I recently sat down with Scott Alexander from Jairus Marketing for another insightful discussion about a topic that resonates deeply with both of us: shifting from a founder-led business to more sustainable business models. This is especially relevant for early-stage companies, particularly those in the healthcare sector where the CEO is vital as both the visionary and primary salesperson.
Wed, May 31, 2017 — So often these days, blogs, posts and articles are written about aligning Sales and Marketing. I agree that doing so is critical. But there is another alignment need that is often overlooked and equally critical to company growth and customer satisfaction. The question is are we selling what we are delivering in terms of the customer experience?
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:
Tue, May 16, 2017 — If your company is not growing, it’s important to dig deep when looking at market changes. James Quincy, the new CEO of Coke is demonstrating the progressive thinking needed to turnaround his company, which is in decline. In a recent article on PYMNTS.com, Quincy talks about critical information that he is using to understand the declines and then respond to them.
Fri, May 12, 2017 — As a CEO, you want results. To support your lofty goals, you’ve run a good strategy session; and you have a solid plan of attack. But, do you really understand the journey from your strategic plan to your desired outcome? Are you ready to use the single best tool you’ll ever have, the little understood key performance indicator, or KPI?
Tue, May 9, 2017 — Like it or not, two big changes are coming to search that will impact the ranking of every web site – voice search and Google mobile-first indexing. One is fueled by the way we search and the other is what Google will search in the near future.
Tue, Apr 25, 2017 — The world of consumer retail is in the midst of rapid transformation. Traffic in brick-and-mortar stores is decreasing. Consumers are moving away from shopping malls. Traditional advertising—whether via direct mail, TV ads or newspaper and magazine ads—is losing its relevance.
Mon, Apr 24, 2017 — CEO Experiences Growth from Being a Member of Vistage Chief Outsiders Fractional CMO, Neil Anderson, has a conversation with Vistage Member and CEO of TalenTrust, Kathleen Quinn Votaw, about her experience with Vistage, an executive coaching organization that provides leadership training and business coaching to CEOs and Executives.
Thu, Apr 20, 2017 — Don’t have a digital savvy CMO? You’re likely losing the digital game. A CMO’s job description is no longer just about brand awareness and big positioning, but more about driving revenue, now and in the long term. In fact, 70% of CEOs expect CMOs to lead revenue growth. CMOs are expected to do more because of the digital tools that allow them to do more. New digital marketing tools better connect companies with their customers in ways they couldn’t before. It’s a constantly evolving process, and the key to growth is to get into this game sooner versus later, so you can win.
Mon, Apr 10, 2017 — Strategic planning – two words that need not strike fear in the hearts of corporate executives. After all, if you think about it, we’ve all been strategic planners since childhood – setting our objectives, then figuring out the best way to make them happen. Like the time you figured out that if you wanted Santa Claus to come, you HAD better go to bed first. And when you were older and setting your sites on a special college. You did your research to understand what they were looking for, you took the right classes and participated in the best extra-curricular activities--all in an effort to present yourself as the type of student they would consider. Of course, now that you are a CEO, the stakes around strategic planning are maybe just a tad bigger. In the bid to get our highest-quality products or services to the market, it will be the strategic planning process – scaled appropriately, of course – that will get us there. Understanding which combination of markets, pricing, offerings for each market segment, distribution channels, communication channels and the like is integral to cracking the ROI code. And with so many options to power today’s strategic plan, it’s hard to fully understand which to do first, and which to leave by the wayside.