Growth Insights for CEOs

What CEOs Should Look for in a B2B Manufacturing CMO: Part 2
In my previous post, we discussed the importance of hiring a CMO who understands the buying process. Someone who can identify the customer’s pain points and what they need to move forward at each stage of the buying process. Now, let’s consider the role of emotion in influencing the buyers’ decision and how that applies.
Appealing to Emotions
Although it’s easy to think otherwise, emotions play a role in both B2B and B2C marketing. And, yes, that even applies to industrial buyers! When industrial buyers won’t take a risk, that can be an emotional decision.
They don’t want to risk the consequences that come with a bad decision—being viewed poorly in their job, adding even more tasks to an already full workload, or even losing their job by going with the lesser-known alternative. After all, haven’t we all heard that “nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM?”
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Finding the Value Proposition Bullseye For Your Business
Mon, Jun 11, 2018 — Recently, the management of the Tsukuba Express train line, between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba in Japan, had a serious problem. This “problem” was grave enough to warrant a public apology and touched off a wave of social media attention, in Japan and around the world. What was this grievous issue that required a public issuance of corporate regret and captured the attention of a global audience? Astonishingly, the “offense” was one that would be lauded in about 99.99999 percent of the remainder of the world: One of Tsukuba Express’s trains had departed Tokyo 20 seconds earlier than its scheduled departure time. Worldwide reaction ranged from amazement at the commitment of the Japanese railway to service times, to surprise that such a minor deviation from precision would be headline-making news.

What do Dynamic Value Hierarchies and Power Windows Have in Common?
Thu, May 18, 2017 — Do you ever wonder how power windows on cars and trucks came about? Try to buy a vehicle with hand crank windows today. Good luck with that. The story of power windows is also a story about value hierarchies. Value hierarchies are graphic depictions of your value proposition. Value hierarchies are usually organized as pyramids with three tiers of value:

What do Value Propositions, Word Clouds, and Before/After Diet Ads have in Common?
Thu, Jan 19, 2017 — As consumers, we can’t miss the constant series of “before and after” adverts promoted by diet product companies. You know the ones I mean. Big and unhappy before, slim and smiling after. The long-term and continuing use of this approach can be explained by only a couple of reasons: (a) either these companies can’t think of any more creative ways of marketing their products, or (b) the ads actually work.