Business and Marketing

Business Breaking News: Twitter's 'Audience Insights' Helps Marketers Target Campaigns

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Nearly 65% of marketers say "aggregating and integrating disparate data sources" is a high priority for their organization.

On the surface, things are looking up for data-driven marketers. New research by the Direct Marketing Association and Winterberry Group shows that nearly three quarters of marketers are confident in data-driven marketing (DDM) and half express strong interest in its potential growth. However, that confidence is tempered with a note of caution as enthusiasm dwindled to a two-year low in the first quarter of 2015.

According to the two organizations' "Quarterly Business Report," data-driven marketers have expressed serious interest in implementing new technologies; yet they also say they're struggling to identify the true net value of these investments. Indeed, a majority agreed that it's tough to prove value from new platforms, and integrating new and existing tools has been a challenge.

Despite these issues, respondents continue to grow their investment in the channels and technology that drive DDM. As a matter of fact, 59% say their companies are likely to purchase or implement new technology in the coming year.

“The QBR findings suggest [that] marketers are realists,” Neil O'Keefe, DMA's SVP of CRM and member engagement, said in a release about the report. “They can spot the growth potential, but they also understand the need for improved measurement and talent development to capitalize on future opportunity.”

With regards to marketing technology, respondents agree that data powers their usage. In fact, nearly 65% say “aggregating and integrating disparate data sources” is a high priority for their organization. At the same time, only 40% say that their organization does a good job of training internal teams on new technology. Not only does this disparity cause some marketers to take a cautious approach about what they can realistically achieve in the short term, but it also points to a crucial need for the alignment of technological tools and the skill sets needed to implement them.

“Overall, there appears to be a chasm between those who have mastered the use of marketing technology and those who have yet to do so,” Jonathan Margulies, managing director of Winterberry Group, said in a statement. “Those who have embarked on that journey—by implementing cross-organizational technology strategies, training their staff to use those tools, and calculating a specific return on investment associated with those investments—are already seeing positive results. Even so, fewer than half of panelists said that their organizations had made such strides.”

Other findings include:

• Overall, DDM spending grew at a faster pace in Q1 2015 than in the full year prior. In fact, 37.5% of respondents say they grew their investments, compared to last quarter when only 26.6% of respondents said their DDM expenditures increased from the prior quarter.

• 60.4% of respondents say they use mobile and location-based technologies today; however, only a small number call these tools mission-critical.

• Almost half of the respondents say they expect to continue growing DDM expenditures. Forty-three percent say they're likely to increase spending on DDM next quarter, while 48.2% expect to maintain current levels of spending.

• Just under half (44.7%) say that their revenues generated by DDM activities grew in Q1 2015, compared to the prior quarter; 41.4% say theirs remained constant.

“As an abundance of data continues to accelerate business innovation and opportunity, it has also created new and ever-more complex risks and challenges,” O'Keefe said. “This further underscores the commitment needed throughout the industry in terms of marketing and business science development. DMA, among other innovators and educators, offers an extensive array of developmental products designed to enhance analytic skills and other disciplines to ensure marketers can capitalize on growth opportunities.”

Business Breaking News: Twitter's 'Audience Insights' Helps Marketers Target Campaigns

Commodity Online News: Fresh buying seen in Ref soya Oil open interest up 7.54%

The client relations specialist is part of an executive expansion phase at the Seattle agency.

Kass Sells

Kass Sells, global client lead for Wunderman, has left WPP's integrated marketing agency to join Waggener Edstrom Communications as president of its North American region. Sells is a veteran of client relations in direct marketing, having directed relationships with the likes of Hewlett-Packard, McDonald's, Microsoft, and Nokia.

At the Seattle-based Waggener Edstrom, Sells will take over management and business development in the integrated agency's largest region. The client roster includes Honeywell, T-Mobile, and Volvo, and includes recent account wins of Allrecipes, Amgen Foundation, and Lucid. He will report to CEO Melissa Waggener Zorkin.

“Kass and I are very much aligned on where we see opportunities to continue expanding our agency offering for current and prospective clients, and talent acquisition will be a key focus of ours over the coming months,” Waggener Zorkin said.

At Wunderman, Sells was the global client lead for the Microsoft account, including the Xbox, Surface, Office and Windows brands. He previously served as COO of DraftFCB West and president of FCB's Seattle office. Before that, he was SVP of Omnicom's DDB Seattle office.

Waggener Edstrom plans to add six more senior level executives in the coming months to fill positions in New York and San Francisco.

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The live call analytics platform simultaneously launches a new product, Convirza for Advertisers.

Convirza CEO Jason Wells

LogMyCalls, a company that helps marketers employ data obtained at their call centers, this week unveiled a rebranding campaign and a new name: Convirza. The name was chosen to summon to mind the words “conversation” and “conversion.”

The move comes at a time of rapid growth for the young company. In March, it acquired a division of CallSource, and company executives claim that LogMyCalls posted organic revenue growth of more than 800% over the past two years and currently serves some 1,200 customers.

"We're not just changing our brand, we're changing an industry," said Convirza CEO Jason Wells. "We launched LogMyCalls in 2012 and that brand served us well, but we've refined our vision for helping customers use conversations in new and powerful ways. Our new brand more clearly represents our commitment to the rich data and enterprise class software we offer.”

Convirza appears on the scene with a new product in hand, Convirza for Advertisers. The software analyzes and extracts data from customer phone calls, connects search keywords to phone calls to optimize results, and integrates conversation data with bid management platforms to optimize programmatic buys.

Convirza recently relocated its headquarters to Draper, UT, a new magnet for tech companies coming to be known as “Silicon Slopes.”

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Retailers will account for more than a fifth of that, followed by automotive and financial services.

Marketers will spend $58.6 billion on digital advertising this year, paced by retailers who will account for about 22% of that total, according to eMarketers 2015 “Digital Ad Spending Benchmarks by Industry” report. Retail will lead spending in all three classes of digital spend measured by eMarketer: mobile, programmatic display, and video.

The retail community will spend almost twice as much on mobile advertising ($6.7 billion) as the financial services ($3.5 billion) or automotive ($3.4 billion) categories, the next biggest spending verticals in the channel. The report notes that retailers continue to increase efforts to reach shoppers on the go with advertising, since the vast majority of their sales still occur in brick-and-mortar stores. Only 7.2% of U.S. retail sales will be made via the Internet, eMarketer estimates.

The $3.71 billion that retailers look to spend in display advertising represents 25% of all outlays in that channel. Consumer packaged goods companies will finish second in programmatic buys with $2.1 billion, followed by financial services ($1.7 billion) and telecoms ($1.6 billion). Procter & Gamble announced last year that it would dedicate 70% of its digital ad budget to programmatic buys.

Retail ($1.6 billion) and automotive ($1.1 billion) will lead video spending in 2015.

“While digital ad growth remains the story for all industries, it's not one-size-fits-all. Nuances among sectors reflect a variety of trends in the ways each industry targets consumers and closes sales,” said Victoria Petrock, principal analyst at eMarketer.

eMarketer bases its Benchmarks report findings on analysis of hundreds of data sources and interviews with executives at ad agencies, brands, and digital media companies.

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The feature is added for Prime members on orders of $35 and above as it rolls out the service to two new cities.

Amazon announced it would extend same-day delivery to San Diego and Tampa Bay, bringing the total of cities where it offers the Amazon Prime service to 14. In so doing, the company announced that same-day delivery would henceforth be free on orders of $35 or more.

Until now Amazon had been charging Prime members $5.99 for all same-day deliveries and non-members $8.99 plus 99 cents per additional unit. The free service is for Prime members only.

It's been an active week in the retail shipping wars, as news escaped from Walmart that the $50 unlimited three-day shipping club it is testing will be called ShippingPass. A leaked internal link to a sign-up page for the service also revealed that free shipping would apply to products that did not qualify for three-day shipping, though standard shipping would be used. The site also indicated that ShippingPass members would be able to get free shipping on product classes originally thought to be off-limits, such as grocery products.

“Same-day delivery has been a model people have been trying to scale for years, and Amazon is very methodical about it. They roll out to a couple of cities at a time, making changes as they go,” says Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Commerce, which operates FreeShipping.com.

But free same-day shipping is a tall order, even for Amazon. “Clearly, something's going on here,” Caporaso says. “They're not going to continue to roll this out unless it's working and driving more merchandise through.”

Other locales where Amazon offers same-day delivery include Atlanta, Boston, New York, and San Francisco.

Business Breaking News: Crafting a Modern Personal Brand That Works

Commodity Online News: LME Inventory data: Copper stocks gained by 950 tons

The deep-discount dot.com emails twice as many campaigns as any other brand and achieves a 41% open rate.

Overstock.com lived up to its high-capacity name, stuffing inboxes last weekend with 59 different Memorial Day campaigns. Trailing well behind in second and third places were Sears with 22 and Lowes with 18.

In total, 5,000 campaigns including “Memorial Day” in their subject lines were sent in the 30 days leading up to May 25, though 4,000 of them came in the final seven days, according to eDataSource. The company tracks some 25,000 emails daily and sponsors a panel of more than a million consumers who allow their behavior to be tracked in return for added-value email services.

“About 40% of the traffic was on the three-day weekend. This medium has the ability to reach people in the moment,” said John Landsman, eDataSource's director of strategy and analytics.

Verticals leading the Memorial Day email charge were apparel (642 campaigns), home furnishings (366), and sporting goods (217). So did Overstock have such a high profile because it sells all of that and more?

“Overstock doesn't show up that often on our radar for event weekends because of its flash-sale, everyday discounting model, so its appearance on Memorial Day was interesting,” said eDataSource CMO Arthur Sweetser, adding that, whatever its reasoning, Overstock was overly successful. “They included a 10% off coupon and got a 41% open rate.”

Just behind Overstock for open rate were Home Depot at 40% and Toys R Us, which achieved a 31% rate in a campaign for its Babies R Us business. Timing and personalization helped spur all those opens.

“The Toys R Us campaign for loyal customers included their rewards balances and then presented offers on products ‘recommended just for you,'” noted Landsman. “Putting someone's name in the subject line is helpful, but what really drives opens is content that is personalized to preferences and behaviors. Amazon, the 800-pound gorilla, does 1,000 to 2,000 campaigns a day, all based on click behavior and past purchase behavior.”

Behavioral targeting and limited time offers—Home Depot's stratagem—are key to achieving opens and driving business on lesser holidays. “The only time you see an uptick in organic engagement with emails is during the year-end holiday season, when the pressure is on,” Landsman says. “What drives opens around a weekend like Memorial Day is smart mailers who target people with known purchase intent around that holiday.”

Landsman noted that marketers sent twice as many emails on Mothers' Day, when the pressure to find the right gift for mom is extremely high.

Business Breaking News: Ready, Set, Sell: How to Successfully Launch Your First Product

Got a great idea for a new product? In addition to its design and logistics, you're probably already thinking about how you're going to launch it.

A well-executed launch is your chance to grab customers' attention and make a strong impression with your product. But like all first impressions, it's hard to correct a product launch if it doesn't go smoothly right off the bat — especially if it's your very first product.

"Product launches are tricky because, unlike other marketing efforts, you really only have one chance to get it right," said Daniel Waldman, president of PR and marketing firm Evolve Communications. "There's not a lot of room for testing and refining tactics. Launches need to pack a punch."

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IDC forecasts an 11% rise in global shipments this year, down from around 28% in 2014. Slow Chinese and Android growth is the reason.

At Apple, big screens mean big sales.

Worldwide smartphone shipments will increase by about 11% this year, a notable dip in growth from 2014 when sales increased more than 27%. Of course, the proof will be in the pudding. International Data Corporation's “Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker,” which issued today's forecast, fell well short last year with a prediction of a 12% increase.

IDC highlighted two reasons for its conservative call. It forecasts just a 2.5% increase in China, the first time the country's smartphone growth will lag the global aggregate. Android device sales velocity, too, will be slower than world at large at a pace of 8.5%. Some 30% of all smartphones are purchased in China.

“Two fundamental segments driving recent growth are starting to slow," said Phone Tracker Program Director Ryan Reith. "Smartphone shipments in China actually declined year-over-year in the first quarter, showing that the largest market in the world has reached a level of maturity where rapid growth will be harder to achieve. This has implications for Android because China has been a critical market for Android shipments in recent years.”

According to IDC, Apple confronted a similar scenario between 2012 and 2014, but reversed its fortunes with the iPhone 6 and the shift to models with bigger screens. Prospects continue to look rosy for Apple in the coming year. "There's no question that a large chunk of Apple's installed base is still using older models, which leaves continued growth opportunity in the second half of 2015 and beyond," Reith said.

Business Breaking News: Ready, Set, Sell: How to Successfully Launch Your First Product

Got a great idea for a new product? In addition to its design and logistics, you're probably already thinking about how you're going to launch it.

A well-executed launch is your chance to grab customers' attention and make a strong impression with your product. But like all first impressions, it's hard to correct a product launch if it doesn't go smoothly right off the bat — especially if it's your very first product.

"Product launches are tricky because, unlike other marketing efforts, you really only have one chance to get it right," said Daniel Waldman, president of PR and marketing firm Evolve Communications. "There's not a lot of room for testing and refining tactics. Launches need to pack a punch."

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TouchCommerce introduces a way for offline line ads to instantly engage with consumers via live chat.

Live chat specialist TouchCommerce is introducing a solution called TouchMedia that the company says will end an interactivity problem for consumers and an attribution problem for marketers.

TouchMedia is specifically designed to equip the substantial amounts of offline media used by brands with easy ways for consumers to interact with those brands. On TV, radio, direct mail, or even billboards, a keyword or QR code or Shazam-like audio identification is provided to let people instantly engage in live chats to pose questions or place orders.

“You're looking at an ad for a new car on TV or on your tablet and you send a text and are automatically put in touch with a live agent that knows everything about the product,” says Yann Motte, SVP of strategy and business development at TouchCommerce. “In the consumer world, it's all about simplicity: Text the keyword, click the link.”

Equally important, stresses Motte, is the reporting capabilities provided to marketers. “Attribution is always a problem. We can work with our clients on what types of keywords to use and how to spread them across segments,” he says. “You can have a much more targeted message and chat agents can be automated and have the ability to push content, video, coupons, or nearby store locations.”

In a press release, TouchCommerce said the introduction of TouchMedia was a response to a pressing need for more cross-device solutions in an omnichannel world.

Business Breaking News: 15 Signs You're a Great Boss

Every boss has a different opinion of what makes a great leader, and it's often hard to see how your employees view you. So how can you tell if you're actually a good boss?

Business News Daily asked business owners and leadership experts what qualities make someone a good manager. From trust and respect to personality and leadership tactics, every little trait adds up to make a strong leader.

Not sure how you stack up? Here are 15 signs you're a great boss.

You possess a strong desire to see your employees develop and succeed.

"When we get a great employee, we want to keep them where they are because they are so productive, despite it likely not being in their best interest [over the] long term. Try to look at things from their perspective, and mold the position you have for them into something that they can continue to grow into. If they've stopped learning and developing, they won't stay with you for very long. Sometimes, you can support their growth within your company, and sometimes, the next logical step is for them to move on to another opportunity." – Evan Carmichael, founder, Evancarmichael.com

You have a sense of self-mastery.

"Self-mastery is about knowing who you are as a leader, what your personal vision is for yourself and your life, and what your own leadership style is. A good leader needs to understand his or her own performance dynamics before making demands on others. Mastering your own sense of self and knowing how you best use your own mental energy, as well as your own strengths and weaknesses, helps you be a more thoughtful and aware leader." – Jeri Denniston, certified strategic management professional, Haines Centre for Strategic Management

You are candid. 

"Great bosses give feedback — the good, the bad and the ugly. You know that spinach leaf that gets stuck in your teeth after lunch? Don't you want someone to tell you about it? Your direct reports want feedback, and it's crucial in making your team as productive as possible." – Brad Karsh, president, JB Training Solutions

You are relentless.

"Besides getting things done and meeting performance objectives, you must shepherd your people through every hard turn. Your principal rewards for success are keeping your job and receiving even more responsibilities and challenges. The best bosses keep chipping away at a huge pile of tasks — some interesting, others dull but necessary." – Maynard Brusman, consulting psychologist and executive coach, Working Resources

You are a transformational leader.

"[A good boss has] the ability to transform employees from self-centered performance to organizational goals. This is demonstrated [by] the boss's ability to know the employee; understand the employee’s needs, wants and motivators; and transform this into the attainment of organizational goals." – Robin James, co-coordinator, William Rainey Harper College Management Department [Are You a Good Boss or a Bad Boss? Here's How to Tell ]

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Actually, it's &THEN, and it's DMA's re-imagined annual show, debuting in October, starring Kevin Roberts and the Goo Goo Dolls.

Saatchi & Saatchi chief Kevin Roberts

The Direct Marketing Association today unveils &THEN, the product of months of analysis, experimentation, and rethinking of its annual trade show for a new generation. DMA calls it GenD and describes it as “today's generation of marketing genius.”

Set for Boston on October 4-6, &THEN's first announced keynoter is Kevin Roberts, executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi and “Head Coach” of Publicis Groupe. Roberts, a noted speaker and writer on the marketing condition, began his storied career with the inventor of the miniskirt, Mary Quant, became CEO of Pepsi-Cola Middle East at 32, and settled on the agency business, assuming the Saatchi helm this year.

Establishing a new beat for DMA in the entertainment portion of its program will be the Goo Goo Dolls, known worldwide for their 1998 hit Iris from the City of Angels soundtrack, which was number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks. The band will take the stage the evening of October 5, immediately following the presentation of the ECHO Awards.

DMA CEO Thomas Benton says the organization undertook the reinvention and re-branding of its annual conference to bring more applied learning, co-creation, and marketing energy to its members. There will be five newly developed content delivery styles in an educational program led by practitioners such as Jim Cone of Loews Hotels Resorts, Mish Fletcher from OgilvyOne, Don Neal of 360 Live Media, and Doug Mitchell of startup AdAgility.

“Kevin Roberts is exactly the kind of branding and marketing leader that can inspire marketers, curators, solution providers, and more to achieve breakthroughs,” says Benton. “&THEN will have an entirely different look, feel, and experience, with inspiration zones, content labs, team zones, and more to deliver high value learning, networking, and connecting.”

The show will take place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

Business Breaking News: Starting Strong: How to Successfully Onboard a New Hire

In recent years, "onboarding" has become a popular human resources term to describe the new hire initiation process. While it may sound like a corporate buzzword, onboarding is actually an extremely important step in ensuring that employees start their new jobs on the right foot, and remain engaged throughout their tenure.

"Companies that fail to have an official onboarding process increase their risk of having employees with low productivity and higher turnover rates," said Jeanne City, executive vice president of human resources at weight loss program Medifast Inc. "Therefore, it's critical to adopt proven techniques to engage new employees before and after their first day at work."

"The moment when an employee first accepts a job is ... when they are most thirsty for knowledge and receptive to coaching and molding," added Jack Hill, Director of Talent Acquisition Solutions at PeopleFluent, a human capital management (HCM) software company. "This is a prime opportunity organizations have to take advantage of an eager employee looking to succeed and also give a great first impression as well."

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Big players interested clients with expanded features; pure plays scored with digital and CX solutions, says Gartner.

Worldwide sales of customer relationship management (CRM) software topped $23 billion in 2014, a 13% increase over the previous year, according to Gartner. Salesforce.com led the way with an 18% bump to sales of $4.3 billion, followed by SAP at $2.8 billion and Oracle with $2.1 billion.

"Strong demand for software as a service continues, with SaaS accounting for almost 47 percent of total CRM software revenue in 2014," said Gartner research VP Joanne Correia. "This is driven by organizations of all sizes seeking easier-to-deploy and faster ROI alternatives to modernizing legacy systems."

The big names in CRM played a fierce game of leveraging new acquisitions to extend their feature sets in 2014, Correia observed. “Price wars started quickly as large vendors fought to keep their installed bases from moving to other vendors and stop the descent of their maintenance revenue,” she said.

The top 10 vendors accounted for more than a 60% share of the CRM business in 2014, according to Gartner, which also detected a pick-up in business among pure-play vendors from organizations bulking up digital marketing and customer experience capabilities.

North America remains by far the largest market for CRM systems, registering more than half of all sales. It was followed by Western Europe with a quarter of the market. The key reason for this lopsided geographical skew is that the cloud infrastructure for SaaS deployment is more mature in these regions.

The communications, media, and IT services industries led CRM software activity in 2014 with more than 23% of buys. Manufacturing concerns, including consumer packaged goods companies, were close behind, Gartner reported.

CRM's top five, according to Gartner:

                                                2014 Sales (billions)        Increase

1.Salesforce                             $4,269                             18.4%

2.SAP                                          2,809                               12.1

3.Oracle                                     2,115                                 9.1

4.Microsoft                                1,439                                 6.2

5.IBM                                            792                                  3.8

Business Breaking News: Have You Been Hacked? How to Recover from a Data Breach

It's every modern business's worst nightmare: You discover there's been a security breach, and your sensitive business and customer data has ended up in the hands of hackers.

While business owners may have some safeguards in place, the reality is that a data breach can happen to anyone at any time, especially small businesses. In fact, according tothe National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), 71 percent of security breaches target small businesses, and nearly half of all small businesses have been victims of cyberattacks. And unlike larger corporations, smaller companies don't always have the resources to recover: Experian reported that 60 percent of small businesses that suffer a breach go out of business after six months.

It's likely not possible to regain control of everything the hackers accessed, but you can still take action and salvage your trust and reputation with your customers and clients. Legal and technology experts shared their insights on how to best recover from a small business data breach. [Cybersecurity: 'Best of Breed' May Not Be Best for Small Businesses]

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Retailigence keeps tabs on product availability at more than two million stores.

Ads that do storeroom checks

Sizmek, a global, third-party ad server, has announced a partnership with Retailigence that could give the company a higher profile with retail advertisers in the mobile channel.

Retailigence is a data company that focuses not on consumer behavior, but on retail shelves and storerooms. Its database holds in-stock information on more than 20 million products at over two million retail locations.

“Great digital ad creative is driven by how brands use data to make their content relevant and useful. Now advertisers can deliver mobile ads that help customers find all the info they need to go shop at nearby stores with the right inventory in stock,” said Sizmek SVP of Business Development Andrew Bloom about the capabilities provided by Retailigence.

One of the key pieces of information that active shoppers seek in searches is product availability at specific retail outlets. In testing a new app released for car shoppers last week, for instance, Edmunds found that the question most asked of dealerships was, “Is the car in stock?”

Business Breaking News: LG G Stylo: Is It Good for Business?

A built-in stylus can turn a smartphone into a handy digital notepad. But so far, there haven't been very many stylus-equipped options outside of Samsung's pricey Galaxy Note line.

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Even during the holidays, waste beats haste as a determining factor in purchases. Favored delivery time of Canadians is five days or more.

Americans and Canadians alike love free shipping when buying items online. But when they're paying the freight, both prefer to wait a few days longer to receive their packages than to shell out higher shipping fees.

Asked what was the crucial factor in deciding to make an online purchase, 76% of Canadians and 63% of Americans said shipping cost was “very important,” while only 22 and 23%, respectively, named speed of delivery as the key motivator. The findings were obtained via phone surveys conducted with nationally representative samples of Americans and Canadians by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research on behalf of Purolator International.

Cash savings proved more important than time savings even during the holidays. While 43% of Americans said they had not purchased an item during the holiday season because it would not be delivered in time, a greater number (49%) said they declined to push the buy button because of high shipping costs. The price of freight posed an even greater hindrance to Canadians. Almost two thirds of them (63%) said they'd negated a purchase because of it, while only about half (53%) did so due to timing concerns.

“Even in this age of ‘I want it now,' when consumers balance cost versus convenience, they most often fall on the side of cost,” says John Costanzo, president of Purolator International. Purolator is the leading provider of cross-border logistics between the U.S. and Canada, and Costanzo estimates that $300 billion in goods are imported into Canada from the U.S. on an annual basis.

The bi-national study pointed up some differences in shopping habits and motivations among the North American neighbors. Canadians, for instance, are much less likely to turn to the Web for holiday purchases than Americans. Forty-two percent of consumers in the northernmost country said they made fewer than a quarter of their Christmas purchases online, while only 28% of people in the States put themselves in that category.

About two thirds of the residents of each nation said that free shipping played a big role in deciding where they bought their goods online. Absent that option, it was Canadian pennies that were harder for Internet retailers to pry loose. Forty-four percent of Canadians said shipping cost was the single most important factor in their purchase decisions versus only 32% of Americans.

Asked what delivery speed they picked most often for online purchases, four to five days was the most popular choice of U.S. citizens, named by nearly a third. But five days or more was far and away the leading choice in the Great White North, selected by 46%.

Business Breaking News: Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Top Five Business Features

Longer battery life, improved performance and an updated touchpad make Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro an even better workstation.

Don't expect any major design changes, though. In fact, the new MacBook Pro looks identical to last year's 15-inch model. Don't look for price cuts, either; the starting price remains unchanged, at $1,999. But you do get a bunch of subtle hardware upgrades that should improve the user experience, and potentially make you more productive. 

Here are five features that make the refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro better for business.

Hootsuite Ads aims to show social marketers that the best posts to promote are the best posts.

His latest innovation is the first advertising tool designed specifically for human beings, says the CEO of a company associated with an owl (which makes one wonder for whom its earlier tools were designed). But it's Ryan Holmes (above) of Hootsuite, the social marketing tool aimed at both enterprises and everyman, so it makes sense. “Our vision is to make advertising so simple that anyone can create high-performing ads without training.”

Today's introduction of Hootsuite Ads is a natural stepchild of Facebook ads and the resultant decline in the dissemination of organic posts by the social network. It automatically scans all of a brand's posts to see which are generating the most traffic and then suggests how to promote them to the utmost on a specific budget.

“It's an AIDA funnel concept that any content marketer will appreciate,” says Greg Gunn, VP of new product development for Hootsuite. “It tells the user, ‘Here's what you should pick to promote, here's the audience, and here's the budget.' It takes the the anxiety out of creating social ads. There are 13 steps to go through on Facebook. We pare that down.”

Hootsuite Ads uses automated targeting and bidding algorithms to create and quickly execute focused ads that can be tracked and tweaked on a single dashboard. Gunn stopped short of calling his new baby “Social Media Advertising for Dummies,” but it's clear that's the realm it's shooting for.

“People have a tendency to want to promote their worst-performing content,” Gunn says. “This tool informs them it's a better idea to promote your best-performing content.”

Business Breaking News: Dell Latitude E7250 Laptop Review: Is It Good for Business?

If you don't mind sacrificing screen space for a more portable design, Dell's new Latitude E7250 is an enticing portable workstation. The business notebook comes with a compact, 12.5-inch screen, plus a durable design, a comfy keyboard, good security features and all the ports you could ask for in a work laptop. But starting at $1,079, it's a little pricier than some competing machines. So does the Latitude E7250 do enough to stand out as the compact business notebook to buy?

Design

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Jim Cochrane tells how USPS is poised to collaborate with digital methods. The "Watch Us Deliver" ad campaign is launched.

The Postal Service's new acting CMO, Jim Cochrane, admitted that, like all marketing channels, mail faced challenges. But he argued that it's gotten its data act together and is better poised to engage in the digitally dominated marketing world than it was just a few years ago.

“We're focused on data and analytics. In the past it was a field of dreams, but now 90% of our mail volume is using IMb [Intelligent Mail barcodes] and packages are getting close to that,” Cochrane said today at a press conference at the National Postal Forum in Anaheim.

Cochrane, who spent the bulk of his 41 years at USPS in operations roles, said he himself is amazed at how far the Postal Service has come toward completing its mission of “informed visibility.”

“As a plant manager, I would have killed for the data we have now. I would have had to make calls or get on a plane to find out what was going on at other facilities. Now I can sit in D.C. and call up tremendous insights on what's going on anywhere in the system,” he said.

In keeping with the 2015 Forum's theme of digital competency for mail, Cochrane led a “Technology Tuesday” general session, where a new “Digital Dial” Web page was introduced. Visitors to the site are asked how well they are positioned in such areas as transactional data and customer lifestyle data, and then delivered to a page that offers suggestions for merging mailing efforts with digital methods such as social media, QR codes, and wearable devices.

“We compete with digital channels, but we also align well with them,” Cochrane said. “As mail becomes more measurable, I am bullish on the growth of direct mail as a collaborative medium. I believe we have a positive opportunity.”

Plenty more needs to be done, of course. Cochrane said that the Postal Service faces a constant challenge in harnessing data due to the vastness of its system, which he described as “one of the biggest IT operations on the planet,” employing up to 3,000 applications.

Randy Miskanic, Cochrane's successor as CIO, admitted that the challenge was too great to keep up with all the technological advances for capturing and deploying data. “Marketing goes through a lot of change. We have to take a hard look at the primary issues marketers are facing and lean the process accordingly,” Miskanic said. “We have to focus on what brings in the revenue.”

The Postal Service also unveiled a new marketing campaign today themed “Watch Us Deliver,” positioning USPS as a relevant provider that's changing with the times, delivering groceries and packages, and extending service to Sundays.

Business Breaking News: Live Chat Wins Over Customers Looking for Quick Answers

Live chat is quickly turning into the customer-support option of choice for consumers, new research finds.

Customers who use live chat for support come away satisfied more often than those who call, email or turn to social media for help, according to a study from customer service software provider Zendesk. The company offers a variety of customer service software, but discovered that live chat is the feature customers like most.

Specifically, customers who need support come away content 92 percent of the time after a live-chat session. That's compared to just 88 percent of the time when calling on the phone, 85 percent when filling out a form on a website or sending an email, 84 percent when using Facebook, and 77 percent when using Twitter.

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Business Breaking News: LG G Stylo: Is It Good for Business?

A built-in stylus can turn a smartphone into a handy digital notepad. But so far, there haven't been very many stylus-equipped options outside of Samsung's pricey Galaxy Note line.

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Data hygiene is an ailment for many B2B marketers—but it doesn't have to be.

Lead progression can be a twinge in any marketer's side. Email is often marketers' channel of choice for soothing the process. According to the “2015 Demand Gen Report Benchmark Study,” 87% of the more than 130 B2B marketers surveyed list email as one of their top three channels for driving leads through the funnel, followed by SEO (65%) and social (47%).

But even email isn't perfect. Indeed, the channel can be a real sore spot for marketers, especially when data hygiene issues are involved. Consider the following from the “2015 Marketing Data Benchmark Report” by Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex: 62% of companies' email deliverability rank as “questionable” at best.

Derek Slayton, VP of marketing for the data services company, likens marketers' email ailment to back pain and blames the pang on poor data hygiene, limited staff and resources, and beliefs that data partners are expensive.

“I always refer to it as back pain. You just learn to live with it,” he says. “There are certain exercises that you just don't do because you know that it hurts your back, you don't have time to go to the chiropractor, and you think that it's just too much money and healthcare won't cover it. I think data is kind of the same way.”

But there are things marketers can do to lessen this strain. Here are six tips for curing email marketing back pain.

1. Cleanse data regularly. According to Slayton, data decays up to 3% per month—that's about 36% a year. So, it's vital that marketers practice data hygiene on a regular basis. Not cleansing your email-related data, Slayton says, can result in poor customer experiences and ESP issues. But it's not enough for marketers to just dust around the edges. To really have an accurate and actionable data set, marketers need to cleanse the whole thing.

“[Marketers] just have bad data in their database and they don't know which is bad and which isn't bad,” he says “So, they try to quarantine off the worst and not use it, even though inside of that quarantine there's really healthy things that they're not using.”

2. Don't be afraid to get down and dirty. Even though maintaining data hygiene can seem like a daunting task, marketers can do a little sprucing up themselves. For instance, Slayton says that marketers can import their data into an excel sheet and search for bad characters or offensive language to get rid of basic errors. 

3. Capture the data that you need. Data incompleteness is a major issue for many B2B marketers. According to Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex's report, 84% of the 223 million records analyzed were missing revenue information and 82% didn't have employee data. Other key, missing data points included absent website domains (72%), industry information (71%), phone numbers (54%), and titles (34%). Slayton recommends that marketers ask their customers for the data needed to segment and then target them with relevant content. Housing all of the contact data in one central location can also help marketers maintain a consistent view of their customers, he adds.

4. Ask the right questions. Every customer has his or her data collection threshold, Slayton says, and many will abandon a Web form once that threshold has been crossed. That's why he encourages B2B marketers to be thoughtful with their Web form questions and to only ask questions that drive the most personalization—not questions where marketers can find the answer elsewhere (such as through a data partner).

“Don't ask me how many people work in my company,” he says. “Ask me what my number one pain point is with CRM software.”

Not only can this alleviate tension, but asking thought-provoking questions can also give prospects a clearer idea of how a company can serve them. “If you're asking me how I structure my analyst relations program, then I know that you're probably going to help me with my analyst relations program,” Slayton explains.

5. Have a system in place to prevent duplication. Marketing technology is making it easier for marketers to avoid duplicate records. In fact, 90% of files have less than 10% of duplicates, according to Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex. To resolve this problem, it's important for marketers to have a specific process in place. One approach Slayton recommends is quarantining duplicates and then having a human being review them. However, he discourages marketers from deleting a file without review.

“If you kill one of the records, you might be killing the record that has all of that history that indicates what that person has done,” he says. “In some [cases] you've got two records and one has some history, [while] the other has other history; you want to put them both together.”

6. Establish a clear target market. If companies want their data to be aligned, they have to be aligned internally. For instance, Slayton says that it's important for the entire organization to have a “crystal clear” idea of who their target market is. While he admits that this may not help marketers drive more leads, he says that it will help them pass along higher quality ones.

“If you do that,” he says, “your emails, by definition, will have higher resonance with the people you send them to.”

Business Breaking News: Dell Latitude E7250 Laptop Review: Is It Good for Business?

If you don't mind sacrificing screen space for a more portable design, Dell's new Latitude E7250 is an enticing portable workstation. The business notebook comes with a compact, 12.5-inch screen, plus a durable design, a comfy keyboard, good security features and all the ports you could ask for in a work laptop. But starting at $1,079, it's a little pricier than some competing machines. So does the Latitude E7250 do enough to stand out as the compact business notebook to buy?

Design

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Innovation takes more than just technology; it takes people.

Consumer behavior is constantly evolving. According to a 2014 Altimeter Group report, mobile, social, and real-time technology trends (or what venture capitalist Fred Wilson refers to as the "Golden Triangle of Disruption") are changing the way consumers engage and discover information. And as consumers change, companies must evolve to survive. 

The result is digital transformation.

Digital transformation, according to the research and advisory firm, is “the realignment of, or new investment in, technology and business models to more effectively engage digital customers at every touchpoint in the customer experience lifecycle.” Companies that invest in digital transformation, according to the report, experience numerous benefits, such as improved customer journeys, greater competitive advantages, and increased conversion and loyalty rates. 

“We have to look at what the customer experience is and what it could be,” Brian Solis, author and principal analyst for Altimeter Group, said during a keynote presentation at the ONE Teradata Marketing Festival in Las Vegas.

However, not all businesses are able to recognize or keep up with these societal and technological shifts. The result is what Altimeter Group refers to as “Digital Darwinism.” Put simply, those who adapt live and those who don't die.

Consider the following two examples Solis cited during his keynote presentation: Movie rental company Blockbuster had the opportunity to purchase streaming service Netflix back in 2000 but passed on the opportunity due to its own popularity. Fast forwarded to 2010: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy while Netflix experiences a 43,101% sales boost since 1999, according to Solis. Likewise, he said that Amazon bankrupted what was formerly the number two bookseller Borders in less than a decade.

“You can see that moment when consumers have changed so much that [they've] split off in an entirely different direction,” he said.

Of course, using disruptive technologies to enhance the digital customer experience isn't easy. According to a 2013 survey conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review and Capgemini Consulting, 63% of nearly 1,600 executives and managers said that the pace of technology change within their organization was slow. What's more, an Altimeter Group survey found that 88% of executives and digital strategists said that their company was undergoing a formal digital transformation effort in 2014; however, only a quarter of them had mapped out their customers' digital journeys.

Still, bettering customers' experiences through digital transformation is important. So here are eight tips from Solis' presentation that marketers should consider when creating their own digital transformation efforts. 

1. Always ask why: Just because a company does something one way doesn't mean that it's the right way. Marketers should always question their actions and assumptions and look for opportunities to make experiences, products, and processes better and more efficient.

“We should be asking ‘why' because that prompts ‘what if' and ‘what if' always prompts ‘what's next?'” Solis said.

2. Build a culture that rewards people for trying new things: So often in life, failure is considered a negative; however, Solis argued that it's really just the opportunity to learn from experimentation. 

“That's why it's called innovation, not iteration,” he said. 

3. Identify your purpose: Technology plays a major role in digital transformation and innovation, but only if it provides a purpose, Solis said. 

“Ideas can start with anything,” he noted, “but they can all be driven by a higher purpose.”

4. See something for what it could be: Digital transformation isn't about reinventing the wheel; it's about improving an experience. For instance, Steve Jobs didn't invent the mouse or the MP3 player; he just made the user experience better.

“That takes seeing the world in a different perspective because we're making decisions today [based on] life as we know it,” Solis said.

5. Think like a customer: To help gain a different perspective, marketers should ask themselves what they can do differently and what would their customers do, Solis said.

“Connected customers always see the world differently,” he added.

6. Remember, innovation isn't just born out of technology: It also comes from people who are passionate about doing something better than the way they are today, Solis said. And marketers don't need to have a C-suite title to initiate change within their organizations.

“Change doesn't always have to come from the top,” he said. “If there's one thing I've learned, leadership rarely comes from the top; leadership comes from the middle.”

7. Imagine what your brand would be like if you had to start over: Digital transformation can be difficult for companies built on a legacy. So Solis advised marketers to re-imagine their companies if they launched digitally today. What would be different, he asked, and what would your customers value?

8. Understand that you can learn how to be innovative: Innovation doesn't always come naturally to people, and that's OK.

“Innovating isn't something that you have to be born with,” Solis said. “You can learn it. It's like developing a skill, and we have to master it.”

Business Breaking News: Apple MacBook Pro (2015): Top Five Business Features

Longer battery life, improved performance and an updated touchpad make Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro an even better workstation.

Don't expect any major design changes, though. In fact, the new MacBook Pro looks identical to last year's 15-inch model. Don't look for price cuts, either; the starting price remains unchanged, at $1,999. But you do get a bunch of subtle hardware upgrades that should improve the user experience, and potentially make you more productive. 

Here are five features that make the refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro better for business.

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Consumers have a sweet tooth for multichannel media. According to a September 2014 report by Percolate, Americans consumed about 11 hours of electronic media every day in Q4 2013. Indeed, they spent more than five hours watching live TV, nearly three hours listening to radio, and more than an hour engaging with their smartphones. 

Clearly, multichannel experiences have to be more than just the cherry on top of a CMO's strategy; they have to be sprinkled throughout the entire customer journey. This includes offering multichannel content and engagement opportunities at each stage of the purchase cycle. After all, 42% of brand research and 23% of purchases happen via smartphones and tablets in the retail category, according to the report. So, not being present at every potential touchpoint would be a major brain freeze.

Fortunately, many CMOs don't have icy attitudes toward multichannel marketing. In fact, 62% of CMOs consider their multichannel content experiences effective, according to the report, and 57% prioritize their multichannel customer experiences. And those who do execute across several channels scoop up major results. Consider the following: 71% of CMOs at high-growth companies say they provide consistent customer experiences across all channels, versus 41% of CMOs at low-growth companies.

With 2015 nearly halfway over, do you think Percolate's findings still ring true today? Share your thoughts in the comments section below or via social media.

Business Breaking News: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Review: Is It Good for Business?

Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge feels like the business phone of the future. In reality, it's almost functionally identical the standard S6, but it offers a unique, almost sci-fi design that's sure to turn heads at the office.

The S6 Edge is an expensive smartphone, though. It will cost you $300 upfront when you sign a two-year contract through Verizon or AT&T — a price that used to be reserved for monster phablets like the Galaxy Note 4. The standard Galaxy S6 costs $200 with a two-year agreement.

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Almost all marketers find analytics useful.

Mark Twain once said, “Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.” Well, it's a good thing he wasn't in marketing because almost all marketers find the use of analytics to be a boon.

That's according to a survey from webinar marketing solutions provider ON24. In fact, 97% of marketing respondents say that the use of analytics has behooved their company, and 87% say they plan to increase their marketing analytics spend this year. Also, more than half (56%) of survey respondents say that marketing analytics tools enable them to make more strategic decisions.

The survey, which polled 221 U.S.-based B2B marketers, also says that 65% of respondents claim to have just the right amount of data to be useful. Big data, however, remains elusive, with 77% of respondents stating that it remains a promise as opposed to a reality. These responses, according to ON24, indicate that marketers are relying more on small, manageable chunks of data and steering clear of the big data movement.

“As marketers continue to rely on increasingly sophisticated tools, the integral role of data on all facets of marketing becomes more evident,” says Tricia Heinrich, senior director, strategic communications, ON24. “The results of our latest survey underscore the opportunity for all marketers to tap into the data available to them for enhanced lead generation programs that positively impact their bottom line.”

In addition to scrutinizing analytics usage, the study looks at how marketers are using data and what their priorities are in terms of marketing technology investment. Consider the following:

How marketers are using data

• Thirty-five percent of respondents say webcasts deliver higher-quality customer data, compared to 31% who say the same for email marketing or social media.
• Eighty-six percent of marketers are able to measure how customers interact with their content.

Priorities in marketing technology investments

• Marketers are less concerned with getting the most sophisticated technology (36%) and more focused on getting easy-to-understand data (60%) and a solution that's easy to implement and use (53%).

Business Breaking News: Lenovo ThinkPad X250 Laptop: Is It Good for Business?

If battery life is your top consideration in a new business notebook, Lenovo's new ThinkPad X250 is hard to beat. With its beefy, 6-cell battery attached, the notebook outlasts just about every other model on the market. 

That epic longevity is combined with Lenovo's industry-leading ThinkPad keyboard, fast performance and all the ports and docking options that you could ask for in a compact, 12.5-inch business notebook. And, starting at just $755, it's pretty affordable, too.

The X250's battery life actually depends on which battery you choose. The default 3-cell battery actually offers average battery life, running for about 7 hours and 39 minutes. But with Lenovo's extended 6-cell battery attached, the machine ran for an incredible 15 hours and 12 minutes in our battery life test, which simulates continuous Web browsing over Wi-Fi. That's nearly double the category average of 8 hours and 4 minutes — perfect if you need a notebook that can easily last through any business flight.

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NALC's Sauber tells Senate panel to put retiree healthcare fund in hands of private investors and remove financial pressures from USPS.

NALC Chief of Staff James Sauber

At a Senate committee roundtable convened by postal reform advocate Tom Carper (D-DE) yesterday, perhaps the most sensible, quick-fix solution to the Postal Service's financial ills was offered up by James Sauber, chief of staff of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC): Stop buying government T-bills with the retiree healthcare fund and put it in the hands of private investors instead.

Among a group of experts asked by Carper to name their top two suggestions for saving the Postal Service, Sauber had but one to offer. “Think about requiring the [Office of Personnel Management] to invest the fund in something more sensible. Healthcare costs are growing five to seven percent annually and Treasury securities are yielding two to three percent,” Sauber said.

Sauber pointed out that both the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Amtrak had established safeguards to allow them to invest healthcare assets in low-cost index funds that provided higher returns. Were the Postal Service to do the same, according to an analysis done at NALC's behest, the Postal Service's Retiree Healthcare Benefit fund's funding percentage would rise from 94% to 118% over a decade's time, Sauber said.

“There are risks involved, but the fund is so large, the risks are so low, and the horizon is so long that that risk is minimal,” Sauber held. “This is a significant policy innovation that would allow us to reduce pressure on raising postage rates and cutting services. And it just makes good business sense.”

The panel appearing before the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee included USPS Acting Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Jim Cochrane, Hallmark President Donald Hall Jr., Deputy Postal Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb, and U.S. Government Accountability Office Director Lori Rectanus. Matching Sauber for plain-talking common sense, Rectanus said that while innovation was welcome at the Postal Service, the agency historically had success when it stuck to its knitting.

Rectanus noted that advertising mail volumes appear to have stabilized as First Class Mail has declined 38% since 2000. And while she gave the Postal Service kudos for doubling package volume and revenue over the past four years, she noted that shipping was far less profitable than Standard Mail and that it would have to continue to grow at a significant pace to help fill the hole left by plummeting First Class Mail volume.

“They need to identify new initiatives and growth opportunities, but the caveat is that they need to do it in areas that make sense,” Rectanus said. “USPS is better positioned to manage postal-related initiatives rather than ones that go outside of the core business. We've seen them experience success with Negotiated Service Agreements, and there can be additional growth with NSAs. It requires good management costing to make sure they're meeting their obligations.”

Hall, who represented the American Greeting Card Association as well as Hallmark, agreed that a policy of financial stabilization with the pension fund plus a renewed focus on postal operations could present USPS with a vibrant future. “First, it must work on stabilizing its very profitable core business. Both business and citizen mailers must have trust in the Postal Service,” said Hall, who suggested expanding business-like services to consumers such as digital tracking and bulk prices for holiday stamps.

Cochrane, who served as Chief Information Officer before assuming his new position last week, said the Postal Service's most crucial imperative is finding the best way to use data. “Our challenge as an industry is to raise our bar and know more about customers and how to solve customer needs,” he said. “We can never go wrong if we're solving customers' needs.”

Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill remarked that Senate colleague Carper was “obnoxiously focused on this issue—and I say that in a positive way. We're looking for ways for the Postal Service to thrive for decades to come.” 

The Postal Reform bill introduced last year by Carper--the former committee chairman and now ranking member--and retired Senator Tom Coburn never made it to the floor for a vote. No matter, Carper remains laser-focused on passing a postal reform bill, and sooner rather than later. “I want very badly to enable the Postal Service to use a 200-year-old distribution network effectively in the digital age, and do it in a way that doesn't cost money for taxpayers,” he said.

Business Breaking News: Women Now Own One-Third of US Businesses

The number of women taking the plunge to open their own business is on the rise, new research finds

Female entrepreneurs launched 887 new businesses each day last year, on average, and now own 30 percent of all enterprises in the United States, according to a study from American Express OPEN.

The study's authors believe the growth rate is another sign that business creation has recovered from the Great Recession. The number of female-owned firms has increased by 21 percent since 2007, which is more than the 20 percent increase in the five years before the recession. Additionally, it's significantly larger than the 7 percent growth rate during the recession.

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It's barely summer and the shipping wars are on! The big discounter aims its opening salvo at shoppers on limited budgets.

U.S. Grant enters the shipping wars.

A year after Amazon bumped up the annual fee for its Prime membership from $79 to $99, Walmart is preparing to fire a broadside in the shipping wars by introducing a $50 option. The retailer told the Associated Press yesterday that the program—codenamed Tahoe—will be tested this summer with a promise of unlimited three-day delivery.

Walmart is no doubt preparing a rollout for Holiday 2015, when shipping options can make or break big retailers. Target got the Christmas fun started early in 2014 when, on October 22, it began offering free 3-5 day shipping for all orders on its website.

“It's always about the holidays, when 40% of transactions for the year happen,” says Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Marketing Group, which owns and operates FreeShipping.com. “From everything we hear about the Walmart program, it's a test. It makes sense to do that in May, June, and July to see what people like and don't like, and then launch when the holiday season begins.”

Caporaso sees Tahoe being aimed squarely at Walmart's downscale, bargain-seeking clientele. It offers only free shipping, unlike Amazon Prime, which presents access to streaming videos, music, and a lending library. “If you look at some of the commercials for Prime, you'll see that a mix of those features are promoted. The Walmart customer may be less interested in streaming video and more focused on saving money and getting products in a speedy way,” Caporaso observes.

A shipping club from the likes of Walmart will bring a new competitive dynamic to Holiday 2015, and perhaps beyond. “We know for a fact that when somebody raises their hand and pays for a shipping program, their average order value and total purchases all increase,” says Caporaso. “All of this can be driven through shipping.”

Caporaso's Freeshipping.com carries a monthly subscription fee of around $12, but gives members access to 1,500 retailers, free returns, and 10% cash back on all purchases.

Business Breaking News: Lenovo ThinkPad E450 Laptop: Is It Good for Business?

Want the perks of a ThinkPad without the lofty price tag? Lenovo's ThinkPad E450 is a nice business notebook that provides most of the best features of its more premium brethren, but it starts at just $580. Compared with the ThinkPad T450s, which starts at $880, the E450 is really affordable.

You'll make some concessions by opting for the less expensive machine, but let's consider the E450's positive traits first. You get a reasonably sharp 14-inch, full-HD display and good performance, with processor options up to Intel's fifth-generation Core i7 chip. You also get a fingerprint reader for added security — a great feature to help you keep your work laptop locked down, without an annoying password screen.

ThinkPads generally provide some of the most comfortable keyboards out there, and the E450 is no exception. The machine offers a spacious layout with deeper keys than the average notebook, so it feels more like you're typing on a desktop keyboard.

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In her Postal Forum keynote, the Postmaster General unveils a plan to make it a more compelling player in a digital world.

PMG Megan Brennan

The digitalization of the U.S. Postal Service is officially underway. Better use of data for the benefit of direct mailers and citizens alike was the common theme driven home by the Postmaster General, CMO, COO, and VP sales of the Post Office during the opening keynote address at the National Postal Forum in Anaheim.

In this annual State of the Mails address, first-year PMG Megan Brennan declared her mission to establish the Postal Service as a data-driven marketing channel fully in sync with an increasingly digital world. “Our industry has a big role to play in the digital future,” she said, adding, “We have to continually innovate to make mail more interactive, compelling, and sophisticated” in combination with digital methods.

Brennan laid out a three-point plan for her “Mail Revolution”: 1) bridge the gap between physical and digital methods and empower mail to begin the interactive experience for consumers; 2) increase the transparency of mail through enhanced tracking and real-time reaction capabilities; and 3) “hyper-personalize” mail, using customer data and the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) to make mailings more targeted and real-time.

The Postal Service is stepping up testing of a program called Real Mail Notification that relies on all three legs of the new digital stool. Using scanning technology and customer data currently in place, the Postal Service sends alerts to peoples' mobile devices that their mail has been delivered, showing them the front of an envelope. Recipients have the ability to interact with the mailing on their devices, and marketers have the option of delivering additional offers to spur mobile interaction.

A test of Real Mail Notification that recently concluded in Virginia found that nine out of 10 people clicked on their digital mail, producing a tenfold increase in response rate for participants, according to Brennan. “This has the potential to be a game-changer,” she said.

During his turn at the podium, former CIO and now acting CMO, Jim Cochrane, said that the Postal Service's charge for big mailers is “speed to value.” Noting that some 90% of mail volume now uses IMb technology, he said that the technological platform to accomplish this goal is in place. “We want to increase insight to create a bulls-eye on customer behavior, that tracks to the website and knows whether a customer is interested in shirts or shoes,” Cochrane said. “We want to personalize content so that when mail is integrated in a multichannel way, there is a multiplier effect.”

VP of Sales Cliff Rucker recited a litany of statistics intended to illustrate a theory that digital-only marketers underestimate the power of direct mail. He claimed that 45% of consumers read catalogs before purchasing online, and that 38% had catalogs open in front of them when pressing the buy button. “Digital marketing by itself isn't enough to drive the results companies expect,” Rucker said.

Of course, to deliver on Brennan's data-driven imperative, the Postal Service has to deliver the mail on schedule. A story appearing in today's Omaha World-Herald reported that non-local delivery times have declined significantly since the second phase of the USPS's Network Rationalization was implemented in January. Only 63% of non-local deliveries were made in three days in the first quarter of this year, the report said, compared to 84% during the same period in 2014.

During today's keynote COO Dave Williams admitted that it has taken a few months to get back up to speed following the implementation, noting that delivery schedules were simultaneously changed for all the 450 million pieces of mail handled on a daily basis. “We are getting to a point of knowing the time of day of the delivery,” he said. “We have to have predictability.”

Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman concluded the session by presenting the annual Partnership for Growth award to the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee, which marked its 50th year of cooperating with USPS on the implementation of advances such as plant automation and the ZIP Code.

Business Breaking News: Women Now Own One-Third of US Businesses

The number of women taking the plunge to open their own business is on the rise, new research finds

Female entrepreneurs launched 887 new businesses each day last year, on average, and now own 30 percent of all enterprises in the United States, according to a study from American Express OPEN.

The study's authors believe the growth rate is another sign that business creation has recovered from the Great Recession. The number of female-owned firms has increased by 21 percent since 2007, which is more than the 20 percent increase in the five years before the recession. Additionally, it's significantly larger than the 7 percent growth rate during the recession.

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59 million U.S. adults are tuning in to video at least once a month, a study finds.

In addition to holding a firm grasp on almost one quarter of the American adult population, original digital video programming also has the capabilities to attract the elusive 18- to 34-year-old demographic of cord-cutters/cord-nevers.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau's “2015 Original Digital Video Study” shows that 24% of U.S. adults, an audience of 59 million, is turning to original digital video programming at least once per month—an uptick of 13% over last year's total.

The survey, produced by GfK and which polled more than 1,900 consumers, extrapolates that the 17 million cord-cutters are about twice as likely as other adults to view such content. Fifty-three percent of cord-cutters and 63% of cord-nevers polled view this programming as very or somewhat important in their decision not to have pay TV. In addition, these demographics are inclined to find the ads shown during this type of programming to be more interesting or fun (43%); more than one third (35%) of the general audience of this content concurs about the likability of such ads.

Respondents are using connected TVs (56%), smartphones (56%), and tablets (48%) to stream original digital video more than twice as often as two years ago, while computer viewing of such videos holds steady at 72%. Almost two thirds (65%) of people who stream videos on connected TVs say they typically watch during prime time and half (53%) say they're doing so more than they did a year ago.

“Original digital video programming is attracting a growing audience—especially younger viewers 18-34 who are highly desirable to many advertisers,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP, research, analytics, and measurement, at IAB. “Brands and media buyers need to be aware not only of the growth in popularity of original digital video, but also recognize the variety of screens where this content is consumed. Earlier IAB research showed that connected TVs are gaining ground, and this study independently substantiates those findings and shows that those who enjoy made-for-digital content are watching that programming more and more by streaming to traditional television sets.”

Word of mouth (53%) is atop the list of ways to discover original digital video content, but social media is playing a larger role—42% in 2015 versus 24% in 2013. In face, 55% of regular viewers of made-for-digital video programming say they have greater social media interactions than they do during traditional TV.

“There is no question that this type of innovative, interactive content—ready to inform and entertain consumers anywhere at any time—is at the heart of a sea change across the media landscape,” said Anna Bager, SVP, Mobile and Video, IAB and General Manager of the IAB Digital Video and Mobile Marketing Centers of Excellence. “Viewers' preferences and behaviors are shifting, and so too will advertising dollars.”

Business Breaking News: Personal Branding Plays Critical Role in Hiring

If a potential employer can't find you online, there's a good chance the company won't be hiring you, new research finds.

More than one-third of employers are less likely to interview job candidates if the companies can't find information about the applicants online, according to a CareerBuilder study of more than 2,100 hiring and human resources managers.

The number of companies using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to investigate candidates is on the rise. Overall, 52 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up significantly from 39 percent in 2013.

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