Virtual reality will change everything. Eventually.
It was several years ago when I first experienced a virtual and augmented reality test. My head was spinning, and it wasn’t just because of the motion sickness. Like everyone, I imagined endless ways this could be used in a bunch of industries. Sure, entertainment and gaming are no-brainers. But what I viewed—and still view—as […]
An Open Letter to Marketing Managers
We work with a lot of marketing directors and VPs. They are great, driving the big picture brand initiatives. But by far, most of our time is spent in the marketing trenches with the unsung heroes of our profession. Marketing managers deserve a shout-out. So this letter is that. Dear Marketing Managers, Thank you. You’re […]
Big Data? Try Listening Instead.
Big Data is a fascinating concept. Some of its applications are mind blowing. And the cost of employing it to solve problems and answer questions is shrinking. But face it, for all but the most flush small businesses, it’s still out of reach. Big Data requires connecting the dots between the company, its vendors, distributors, and retailers to capture data across the supply chain and at every transactional point. Using that data demands the resources to store it, and the computing power to perform data analysis to support the questions companies want to answer. Which means a lot of time and energy must go into deciding what questions to ask. That’s time, money and attention that many businesses can’t spare.
Brand (over)management: Managing brands with too many managers.
Allow me to wistfully remember a time when a brand’s content was created by just a few people. Renegade factions of product managers didn’t or couldn’t insist on using Comic Sans on sales sheets. Brand managers would have laughed at the idea of anyone having the ability to instantly share their point of view, unedited, […]
Let’s Talk Numbers. Why Reframing Budget Discussions Can Get You a Better Deal.
In our world, requests for proposals come in two flavors: Tell us how you’ll perform a set of tasks, and how much it will cost. Tell us how you’ll solve a problem while staying within a specified budget. I’m kidding. Every RFP we see is the first flavor. Sometimes RFPs are driven by purchasing requirements, […]
In B2B, Brands Still Matter
I was conducting some client research for a commercial product, and the salesperson I interviewed said something that made me cringe. “Brands don’t matter anymore in B2B sales.” Though I did recoil at the notion, I have to admit that he made some really valid points. Google makes it easy to search for the lowest price. Reduce purchase decisions to that and brands start to look shaky.
Three stages of trade show marketing to maximize your ROI
Three Stages of Trade Show Marketing to Maximize Your ROI Fall trade show season seemed to be a good time to revisit our philosophy regarding trade show marketing and participation. Trade shows matter. You don’t always get that message from exhibitors or attendees, but they do matter. You sometimes have to look hard to […]
Five Steps to Better Sales Support
Five Steps to Better Sales Support: Brand Marketing Shouldn’t Get in the Way of Sales Although we write and talk a lot about the idea that long term marketing objectives are important and often overlooked, we have to point out an exception to this philosophy: Sales support materials should be about what’s happening here and […]
Marketing ROI: Look Beyond Current Sales
Marketing ROI: Look Beyond Current Sales We asked marketers who sell through dealer channels about their concerns. Measuring marketing ROI, or return on investment, was number one by a wide margin. We feel your pain. Sales are the only metric that ultimately matters. But in a long sales cycle, how do you know you’re pointed […]
5 Social Media Tactics to Build Dealer Loyalty
5 Social Media Tactics to Build Dealer Loyalty Effective social media tactics demand more than just selfies and news articles. For the B2B relationship, it can be a powerful tool. Specifically, social media can be utilized to improve dealer loyalty and help your brand better connect with its customers. So we’ve put together five social […]
3 Things Your Hero Dealer Can do for Your Brand
3 Things Your Hero Dealer Can do for Your Brand (That You Can’t do for Yourself) You love your brand. You live and breathe your brand. You’d do almost anything for your brand. But the truth of the matter is, while you may do anything, you simply can’t do everything. It’s easy to think of the brand-dealer […]
5 Things That Will Get Your Dealer to Commit to your Brand
5 Things That Will Get Your Dealer to Commit to your Brand Loyalty. It’s something all brands aspire to from their dealers. A loyal dealer is one who has enough belief in your product to carry your brand and your brand alone. It’s a dealer you want on your side. But not many brands are […]
