What if you were a B2B marketing manager and a media rep called on you and said, "I have just the circulation you need. Every one of our subscribers is in the industries you serve. They all have expressed an interest in one or more of the products you make or services you provide. What's more, they have actually expressed an interest in YOUR products or services. Now don't you want to invest some marketing dollars to turn their interest into leads for your sales force?"

Well, would you? Of course you would. How could a B2B trade magazine make such claims? It couldn't. But you may be sitting on a "circulation" that can. It's your prospect (or inquiry) data base. And if you haven't been cultivating it and turning inquiries into interested and qualified leads, then you've missed out on one of the most efficient marketing communications tactics you could have been using during the 2009 economic downturn.

As we turn the corner into a recovery, take a fresh look at your database - formed as a result of your ongoing marketing investment over the years - and put together a plan for how to engage with this group of people who have already expressed an interest in your company and its products and services.

A recent study released by King Fish Media finds that marketers are complementing other's media platforms (read: advertising) with their own channels and content. Among the key findings of the study:

• 86% of respondents' companies are currently creating or plan to create original content for their customers and prospects in the coming year.
• 74% feel that original content and media are most effective for generating marketing ROI.
• 70% are spending more today to reach customers and prospects directly with branded content than they did three years ago.