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Winning the Fraud and Cybersecurity Race: A Go-to-Market Blueprint for Competitive Edge
Fraud and cybercrime have become a systemic, trillion-dollar drag on the global economy—but the fight to turn the curve is more than a market opportunity.
Over the past few years, I have worked alongside cybersecurity and fraud-management teams in government, banking, and payments, and nothing is more satisfying than seeing a new solution stop a romance scam or prevent a pensioner from losing their life savings.
The SaaS Marketing Playbook, Part 4 | Getting Sales and Marketing on the Same Page
Wed, Jun 2, 2021 — Of the things that are aligned in our life — the stars, automobiles, our spine, and the universe — there’s one area where such alignment is elusive – and, by extension, costly. If you have ever tried to align your sales and marketing departments, you likely already have experienced how vexing this can be. In my experience, sales and marketing alignment will never be easy. Why not? Three immediate reasons come to mind: 1) Marketing is from Mars and Sales is from Venus, 2) The question of pipeline ownership, and 3) The targets for sales never get lower, and they need to take it out on someone.
The SaaS Marketing Playbook, Part 3 | The SaaS Metrics That Matter
Thu, May 20, 2021 — Are your marketing activities generating a thimbleful of leads, or are they gushing MQLs like a firehose? And, can you directly attribute revenues to specific marketing strategies, or are you just casting proverbial darts at the proverbial dartboard? In my years as a marketing leader, I’ve heard C-suite executives bemoan the efficacy of their marketing activities – based on nothing but gut feel. They alleged that marketing is a black box, or that you cannot effectively measure the effectiveness of your activities.
Growth Hacking vs. Growth Gears: Avoiding the Vanity Metrics Mirage
Thu, Apr 29, 2021 — Congratulations! You’ve hired a so-called “marketing expert,” trusted them with your digital properties, and learned today that you gained 1 million hits to your website last month. But, upon reflection, your cash drawer is not overflowing, and you’re certainly not feeling flush with success. It’s a sad reality – though many marketing agencies are well-meaning, there are some that can coax you into the fast-money trap. They promise shortcuts, big hits, and a load of sexy-sounding data that may look good on the surface – something I call vanity metrics, but not real business results.
Key Marketing Metrics for Revenue and Profit Growth
Fri, Mar 13, 2015 — Marketing metrics are at the essence of any business program. Key marketing metrics indicate the heights to which revenues will soar or the depths to which fortunes will plummet—as a result of your strategic business efforts.
5 Steps to Making the Right CRM Decision for Your Business
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 — Today's Guest Blog is by Barret Blank, President and CEO of BB2e
9 Disciplines to Activate Collins’ 20-Mile March
Wed, Jul 25, 2012 — Discipline is Good, Right? In Jim Collins’ “Great By Choice” this pyramid model provides a framework for his trilogy-logical discussion. I’ve read this book wearing two lenses – one, as a principal in our firm, and two as a marketing executive. As a business leader, I aspire to a higher level of discipline in my leadership as well within my personal work ethic. As a marketer, I recognize – primarily from the past 10 years of expanding digitally-dominated marketing and dynamic market ecosystems – that discipline is indeed the capstone of success. Goes Against My Instincts The 20 Mile March is “Jim Collins code” for consistent, methodical and metered execution. He correctly calls it out as a choice or decision, even a strategy, for securing sustained growth. The argument goes against several mantras ingrained within me – “strike while the iron’s hot” “leverage your opportunities” “capture the moment”. No, instead, his research observed that companies win (and south pole explorers survive) when they meter their progress. How might this apply to our business at Chief Outsiders? Perhaps we should add one new major market a year to our firm, regardless of the market conditions. If it’s a tough year, we add one new market. If the economy is rocking and highly favorable, we still add only one new market. Collins’ research tells us the benefits of steady pace outweigh the opportunistic instinct to lunge ahead in good times or hunker down in tough times.
3 Steps to Improving Customer Retention
Wed, Mar 28, 2012 — As someone who once helped the pest control giant Terminix exterminate a nasty customer retention problem, I've seen what a difference a few strategic adjustments can make. So if you're facing the same issue, let me assure you that there are steps you can take to stamp it out.