Growth Insights for CEOs

From Economic Insight to Growth Strategy: What CEOs Should Do Now
At our most recent CEO Growth Talks, I spoke with Taylor St. Germaine, Senior Economist at ITR Economics. The timing couldn’t have been better — the latest GDP numbers had just been released, and Taylor broke down what they mean for CEOs planning growth.
As always, ITR brought a clear and fact-based perspective. The economy is growing. Consumer spending is strong. And while some industries are facing headwinds, opportunities abound for leaders who are ready to act.
But the real question for CEOs isn’t just what the economy looks like. It’s: how do you prepare your business to grow in this environment — and the one coming next?
Recent Posts

Rediscover Your Business Strategy: A Guide for Frustrated CEOs
Mon, Jun 3, 2024 — Are you a small or mid-sized business CEO grappling with stagnant growth? Resetting your business strategy could be the key to regaining momentum. This step is essential in my five essentials for frustrated CEOs.

The Significance of Personalization in Enhancing Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Wed, May 22, 2024 — Customers love feeling known and appreciated by the companies and brands that have earned their business and loyalty. In today’s marketing environment, forging that bond is more important than ever before. When companies miss the mark on personalizing their offerings, this incredibly important value proposition becomes muted.

Quarterly Business Reviews: A CXO guide to Best Practices
Thu, May 16, 2024 — Most companies run regular QBRs (Quarterly Business Reviews). Getting into QBR practice its benefits, like getting your broader team buy-in on your sales and marketing team issues, creating a sense of urgency on important cross-team action items, building a learning culture within your team, sharing new product initiatives in advance, collect and measure customer feedback (or NPS) regularly. Not to mention you get valuable team face time, undistracted by daily sales activities.
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All In On AI? A Practical Approach To Leveraging AI
Fri, May 10, 2024 — How Do You Eat An (AI) Elephant? A long-standing joke is “How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.” I feel the same holds for AI, especially for those organizations and individuals that might feel a little overwhelmed by all of the talk (hype) about AI and that if you are not leveraging all of the latest and greatest AI technology you are already behind and you will never catch up. Your approach may need to be “one bite at a time.”

The Power of a Positioning Statement for Growth in Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
Tue, May 7, 2024 — Many small and mid-market businesses find themselves at a growth impasse, not due to a lack of opportunity but because of misalignment across various functional areas. As a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), my role often involves diagnosing these misalignments and charting a course for renewed growth. One of the most effective tools I recommend is creating and utilizing a clear positioning statement.

Growth Gears: The Buyer's Journey
Thu, May 2, 2024 — How Marketing and Sales Work Together Increase Your Brand’s ROI I’ve seen it before–a company’s sales department blaming the marketing department for ineffective marketing and the marketing department blaming sales for not properly incubating leads and getting potential customers to convert.

5 Essential Tools for Frustrated C-Level Executives
Wed, May 1, 2024 — Are you a C-level executive grappling with stagnant growth despite your best efforts and a talented marketing team? If so, you're not alone. Many businesses face this challenge, but the good news is that there are solutions. After over twenty years in the marketing industry, with the last two years as a fractional CMO, I’ve identified five essential elements that can reignite your growth engine.

Analyzing Customer Data to Gain Actionable Insights
Wed, May 1, 2024 — Customer data is crucial when creating a sales and marketing strategy. But humans are not made of data, so when considering the customer, you must acknowledge that the data itself doesn’t reveal the whole story. How marketers gain actionable insights – and drive growth – through data is a more important question to ask and answer.

Set and Forget -- A Losing AI Approach
Tue, Apr 30, 2024 — In the realm of business, artificial intelligence (AI) is commonly touted as nothing short of a marvel—a powerful tool ready to solve complex business and marketing issues autonomously. Yet, its effective implementation demands more than faith; the precision and care needed in deploying AI is like the insight and foresight of a skilled navigator charting a course. Without the guidance of a well-crafted strategy and the implementation of precise safeguards, the flow of data-driven decisions risks devolving into a frustrating logjam of inefficiencies, missteps, squandered resources, and missed opportunities.