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Recent Posts
AI Isn’t a Replacement—It’s an Accelerator: How SMBs Can Use AI to Elevate Human Performance Across the Organization, Part 2
AI as an Executive and Organizational Force Multiplier
In Part 1, we explored how AI streamlines execution in outward-facing functions like marketing, sales, and customer service. Now it’s time to turn inward. In this second half, we’ll examine how AI empowers internal operations, drives better financial strategy, and helps executive leaders see farther and act faster—without sacrificing the human qualities that make a business thrive.
Transform Marketing into a Growth Engine – A Roadmap for Industrials
Wed, Jun 9, 2021 — Questions every CEO should be asking their Marketing team Even in our enlightened times, industrial manufacturing CEOs still struggle to define the appropriate role for marketing in the go-to-market paradigm. Many industrial manufacturers, spanning start-ups to Fortune 500 manufacturers, still make the mistake today of marginalizing marketers into a role of pretty pictures, parties, and promotions.
Why Innovate? How SMB Product Companies Grow
Thu, Jun 3, 2021 — Part 3: Concept Development – The First Phase Gate By Ahmet Abaci and Beth Somplatsky-Martori It takes more than luck, randomness, or the alignment of the stars to achieve success. Reaching our more earth-bound goals requires studious planning, hard work – and the ability to narrow our focus in the face of the shiny objects that compete for our attention
The SaaS Marketing Playbook, Part 4 | Getting Sales and Marketing on the Same Page
Wed, Jun 2, 2021 — Of the things that are aligned in our life — the stars, automobiles, our spine, and the universe — there’s one area where such alignment is elusive – and, by extension, costly. If you have ever tried to align your sales and marketing departments, you likely already have experienced how vexing this can be. In my experience, sales and marketing alignment will never be easy. Why not? Three immediate reasons come to mind: 1) Marketing is from Mars and Sales is from Venus, 2) The question of pipeline ownership, and 3) The targets for sales never get lower, and they need to take it out on someone.
Why Innovate? How SMB Product Companies Grow
Fri, May 28, 2021 — Part 2: Harnessing Entrepreneurial Energy For Improved Success By Ahmet Abaci and Beth Somplatsky-Martori The road to nowhere is littered with loose ends: Half-finished projects, great ideas that died on the vine, and wasted resources that chipped away at profitability and the bottom line. In a world where startup energy and entrepreneurship are prized, there certainly is no lack of passion about that “one great thing” that is going to transform the company and change the world.
The SaaS Marketing Playbook, Part 3 | The SaaS Metrics That Matter
Thu, May 20, 2021 — Are your marketing activities generating a thimbleful of leads, or are they gushing MQLs like a firehose? And, can you directly attribute revenues to specific marketing strategies, or are you just casting proverbial darts at the proverbial dartboard? In my years as a marketing leader, I’ve heard C-suite executives bemoan the efficacy of their marketing activities – based on nothing but gut feel. They alleged that marketing is a black box, or that you cannot effectively measure the effectiveness of your activities.
Why Innovate? How SMB Product Companies Grow
Fri, May 14, 2021 — Blog 1:Introduction to What it Takes to Innovate By Ahmet Abaci and Beth Somplatsky-Martori Sometimes, there’s a razor-thin margin between success and failure. In the world of shaving, this is more than a figurative statement. Just ask the folks at Gillette, which dominated the $3.5 billion market for razors and accessories for more than a century. At Gillette, innovation mostly consisted of adding the occasional blade to its disposable cartridges, but there was little incentive to otherwise rock the boat of its delightful recurring-revenue model (after all, hair continues to grow, whether we want it to or not).
The SaaS Marketing Playbook, Part 2 | Demand Generation Like a Boss
Thu, Apr 1, 2021 — Have you ever tried fishing without a hook? Needless to say, this very peaceful outing will quickly turn frustrating without a way to bait your line to reel them in. Some would argue that if you were just going to watch the fish swim by, you might have had a better time at an aquarium! Consider this parable within your company – you may have a fantastic brand, and a good sense of what you think makes you unique, but without a way to grab the attention of the consumers swimming by, you might in fact go hungry.
Beyond the Mirage: How to Ensure Your 2020 Gains are Real and Lasting
Fri, Mar 19, 2021 — Blog 1: Reality Testing Your Sales Growth By Paul Sparrow and Adriana Lynch We are well into 2021 – for many businesses, optimism has been renewed, plans have been made, and in a review of 2020, things weren’t quite as “off” as expected. A recent proprietary study of small business (SMB) CEOs seem to confirm this prognosis: 45 percent of respondents indicated that their business has grown in the past 24 months, and 27 percent have seen flat results over that time – meaning, by our math, that more than two-thirds of businesses have the impression they’ve dodged the proverbial COVID bullet.
The SaaS Marketing Playbook Part 1 | Positioning: Finding Your Purple Cow in the Herd
Mon, Feb 22, 2021 — Most marketers may not think they have anything in common with cattle ranchers, but it requires a trip to the Old West to fully understand the history of branding – a term which has significance for both. The National Cowboy Museum explains that branding, in the old days, “provided a way for ranchers to stake their claim on cattle and other livestock, while deterring theft from rustlers.”