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AI Strategy for Financial Services CEOs: Why “Good Enough” is no Longer Enough
AI in financial services has moved from lofty claims about AI's use to being at the center of the growth conversation, shaping how you compete, run, and stay trusted. Margins are under pressure as customers benchmark you against their best digital experiences, whether they are opening a checking account, redeeming loyalty points, disputing a card charge, or seeking hardship help.
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.
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?
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.