Buy a jacket online and pick it up in the store. Use your tablet to price a new tennis racquet. Take advantage of retail website flash sales.

There is no single formula for idea generation or great storytelling, but there are some sound practices to follow to help your next marketing campaign succeed.

If you’ve ever experienced late-night television, where they replay old shows from the ‘70s through the ‘90s, perhaps you’ll recall “The Six Million Dollar Man.” It was a story based on an astronaut who was injured in an accident and the subsequent $6 million operation to replace both of his legs, his right arm and his left eye all with state-of-the-art bionics. The implants enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norms: He can run at speeds of 60 mph, his eye has a 20:1 zoom lens and infrared capabilities, and his bionic limbs all have super-human power. Oddly enough, while watching, I started thinking about lead generation techniques. That’s right, “bionic” leads.

Author’s note: Jacobs & Clevenger doesn't have a flag. But if we did, the motto on it would probably read, “No Easy Projects.” We live for the toughest marketing challenges. That's why the following story inspires me. I hope it will do the same for you.

Marketers traditionally have looked for marketing agencies with previous experience in their industry. The old way of thinking was that there would not be a learning curve to accommodate. Those small, yet ever so important, nuances pertaining to the industry were already understood. Most of all, the industry experience meant that the agency knew how things were traditionally done. The way all the players in the industry do things. Anyone see the underlying problem here?

I was on a call recently with my friend Laura Patterson of VisionEdge Marketing. Laura consults with top companies on marketing performance, measurement and metrics. Each year, Laura partners with ITSMA, a research-based membership organization that works with the world’s leading professional services, technology and communications providers, to do a research survey on Marketing Performance Management (MPM). This is the 13th year of the MPM survey. If you haven’t already seen or responded to this survey, I am going to ask your patience to read on.

When times get tough, businesses often shift their focus from creating new customers to creating the greatest amount of revenue from their existing customers. Most of us know that creating customers costs money. And we have seen the math that describes how marketing to customers can contribute anywhere from five to 10 times the profit of marketing to prospects. So, if profits are an organization’s goal, then organizations should invest more money on marketing to customers than on customer acquisition, right?

Are dimensional mailings the best way to break through to B2B decision makers? How do you get by the gatekeeper? These are common questions that marketers consider when considering how to best reach business-to-business decision makers. We’ve compiled 6 proven techniques for getting through to business-to-business gatekeepers and getting the attention of this critical segment.

A few years ago, the thought would have been laughable. Not anymore.

Shrinking budgets and accountability were two common themes in 2013 for many marketers. Marketers are under more pressure than ever to ensure their budgets are being spent in the most optimal manner, and that they can explain precisely what value these marketing activities brought to the organization. Justifying marketing spend is a daily activity for many CMOs. In a recent study of CMOs, shrinking budgets were cited as one of the biggest challenges.*