Business Growth Strategies For CEOs: Top CMOs On Marketing Strategy Implementations

Sean Klunder

A specialist in transforming companies, products and marketing from “analog” to “digital,” Sean Klunder has gained a reputation for developing innovative growth strategies that disrupt markets and create more distance in competitive differentiation. Klunder has leveraged digital strategies that have married e-commerce, social media, SEM, SEO, mobile marketing and display advertising into both short-term visibility and long-term ROI. Klunder’s formula led to successes at Korn Ferry International, a recruiting and consulting organization; and World Book, a Berkshire Hathaway company. When not helping Chief Outsiders’ clients navigate their own change management programs, Klunder inspires the next generation of digital marketing experts as an instructor at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

The Revenue-Ready Marketing Playbook, Part 2: In a Noisy Market, Make Clarity Your Competitive Edge

Tue, Apr 22, 2025 | Posted by Jyotsna Makkar

This is Part 2 of the Revenue-Ready Marketing Playbook, a 4-part series for mid-market CEOs who want marketing to move the needle.

A CEO once said to me, “We know our product delivers real value. Our customers are happy. But when we show up in the market, it feels like we’re saying the same thing as everyone else.”

That stuck with me, not just because it was honest, but because it’s common. In crowded markets, sounding the same is the fastest way to become invisible. Buyers tune out. Sales cycles drag. Margins shrink. And despite how strong your actual offering is, you keep getting boxed in as “just another option.”

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Demand vs. Lead Generation: A Strategic Approach to Creating Highly-Qualified Leads

Tue, Jul 9, 2019 — Generating leads for B2B companies is one of the most important responsibilities of your marketing team. The concept of demand generation vs. lead generation many times are considered the same, or that one philosophy rather than the other should be adopted. Cracking the code of generating highly-qualified leads to grow your business involves the right focus on both demand and lead generation.

Is It Time to Replace Marketing Staff with Automation Technology?

Fri, Jul 5, 2019 — One of the biggest challenges CEOs face, aside from hiring the right talent, is balancing the number of employees against the need for driving growth. Business leaders are always looking closely at their marketing departments and questioning the return on the human resource investment. With the continued evolution of technologies, marketing automation is generating vast amounts of performance data and reaching business prospects in ways never before possible and, frankly, in ways that humans cannot. It makes sense, then, that companies are increasingly investing in technologies to improve the speed and effectiveness of marketing efforts as well as to provide a direct data link demonstrating marketing’s impact on company performance. Now that artificial intelligence is becoming more sophisticated, technology will start to significantly shift personnel needs in marketing departments of the future.

3…2…1… We Are “Go” for Product Launch

Wed, Feb 8, 2017 — Part 1 – Gathering Strategic Insights B2B product companies have to move quickly to innovate and release new offerings to remain viable and sustain growth. All too often, B2B companies rely too heavily on their sales channels to launch their products. Because we are always connected to the Internet, your sales prospects have access to a wealth of information making the traditional sales journey less relevant. Your marketing team now has a greater responsibility than ever in driving success of a new product launch.

Is Your Business Planning or “Strategically” Planning?

Mon, Jan 9, 2017 — You might be thinking… “This is the year that my business really focuses on developing the best strategic growth plan.” Then the process starts and the questions surface… Am I developing a strategy or a plan? What’s the difference? If they are different, does my business need both?

5 Ways to Drive Business Growth from the Outside

Mon, Dec 12, 2016 — There are two critical elements to achieving your business growth goals: One, you must successfully run your business from the inside. Two, you must monitor the external environment. While most CEOs know the inner workings of their businesses, they are less in touch with the outside factors that affect it. Case in point: In a recent webinar I hosted, “External Factors that Stall Growth and How to Combat Them,” I asked participants, “Do you have a system to identify and monitor external factors that affect your business?” One-hundred percent of participants responded, “No, but I do want to create a system.” The presentation then focused on helping to identify the external factors businesses should be monitoring and how to monitor them.

How to Survive the 5 Fatal Factors that Threaten Your Business

Fri, Nov 18, 2016 — Understanding the external factors that hinder your growth and survival The Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2016 reports that only two-thirds of businesses will survive 2 years, half of all businesses will survive 5 years, and a mere one-third will survive 10 years or more. Most of us have heard these statistics, or at least a version of them. In the modern market, the success of a business depends on its growth. But why do some businesses successfully grow and survive while others become a failing statistic?

Growth Insights for CEOs