:

Consumers are increasingly reviewing product information online before the sale to help guide their buying decisions. QR codes are a great vehicle to provide product information to buyers throughout the pre-purchase research process. If you use them effectively, QR codes can also help your brand stay on the short list throughout the customer’s buying decision and help promote the sale. 18% of customers have scanned QR codes to make a purchase according to Chadwick Martin Bailey, so it’s important to use QR codes to help guide the customer’s buying decision. Below we share examples to help maximize your use of QR codes in pre-purchase research.

Continuing our ongoing Marketing Organizational Leadership Series, we are pleased to share Dr. Todd Dewett’s expert perspective on conflict management and resolution. Dr. Dewett is an emerging and highly sought motivational speaker who transforms leadership insights into accessible fuel for leaders. He is the author of The Little Black Book for Leadership and the creator of Fuel4Leaders.com.

May is host to a number of events that customers look forward to, including Mother’s Day, the Indy 500 and Memorial Day, marking the unofficial beginning of summer and the outdoor season. May is also host to graduations and National Teacher Day.

Beyond creating brand awareness, manufacturers such as building products companies often want to help and guide distributors in generating new leads. It can be challenging to develop target lists and execute marketing campaigns in coordination with distributors because they often have multiple manufacturer relationships. But the easier you are to work with as a manufacturer – including your internal processes, systems, and technology – the better your distributor collaboration will be. Marketing Resource Management (MRM) systems can help you automate turnkey lead generation campaigns for your distributors. Below, we take you step-by-step through the campaign process.

Marketing professionals are called to deliver tactical marketing support while maintaining a big-picture, strategic view, and it can be hard to find balance between the two competing priorities. Tactical and strategic marketing functions can be especially hard to balance because they divide our focus between important, urgent and important, not urgent activities (think Stephen Covey’s Quadrant I & II activities). Tactical execution against strategic goals is critical for driving marketing results, but it’s important not to skew so far towards the tactical that focus on strategic activities wanes: Strategic marketing activities help to bolster marketing innovation. Here are some of our suggestions for helping to find and maintain balance.

Continuing our ongoing marketing organizational leadership series, we are pleased to share the expert marketing knowledge of Ed Burghard, CEO and Manager of The Burghard Group, where Ed currently focuses on applying consumer marketing insights to place marketing as a way to strengthen Brand America. Before founding The Burghard Group, Ed served most recently as Executive Director at the Ohio Business Development Coalition. A 33-year career marketer at Procter & Gamble, Ed holds the prestigious distinction of Harley Procter Marketer and is a recognized expert on the marketing craft. Here he shares his recommendations for helping marketers to become effective brand advocates by engaging all functional stakeholders in delivering the brand promise.