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From Recovery to Recession: A CEO’s Guide to Thriving Through Economic Shifts
When markets shift—and they always do—the winners are those who don’t wait to react. They move first, and fast. No matter which of the four cycles you’re currently experiencing, one constant remains true: waiting for things to be more favorable is a bad strategy. Additionally, doing nothing is not an option. Companies that anticipate, plan, and act in alignment with their current business phase can maintain resilience, capture opportunities, and outperform competitors who simply “wait it out.”
Earn the Right to be Heard as a Brand
Thu, Apr 25, 2024 — How to Build Trust With Your Sales & Marketing Today’s business’ decision makers are savvy. They can sniff out inauthenticity a mile away. This means marketers have to put in the work to build rapport with a prospect and earn the right to be heard. So many brands jump into conversations and ask for something immediately. While you might get lucky now and then, more times than not, you will actually have to build trust and provide value before a true connection is even a consideration. Great marketing can help you do this!
The Benefits of a Unified Sales and Marketing Strategy
Mon, Apr 22, 2024 — It used to be that companies could achieve growth by simply focusing on sales or having sales and advertising be complementary marketing tactics. But today, macro and micro pressures along with evolving landscapes across industries have resulted in a more competitive landscape. Tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) provide a level of sophistication, and these tools can help business leaders bridge strategies and tactics across different business units.
Seven Steps to Shorten Your Sales Cycle
Thu, Apr 11, 2024 — Does your company provide customers with expensive business inputs? Or are you crucial in other ways to your customers’ business success?
Artificial Intelligence in Action: Developing Your Company's AI Strategy
Tue, Apr 9, 2024 — In the rapidly evolving domain of technology, developing a strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming crucial for companies looking to leverage the transformative potential of AI. An AI strategy is essential for defining the integration and application of AI technologies within a company's framework, ensuring that such integration is in harmony with the broader business objectives and results in a seamless fusion with existing operational, product, and service sectors. McKinsey reported that "companies that have leading digital and AI capabilities outperform laggards by two to six times to total shareholder returns across every sector analyzed."
Where Pricing and Marketing Strategies Intersect
Thu, Mar 28, 2024 — Back in the day, pricing was a foundational piece of all marketing strategies. When I went to grad school, for example, the four Ps were in vogue – product, price, place, and promotion. At that time, the intersection of pricing and marketing was seen as a given, almost a tautological concept. But as marketing professionals and professors' desire to innovate and differentiate intensified, the traditional 4Ps evolved into new frameworks like the “4Cs”, emphasizing concepts such as customer, cost, convenience, and communication and the "4Es" of experience, exchange, evangelism, and everywhere into the marketing lexicon. And I admit I lapse into momentary shudders when I think of all the as-yet-untapped letters in the alphabet.
Beyond Lead Gen: How CEOs Can Leverage Marketing for Sales Performance
Wed, Mar 27, 2024 — In today's competitive business environment, a highly skilled and empowered sales force is essential for driving revenue growth. However, the effectiveness of sales training alone is limited without consistent support and reinforcement. This is where the collaboration between the sales and marketing departments becomes crucial. It's imperative to recognize that marketing and sales are not isolated functions but interconnected components of the business success equation.
Phoenix Rising: Reinventing B2B SMBs in the Fires of Disruption
Tue, Mar 5, 2024 — Certain dynamics can make a CEO think more than twice about how to ensure their company is not “left behind” like archaic brands of the past. Remember BlackBerry? Blockbuster? Yahoo? Their riches-to-rags stories reveal that these companies did not stay agile, ignored market warning signs, and found themselves severely impacted or bankrupt.
Navigating the Choppy Waters of Recession: A Healthcare Marketing Survival Guide
Thu, Feb 22, 2024 — As the dark clouds of economic recession gather on the 2024 horizon, healthcare companies must brace for the choppiness ahead. It's no secret that the healthcare sector, once deemed recession-proof, now faces the stark reality of financial strain, with more than half of hospitals already operating in the red. This alarming statistic not only signifies the urgency for change but also beckons a strategic pivot in how healthcare entities approach marketing.
Listening with Eyes Wide Open: Harmonizing Voice-of-Customer and AI Insights for CEO Success
Wed, Feb 21, 2024 — In my experience, growth successes and challenges almost always have some foundation in voice-of-customer (VoC). That’s a sweeping statement, but as a CEO if you lack up-to-date insight into what your customers want and need, how they anticipate that changing, and how they think of your brand, your offerings, and your competition, you may be running your company with your hearing impaired. As someone who uses hearing aids, I know I need to wear them and look directly at a speaker, or I miss information and must make guesses to fill in the blanks. That invariably slows me down and leads to misunderstandings and errors.