.png?width=1500&height=398&name=CO_Corporate%20Logo%202021_4C_HOR_FNL-1%20(1).png)
Go-To-Market Cultural Alignment: The Invisible Variable in U.S. Expansion
Many companies that find success outside the United States have one thing in common: the need to succeed in the U.S. market.
That is not complicated or surprising. The United States is the largest economy in the world and, in many categories, the single biggest available market. World Bank data clearly shows the scale of the U.S. economy relative to most global markets. For companies in high-tech, scientific, medical, industrial, and systems integration sectors, the U.S. is not just attractive. It is strategic.
Company leaders want to grow. The U.S. is where they look. They are not wrong.
Marketing Budget: 7 Benchmarking Questions To Ask
Wed, Sep 3, 2014 — How much do you allocate for a marketing budget? One of the first questions many clients ask is how much to appropriate for a marketing budget. The quick answer for marketing budget allocation is a target of between 3 -8% of a company’s overall sales – with 5% often cited as the norm based upon a review of a range of benchmarking and peer group studies.
Dos and Don’ts of Marketing Automation
Tue, Sep 2, 2014 — Marketing automation is a powerful tool with the ability to greatly increase your conversions. However, in order for marketing automation to be effective, there are certain do’s and don’ts that you should understand, including how it fits into the larger context of your business. Based on information collected from experts in the marketing field, let’s look at the specific do’s and don’ts for marketing automation "Marketing automation plays a key role in the customer/client acquisition process as it automates lead scoring, routing of qualified leads, nurturing those that are not ready to buy, and greater transparency into prospect/customer behavior on its own. It is important that a CMO and his/her team understand that marketing automation, as with any technology solution, is an enabler to their business strategy vs. a strategy on its own. Read the full article here.
Are You Committing Marketing Malpractice? 4 Ways That CEOs Miss the Marketing Mark
Wed, Aug 27, 2014 — A prospective client recently reached out to me, having found me by searching for fractional chief marketing officers on the Internet. This C-suite executive, who shall remain nameless, dispensed with formalities and said, “I am interviewing 15 marketing firms, and I’d like a list of things that we could do for $20,000.” After I took a beat to absorb his “unique” approach, I responded as any ethical Chief Marketing Officer should – calmly explaining that there are many, many steps required before we could even begin to develop a budget to spend those $20,000 hard-earned marketing dollars – things like identifying goals, objectives, priorities and the like.
Why Millennial Talent Seems to Be Always Looking for the Next Best Thing
Thu, Aug 21, 2014 — Every generation seems destined to be the most misunderstood generation. This was true for Baby Boomers, Gen X and is especially applicable when attempting to understand the motivations and values of the Millennial generation (also referred to as Gen Y). We’ve likely read about how Millennials grew up on technology and are dependent upon it. We could easily argue with them about their worldviews. While Millennials may be cast as the most misunderstood generation, they’re quickly becoming the most studied and researched generation. Yet despite all the insights we’ve gained, it’s interesting that most Baby Boomers infer they simply don’t understand a Millennial’s perspective on life and work. On the surface, Millennials may come across as being irresponsible, entitled, disengaged, arrogant, idealistic and overly confident. While some of these may be appropriate, from a practical perspective, Millennials tend to be competent, bright and highly focused. The chasm between the generations being, Millennials hold a significantly different worldview about life, their careers and what they expect from their employers.
Aligning Your Stars
Mon, Aug 4, 2014 — The Recipe for Revenue Success: Sales and Marketing Alignment As someone who loves to cook, today I am sharing a tried and true recipe for a successful lead generation program. I marvel at the fact that CEOs continue to be disappointed by their marketing outcomes. In fact, 70 percent cite that Marketing isn’t delivering for them as expected. Art Saxby, Chief Outsiders CEO, has expertly covered the difference between Sales and Marketing in his recent blog so we have clarity between the two functions and expectations. This standout recipe calls for Marketing and Sales to be in perfect harmony. To achieve this requires collaboration and agreement on a number of definitions, targets and metrics—and leadership from the CEO. I was recently speaking to a highly experienced, top industry performing Sales Representative who told me, “I never got a decent lead from a marketing team EVER – I had to develop all of my own opportunities. Yes, I got dozens of business cards – but they weren’t close to what I would consider a lead.” This is a fairly common theme I often hear from sales executives. The marketing team delivered against their “Lead targets,” which were the names scanned off suspects walking by the company booth at a trade show. So what’s the solution? Fundamental Marketing and Sales leader dialogue and agreement is the difference between success and failure. Marketing needs to be seamlessly filling the top part of any sales funnel and Sales needs to be executing the follow-up engagement.
CEOs: Learn How to Stop Micromanaging
Wed, Jun 11, 2014 — We've probably all had some experience or another with a micromanager, maybe even a micromanaging CEO. But as a CEO, how do you know if you're a micromanager and do you know how to stop? A marketing consultant I know posted on his Facebook page the other day: “Always wonder why some CEOs would rather diddle with things on a web page or other marketing minutia than deal with really important business strategy issues or building a company team.” While I know this was more of an expression of his current frustration with a client than a real question, it got me thinking, and I suspect the answer may be relatively simple: Entrepreneurs stay in startup mode too long.
The One Strategic Marketing Question to Ask
Wed, Jun 4, 2014 — When consulting with businesses, one of the fundamentals I look at is whether their business strategy and marketing efforts are in alignment. Just like a well-aligned vehicle will always move confidently in the right direction, so, too, will a business relationship – provided there’s the right connection between what your customers value, and what you provide. Many times, I will hear companies boast of offering great quality, cost and delivery; how they are innovators; and how they have the best technical support teams. The reality is that it’s quite rare for a firm to be the best at everything – and often, pursuing such a superlative-laden strategy can often be a suboptimal marketing strategy to pursue.
Who are the Top Businesses Consultants in the Triad?
Fri, May 30, 2014 — CEOs and Presidents of mid-sized, privately held or family-owned businesses are required to make decisions on a wide range of strategic and tactical issues. To ensure they make the best decisions on critical strategic questions, it’s important to be informed about current best practices. Accessing the perspectives of experts in a particular area can help ensure executives make an informed decision. As a marketing consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and observe a range of advisory firms, gaining insight into the strengths of various consulting formats. The Triad Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point has a wide range of consulting services and business advisory formats available to CEOs and Presidents.
Sales and Marketing: Different or Two Sides of the Same Coin?
Tue, May 6, 2014 — Sales and Marketing: Why Can't We All Get Along? How many times have we all heard about the discord between the Sales and Marketing organizations? This discord intensifies based upon whether you work in a Sales or Marketing driven culture. A CEO recently asked me why these two organizations don’t work well together, and how he can improve their overall relationships, and more importantly their individual and collective effectiveness.