Too many organizations forget that public relations can and should have a meaningful impact on the sales process. Are you using PR effectively to sell?

One important output of a PR campaign is to use press clippings in the sales process. PR should not be passive. You should use clippings from interviews and favorable mentions in the sales kits and other leave behind.

You should also be using recent clippings like trend pieces and case studies and sending them along to leads that have cooled.

When viewed this way, PR can be used strategically to sell. How are you using it?

To network or not to network? You may expect me to tell you, unequivocally, if you’re serious about your business, get out and network! Kind of in the same way that dentist you don’t go to anymore used to tell you how important it was for you to floss.

But honesty is a better policy. Not everyone should be out there networking. Some should be doing more. And some who are networking today may be doing it all wrong.

Where do you fall? To find out, take the quiz:

http://designerscouch.org/show_article/182/should-you-network.html

Here is a TopTenREVIEWS review of the top internet marketing companies. Various service areas are evaluated, including search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), link building, social media optimization and more.

Read the online marketing services firms review.

We all know how important customer acquisition is these days—for our clients and for ourselves. But some companies are getting carried away and making a big online marketing mistake.

Many are getting caught up in optimizing their websites for lead generation and sales conversion. And they’re forgetting there’s much more to a website strategy. Effective websites must also serve existing customers and create a brand perception of trust and credibility.

Read more of Customer Acquisition Versus Cheap Sales Tactics.

It’s not that often that I get excited about B2C marketing. I spend too much time living B2B and B2G. But I”m always a big believer in direct approaches. What Domino’s Pizza is going is pretty incredible. You may have caught their new TV commercials in between fast forwards on your DVR.

Watch their video where Domino’s really beats their pizza up.

Read the Bnet interview with Russell J. Weiner, Domino’s chief marketing officer.

Marketing materials are an important part of the sales process for most B2B and B2G companies. But not all companies, even the ones selling high end services and solutions, meet the challenge. Here is part two of the recent article, 8 Reasons Why Collateral Still Matters.

Regardless of what you call it—marketing materials, sales collateral, leave behinds, sales tools—collateral still works. Collateral still influences purchasing decisions, distinguishes brands, tells stories and communicates competitive differentiators. Collateral matters. Here is part one of 8 reasons why collateral still matters at Designerscouch.org.

Forrester Research predicts IT spending will rise 6.6 percent in 2010. This is a stark contrast to 2009, where IT spending fell 8.2 percent in the U.S. and and 8.9 percent overall in international markets.

Hardware and software investments will drive the rise in spending, with software projected to rise 9.7 percent.

Read more from Nasdaq.com. Here’s to a strong tech marketing 2010!

Today, branding budgets are being cut at a higher rate than many other marketing initiatives. The huge movement away from print, TV and radio spending is a significant contributor to this. Building brand equity is important. It’s never stopped being important.

Read Why It’s Not Only about the Brand.

Read Q2’s Becky Sheetz-Runkle’s Challenging Government Marketing Myths and Reaching Buyers in the influential MarketingProfs @ http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2009/3092/11-tips-for-challenging-government-marketing-myths-and-reaching-buyers#