Insights
Practical product marketing, positioning, demand generation, and growth notes for teams that need sharper revenue execution.
Most marketing consulting fails at the handoff. The deck goes in a Drive folder and nothing ships. Here is the embedded model I borrowed from Forward Deployed Engineers, and how it works for clients.
Opinionated, named-names take on which marketing growth tools actually survive the AI wave in social, email, marketing automation, demand gen, content, and local. Plus which categories get largely eaten.
The buyer can't articulate why you're different — and that's your fault, not theirs.
The fractional CMO market is full of people who are really good at looking like fractional CMOs. Here's how to tell the difference before you sign anything.
B2B buyers are using ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude as their first research stop. Most SaaS brands are invisible in those answers.
The "gray" market isn't just a challenge; it's where the real marketing magic begins. Think of it not as a sea of sameness, but as your canvas, waiting for that stroke of genius...
Analytics Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Sales Strategy
Don’t Jump to Problem Conclusions As a software developer, you want to solve problems. The code you are writing would be meaningless if it didn't. However, if you aren't the tar...
Hint: Marry your passion, skill set and what people want. Do you agree?
Pivoting your product to better meet the needs of you target customer is key, but before you do this, shouldn't you know whether that target customer's market is the most attrac...
Image by Frank Gruber via Flickr From time to time there are interesting SaaS marketing efforts that I land in my inbox. One such example comes from AwayFind . In case you aren'...
Image via Wikipedia When dealing with data, be smart. Apply a SMART dashboard to your metrics and data analysis efforts. Much like SMART goals , SMART metrics ensure you measure...
As more companies go down the road of emphasizing the bottom line, emotional marketing is often discounted as a viable strategy for marketing spend. However, for those intereste...
With the Academy Awards last night, I'm reminded of how persuasive awards can be to prospective clients. Winners on Oscar night will forever be referred to as an "Academy award-...
In some organizations, branding is a bad word. If your company needs marketing to prove their branding efforts and you find yourself fighting the view that marketing is only syn...
Aside from the timing and growth trajectory of the market you enter, defining the type of market you enter may be the most important thing you do to set your company out on the...
How do you come up with a winning idea? The most obvious way is to recognize a problem and postulate solutions for it. These type of ideas are great, but often after researching...
For more than a year now, my posting schedule has been three to four posts a month. However, it's been a busy couple of months so posting has been light recently. But fear not,...
There are few constants in this world. However, change is one constant you can count on. How you perceive and address change impacts many things in your life. From a business pe...
Sometimes good marketing can be boiled down to relationships. Build strong relationships and those relationships can effectively market you on your behalf. By seizing opportunit...
Facebook Pages have been an effective way for companies to energize their fan base. According to a report published by eMarketer, corporate Facebook fans could be worth an avera...
Twitter is not just a place to share news and update followers on what's happening. The most successful Twitterers use the platform to engage people and carry out other useful t...
Cold calling can be a very effective marketing tactic. However, because of differences in cultural expectations in various geographic regions, your call requires a customized ap...
As most internet marketers know by now, inbound links to your website are the key ingredient in ranking well for search engines, particularly Google. But how do you get links to...
Growing up, my dad would often talk to me about time management. His advice boiled down to making the most of your time and this was expressed in multiple ways, including: Makin...
Tax tools and services can help ease the stress of tax season . The following are a few tools you might find useful in your tax preparations and the financial management of your...
Taxes stink! Figuring out what to deduct, for how much and when is a real pain. If you are as frustrated as me during tax season, surely many of the clients you serve have the s...
Market fit must be achieved before scaling up your business. Without it, your company could lose barrels of money on customer acquisition activities with low returns. But once y...
"Think Smart, think S-Mart! (this is an Asian Market Store in my area) Many of us know and practice SMART goals. I really like SMART goals. For one, they provide structure...
Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
As an entrepreneur, you live, breath, eat, and dream your business. You know your industry better than anyone else and are an expert in your field. Knowledge is power, but it ca...
In a recent visit to Tallahassee, FL, I spoke with my Dad about how he's been able to reverse the trend of higher vacancy rates for the rental properties he owns. About 3 years...
Inclement weather offers marketers advertising opportunities to brand your company for free.
It's Super Bowl Sunday!! A time when advertising comes into focus. This year, however, I'm thinking less about the commercials and more about event marketing around Super Bowl X...
P&G's recent backlash for shipping a "new and improved" version of Pampers diapers in old packaging is a lesson proving the value in coporate transparency. Social media has ampl...
Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
As more products essentially become commodities, service has become a viable means for increasing revenue and profit margins for companies in these industries. Use a service str...
In review of 2008, I thought Twitter had already arrived. In reflecting back on 2009, I didn't expect Twitter to continue to grow with such fervor in 2009, but then again I neve...
As a native of Tallahassee, FL, I am of course a huge Florida State football fan. With Bobby Bowden coaching his last game this week I've been thinking about what made him so su...
Understand people and systems to improve your sales process.
A simple question yielding powerful results. The question "so what?" can reveal what really matters to your target audience - the benefit. So you have a flashy new web app that...
For entrepreneurs, successful fit in the marketplace is essential before ramping up your startup. Without the right fit, no amount of branding will make up for a misfitting offe...
Companies that spot trends early on and transform their business focus at the right time are in the minority. Why do some companies have blinders on when assessing trends? A com...
Analytics Marketing Technology
Five nuggets from the Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC.
Thoughts on how to approach sizing up the market size for your products or services.
There are a slew of Twitter applications out there, but I must proclaim that Twitterfeed is my favorite one so far. I've been using it for some marketing engagements recently an...
Entrepreneurship Marketing Sales
Success awaits startups who's employees are vigilant about visiting their customers. Get out there and get to know your customers and understand why they buy.
As more companies are embracing social media, instead of hearing "Should we participate in social media," I've been hearing "How do we get started in social media." In regards t...
Marketing messages and branding efforts for your products and services need to be in sync with your business. If you promote the sizzle without serving the steak, no amount of m...
In these economic times, marketing can and should be recycled when possible. There are many way to "recycle" marketing. Here are five ways to recycle marketing: Copy proven mark...
The best way to get your company and product to grow is having evangelistic users spreading the word on your behalf. However, don't underestimate the effort it takes to get an i...
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
Narrow your focus, deliver a solution that meet paying customer needs and parlay your success to expand your offerings into complimentary solutions.
Solve problems like you would appreciate a painting by Monet.
Business Marketing Strategy Technology
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Yes. Apple is evil. That's right I said it. Despite its cult of worshipers, Apple is the new Microsoft, or better yet, the embodiment of the mo...
Is Apple Evil? After seeing there battle with Microsoft and others and my recent experience at the Apple Store where I learned Apple has stopped selling it's category-changing i...
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Sales Social Media Strategy
When done right, influencer marketing is an effective and economical way to increase sales for your business. Learn the necessary components of influencer marketing and get star...
The main principle behind successful Improv fosters creativity. Embrace this principle when brainstorming and unleash your creativity!
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Sales
Effectively networking has many benefits. Ostensibly meeting new people, learning something new, marketing your company and potentially earning more business from referrals are...
Entrepreneurship Marketing Social Media Strategy
Creating content that goes viral is the holy grail for marketers. But why do some ideas flop and others spread like wild fire? Follow these steps and improve your ability to mak...
Analytics Marketing Social Media Technology
Su.pr promises to save you time and increase your web traffic. Find out why Su.pr is super and learn how to get an account of your own.
Marketing Sales Social Media Technology
Marketers of software and technology products and services should take note of Digg's new advertising platform, Digg Ads. Use what you sell in your own business. Show your tool...
Entrepreneurs change the world by solving problems. Inspire your community. Make a difference. Be an entrepreneur. If you need some additional entrepreneurial fodder to start up...
Business Entrepreneurship Strategy
Sharing startup ideas improves your chances of success by giving you valuable feedback, connections, accountablity, and a reality check you need for your concept to succeed.
Marketing Sales Social Media Strategy
10 Small Business Lead Nurturing Tools 10 reviews of some old and new lead nurturing tools geared for small business. Dilbert on Flirting in a Recession For some, the recession...
Sephora's Earth Day Marketing Scores with Facebook's Gift Shop.
Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
Should marketers consider marketing to customers with strong political or religious viewpoints?
April Fools Day marketing poses challenges and opportunities.
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
Winning marketing lessons for entrepreneurs learned from Cinderella teams of March Madness.
Business Marketing Sales Social Media Technology
When it comes to Web 2.0 and social media, many organizations hate the idea of losing control over what is said about their brand or products. For many years, companies avoided...
Marketing effectiveness relies on metrics for proof and guidance.
I enjoy Web 2.0 sites like Facebook and Twitter because they foster accountability and positive interactions. Sometime ago, people with cryptic usernames like webspider hid behi...
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
As a follow up to my last post about the opportunities that abound in our depressed economy, I was thinking about what type of products and brands do well during these times. In...
Business Entrepreneurship Marketing Strategy
Opportunity exists in the economic downturn.
The commercial winners & losers of Super Bowl XLIII.
Super Bowl offers new advertisers a chance to shine.
Get a free Krispy Kreme doughnut commemorating Inauguration Day. Krispy Kreme doughnuts has replaced Dunkin' Donuts as the national doughnut shop while Dunkin' Donuts has shifte...
Analytics Business Social Media
There are many trends executives resist while plodding along successfully following the status quo. While it's understandable for some hesitation in jumping in on "next big thin...
Social media is an ideal platform for creating change and doing good.
The 2008 Year in Review.
I've been blogging off and on about various subjects ranging from college football to marketing for about 4 years now. I've tried many of the blogging services and recentl...
WordPress came highly recommended by many other bloggers I follow. So I dumped my Blogger account and I'm jumping on the WordPress bandwagon. I hope you enjoy the ne...