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The Contrarian Brand Play: Why Right Now Is the Best Time to Invest in Brand
Part 4 of our four-part series on the evolving AI search landscape and what B2B leaders need to know to stay competitive.
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.
RACI+ Joins the Race: How to Supercharge Your Sales Funnel
Wed, Sep 21, 2022 — To win at the growth game, ownership is everything – and in fact, you would agree that the leaders in the marketplace truly “own” the customer journey. But if you’re among those looking up at the market leader, it’s possible that you have a secondary ownership problem –- an inability for all your cross-functional teams to own their role in the sales funnel, which is a big part of the customer journey.
B2B Brand Positioning: How to Claim Your Company’s Land of Opportunity
Wed, Sep 14, 2022 — For more than 100 years, scientists and philosophers have been asserting that if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, then it does not make a sound. The lesson for marketers is resounding: If your brand is not resonating in its preferred landscape, it is likely that your most desired buyers will never be there to hear what you have to say.
Navigating Growth During the Economic Sugar Crash
Thu, Aug 4, 2022 — Everyone “knows” we’re in a recession except the economists. We feel the pain of collapsed 401k's, higher fuel and food prices, so isn’t that enough to declare a recession? And shouldn’t my business be hunkering down to ride this out? In today’s chaotic economy, we are more likely to react to news headlines and stock market trends than market insight. We might completely abandon a core strategy, or delay critical execution tactics, based on the sick feeling in our guts. One way to solve this is by tapping the reliable data and forecasts published by ITR Economics.
What Tech CEOs Get Wrong About Positioning
Thu, Jul 28, 2022 — If you are a CEO that is lamenting slowing sales and lagging growth at your company, it’s tempting to place the blame directly at the feet of the sales team – those well-intentioned front-line soldiers who are responsible to turn your solutions into the bucks that feed the company growth. Indeed, most CEO’s I talk to feel this way – when product and market fit is not happening with enough velocity, or visions of declaring leadership in their market are unrealized, the obstacle standing in the way is always sales.
How SaaS Companies Can Survive Economic Winter
Fri, Jul 22, 2022 — Even as macroeconomic headwinds begin to buffet the worldwide economy, there’s no better time than now to be a SaaS marketer. But there is a better way to be one. A SaaS marketer must be part marketer, product manager, and engineer and understand their markets 100%. And CEOs need to be able to discern someone who is capable of that position.
Psychographics: How To Use Brain-Level Insights to Improve Marketing
Fri, Jul 22, 2022 — As a marketer in the digital age, I am fortunate to have many tools at my disposal that make my job easier. Unfortunately, however, I still have no way to read minds (and that would be quite creepy, anyway) – but one could see how individual “brain-level” insights could have a stunningly positive impact on campaigns, revenues, and overall success. That’s because the Holy Grail for marketers is to understand not just the “who” is likely to buy, but the “why” behind the purchase. If we figure out the need we fill for that customer, at an emotional level, we can effectively cultivate a highly-valued customer.
Developing A Unique Value Proposition
Mon, Jul 11, 2022 — In my previous blog post “Unique Value Propositions And Their Necessity For Success”, I provided examples of value propositions in the Healthcare and Technology industries my teams and I developed. As I noted, “A value proposition must focus on features and benefits that make the product unique, and are sustainable over time. A powerful value proposition lets customers truly understand the value of your company's products and services. It helps your target customers to see how what you offer benefits them, and is their only available option.” In this blog post, we will go through each of the elements of drafting a unique value proposition, whether it is a product or a service that you and your team are providing your customers.
Positioning Mistake No. 365 -- Treating Prospects Better Than Existing Customers
Wed, Jun 22, 2022 — From the world of “shocking but true”: There are real, actual companies out there that are turning away revenue. Literally, they have customers shaking fistfuls of dollars in their direction and walking in the opposite direction. Before you shake your head, thinking this is blasphemy, the stark reality is this: You, too, could be guilty of the same offense.