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Jennifer Apy
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Recent Posts
When the Numbers Still Look Fine, Look Harder
Revenue Can Be Late to Tell the Truth
Without a compass, course correction isn't really an adjustment. Too often, a company can drift while the scorecard still looks respectable.
But underneath the dashboard, buying behavior may already be changing. Customers take longer to decide. Procurement gets more involved. Good prospects ask harder questions. Deals that used to move cleanly now need another approval, discount, or proof point.
Early warning signs rarely show up with a siren attached.
CEO Go-To-Market Warning: Avoid the Blind Spots That Cause Products to Miss the Mark | Part 5
Thu, Feb 2, 2023 — Part 5: Only Teamwork Can Make the Dream Work We have become a nation of isolation. COVID-19 taught everyone how to use technology to carry on safely. Though Zoom, Teams, and other tools have made communication more efficient, we’ve never felt more distant from our colleagues. Through this “together, but apart” mindset, many businesses feel pressured to enable remote work and grant greater autonomy. As a CEO trying to manage in this environment, it’s tempting -- in the spirit of efficiency – to let everyone stay focused on their “swim lane” and not encourage complex collaboration between divisions.
CEO Go-To-Market Warning: Avoid the Blind Spots That Cause Products to Miss the Mark | Part 2
Mon, Oct 31, 2022 — Part 2: Beware of Market Forces that Impact Company and Category Survival In 2022, the market has been turned upside down. Remote work, the supply chain squeeze, and the rollercoaster economic environment all have roiled even the best of intentions for businesses of all sizes. And though your company’s go-to-market approach will still help you gain or maintain your share of the market, winning the “checkboxes” isn’t enough to stave off the macro forces that are constantly reshaping and disfiguring the landscape you’re selling into.
CEO Go-To-Market Warning: Avoid the Blind Spots That Cause Products to Miss the Mark
Tue, Oct 4, 2022 — Part 1: Avoiding the Dust Bin Requires an Insights-Driven Approach Have you ever heard of the Apple Pippin or the Twitter Peek? Played a game of TowerFall on the Ouya Console? Taken an important call on your Amazon Fire Phone? If so, you are among the rarest of the rare – the chosen few who took the calculated risk of trying a new product during its brief run on earth. The world is littered with also-rans, whoopsies, and well-intentions gone awry. There are so many consumer product failures each year – some that miss with a whimper, and some that make a giant megaton splash into the depths of nowhere – that several “Museums of Failure” warehouse the worst and dimmest of the bunch. In fact, up to 95 percent of new product launches fail to hit a target, according to one market analyst.
Injecting the “V-FACTOR” Into Your Marketing Efforts Can Be a Game Changer
Mon, Sep 13, 2021 — If the lifeblood of any business is customer cash, then perhaps we can consider customer satisfaction the heart and soul. As a CEO, you likely are well aware of the value of a satisfied consumer. They stick around, spend more, and often become fierce advocates for your company, its products, and services.
The Fractional Chief Marketer: An Insider’s View
Thu, Aug 19, 2021 — How much is just enough? When you are the CEO of a small or mid-market business, this time-honored question isn’t just a euphemism, but a way of life. Obtaining just the right amount of resources – at the right moment in the company’s maturity – can be a game changer. Enter the fractional executive – an experienced, highly-credentialed CMO-for-hire who can be plugged in for a right-sized engagement, without the expense or expectations of a full-time senior marketing executive.
Growth Hacking vs. Growth Gears: Avoiding the Vanity Metrics Mirage
Thu, Apr 29, 2021 — Congratulations! You’ve hired a so-called “marketing expert,” trusted them with your digital properties, and learned today that you gained 1 million hits to your website last month. But, upon reflection, your cash drawer is not overflowing, and you’re certainly not feeling flush with success. It’s a sad reality – though many marketing agencies are well-meaning, there are some that can coax you into the fast-money trap. They promise shortcuts, big hits, and a load of sexy-sounding data that may look good on the surface – something I call vanity metrics, but not real business results.