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Are You Building a Business That's Ready to Scale - or Just a Business That Has Had Great Growth?
There is a version of business success that feels like momentum but isn't quite there yet.
Avoiding the “Popcorn-Tin” Syndrome: Three Steps to Strategic Marketing Success
Thu, May 23, 2019 — This post was written in collaboration with Tom Niesen, Sales Made Easy. “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu I had an epiphany about marketing strategy recently – and I’d like to credit it to this quote from the great Sun Tzu, but instead, it happened thanks to a large tin of popcorn. Let me explain: I was working with a client that, shall we say, was not focused on strategy, and the head of marketing, shall we also say, was, instead, keenly focused on doing stuff to show their worth. In this “Marketing of Things” mindset, this marketing leader (who shall remain nameless) felt the best marketing ploy du jour was a large tin of popcorn. Across the country, clients received multiple varieties of popcorn, along with a note asking for more business. I’m sure plenty of people enjoyed sharing the kernels of this marketing leader’s labors – but few, if any, made the connection to the company’s services – and even fewer picked up the phone.
The Digital Crystal Ball: Three Ways to Use Predictive Analytics at Your Company
Fri, May 17, 2019 — The crystal ball—oft spoken of in folkloric terms, but never available when you need it—has entered the realm of the possible. In our switched-on world, where digital interaction is present virtually every moment of an individual’s life, we as marketers now have the tools to peer into the future—using data, and not crystalline, to gaze forward at where our business is going. Predictive analytics—the process of using new and historical data to foresee the result, activity, behavior, and trends of our consumer base—is the key that is making successful businesses, well, successful. Enterprises primed for growth in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace are using predictive analytics to gain a deep understanding of the customer base to maximize revenue, efficacy of marketing budgets, and, of course, profits.
A More Perfect Union: Four Keys to Credit Union Profitability
Thu, May 16, 2019 — U.S. credit unions are in crisis. For years, buoyed by a “hometown banking” distinction and bolstered by government regulations allowing for the expansion of their membership ranks, credit unions enjoyed unprecedented growth. In fact, just two years after President Clinton signed the 1998 Credit Union Membership Access Act, more than 10,000 credit unions dotted the landscape. But then, the technological age arrived in its full fury, delivering tools and benefits that traditional banks used to restore their edge. Though credit unions enjoyed a higher level of customer satisfaction, they were not as keen to what their customers and members were needing. This allowed the traditional banks to use enhanced technologies to raise the customer expectations bar—and close the gap.
When the Economy Turns Down, Will Your Company Be Ready? A 10-Step Practical Guide to Preparing Your Go-to-Market Program
Thu, May 9, 2019 — John C. Maxwell, the American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books on leadership has a wonderful quote about growth that says: “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” There may be another version of this we should be paying attention to, and I think that version is: “Change is inevitable, so is an economic slowdown.” With the long economic growth we have been experiencing sometimes it’s challenging to remember that we will not always have the economic tailwinds that have been boosting us along. The most recent ITR Trends Report (April, 2019) continues to forecast a cyclical market slowdown. Their latest report states that “The U.S. economy has moved a little deeper on the backside of the business cycle….and the shift in momentum and outcome will feel more pronounced the further we go in 2019. Our analysis continues to point to a probable first-half-2020 bottom for this business cycle.”
The Net of Profitability: How to Use the Net Promoter Score Now to Grow Your Business
Tue, May 7, 2019 — Hollywood has long taught us that a crystal ball can be a mystical, wondrous – and completely fictional – way to gaze into the great unknown. For businesses looking to better understand the world in which they exist, it doesn’t take a magical orb or other divine intervention to do so. Enter the Net Promoter Score, or NPS – a simple gauge of consumers’ ongoing satisfaction that can, like the soothsayers of the silver screen, tell the future. The Net Promoter Score methodology is genius in its simplicity. By asking a singular question – usually along the lines of, “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague” – a brand can actually foretell the future – more to the point, according to Survey Money, “the likelihood of both repurchase and referral.”
The Traditional Marketing and Sales Funnel is Dead. Welcome the Intelligent Sales Pipeline™!
Mon, May 6, 2019 — Improving Your Lead Generation and Qualification Processes Mark Coronna, Area Managing Partner & CMO, Chief Outsiders with Jeff Parris and Daniel Steyn, Fractional Sales Executives, Sales Xceleration Sometimes we take certain business models for granted. The model of a “funnel” to represent a sales pipeline is certainly one example. Dusting off its past, a gentleman named E. St. Elmo Lewis is generally given credit for initiating the idea of a funnel in 1898. The author is also credited for introducing the first formal theory of Marketing. It would be amazing that a model like a funnel would still find relevance 120 years later. There have been previous attempts at calling the funnel “dead.” In a 2016 article in Marketing Week, Mark Ritson declared that “If you think the funnel is dead, you have mistaken tactics for strategy.”
Maximizing your Digital Marketing Channel Mix
Wed, Apr 17, 2019 — “Going digital” with your marketing mix has never been more essential. Most advertisers continue to increase their digital marketing spend in 2019 as billions of consumers are using online social media as a jumping off point into purchase decisions. With more money flowing into digital marketing, the digital channel mix continues to grow in complexity. Though search marketing, display advertising, social media, and mobile remain the mainstays of a digital advertising footprint, each has its role in supporting a particular business objective. When integrated properly, they maximize how we attract consumers, and turn visits into revenue. But before you leap into the digital marketing fray, it’s critical to understand your enterprise’s goals and objectives: Are you seeking to simply educate the public about an innovative offer (market education)? Do you want a target audience to gain greater awareness of your offering as a viable alternative (Brand Awareness)? Are you simply looking for more people to buy your product (raw traffic)? Or, do you want to motivate your current consumers to buy more of your product (higher net per sales)?
What CEOs Should Look for in a B2B Manufacturing CMO
Wed, Apr 3, 2019 — In 25 years of marketing, I heard from industrial manufacturing teams—whether it’s a salesperson, business manager or CEO—that marketing is just for B2C. Industrial B2B businesses need nothing more than sales tools and support. So, it’s no surprise that many industrial businesses think that strategic marketing leaders only apply in B2C businesses—so they have not yet considered what strategic marketing can and should do for company growth. And they may not know what skills to look for when it comes time to hire a CMO or marketing manager. Are strategic marketing leaders needed in industrial environments? And, if so, what should industrial companies look for when selecting a CMO or Marketing Leader? To answer those questions, I’d like you to first consider what is similar and different between B2C and Industrial B2B Marketing.
Better Living Through AI: How Computers Will Improve the Service Experience
Wed, Mar 27, 2019 — For consumers tired of endless hold times, long-snaking lines, and difficulty getting customer service, help is on the way. The often confusing, maddening connection to some of our favorite brands and services is about to improve substantially—driven by a pair of tech-powered developments poised to move into the consumer and B2B mainstream sooner than most people think. The first is Artificial Intelligence (AI)—something that, for years, seemed to be the domain of Hollywood hype. Today, whether we know it or not, real learning software is in active use today in a wide variety of areas, ranging from cyber security to your Netflix app.