.png?width=1500&height=398&name=CO_Corporate%20Logo%202021_4C_HOR_FNL-1%20(1).png)
The Contrarian Brand Play: Why Right Now Is the Best Time to Invest in Brand
Part 4 of our four-part series on the evolving AI search landscape and what B2B leaders need to know to stay competitive.
Aligning Business Strategies and Digital Platforms to Drive Growth in Small- and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Thu, Dec 6, 2018 — This is the fourth in a series of articles focused on helping executives in small- and mid-sized businesses utilize digital technologies effectively to assist in accelerating revenues and profits. If you missed the first three articles, you can find the first here, the second here, and the third here. Three previous articles included an introduction to four major ways digital technologies can help your business and described a spectrum of technologies and a possible implementation roadmap, and associated digital proficiency with enhanced business performance. We also looked at how business process needs and priorities should help guide your digital paths and how to organize your people for success. We are ready to discuss the third step on the “USA” digital roadmap: “Implement New Platforms and Technology.”
The Role of People and Organizational Structure in Digital Growth for Small- and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Thu, Jun 21, 2018 — This is the third in a series of articles focused on helping executives in small- and mid-sized businesses utilize digital technologies effectively to assist in accelerating revenues and profits. If you missed the first two articles, you can find the first one here and the second one here. The previous articles included an introduction to four major ways digital technologies can help your business, described a spectrum of technologies and a possible implementation roadmap, and associated digital proficiency with enhanced business performance. The second article also took a deep look at how business process needs and priorities should help guide your digital paths. In that article, I also introduced the “USA” model for digital transformation.
The Role of Processes in Digital Growth for Small- and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Mon, May 14, 2018 — This is the second in a series of articles on helping executives in small- and mid-sized businesses utilize digital technologies effectively to assist in accelerating revenues and profits. The previous article included an introduction to four major ways digital technologies can help your business, described a spectrum of technologies and a possible implementation roadmap, and associated digital proficiency with enhanced business performance. It also included a 10-question survey to help you set an internal benchmark for your digital programs. In this article, I’ll provide practical guidance on where to start a journey for those businesses with a minimal digital growth path today.
The Digital Growth Imperative for Small- and Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
Thu, Apr 19, 2018 — There are many ways to think about growth, and many models to help stimulate your thinking. One of the more traditional, best known, and still effective models, is this one:
Is The “VP of Sales and Marketing” Role Becoming “Mission Impossible?"
Thu, Oct 26, 2017 — Here’s to those of you who currently have that title and are performing effectively in a “Vice President, Sales and Marketing” role today! If you are confident, balanced and managing both roles effectively at the same time, you are unique. I think, though, that this combined role will become less common in the future. Here’s what is driving my thinking. I’ve been in a VP Sales and Marketing role in three companies. Most recently, I served in an interim VP Sales role added to an interim VP Marketing role for a client which had an unplanned executive opening. After five months of trying to perform both roles productively and with balance, I have greater empathy for those who have that title and who actually can do both concurrently.
Business Strategy, Digital Strategy, and "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
Thu, Mar 16, 2017 — Many of you probably read Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” somewhere in your educational career. It’s a short poem of four stanzas and 20 lines total. For a poem so brief, it’s surprising that Frost’s famous work is so powerful yet often misinterpreted. If you can’t recall the poem, or want to read one commentary, you can do a refresh here.
How to Build a Winning Healthcare Digital Marketing Team
Sun, Feb 26, 2017 — The Expanding Role of Digital Healthcare Marketing - The role of digital marketing as a key factor in achieving growth at community health plans continues to expand. However, having employed a traditional approach for decades, your health plan marketing organization may lag in the adoption of digital marketing methods and best practices. Your marketing ROI may even be slipping or is not accurately measured. A recent ACHP (Alliance of Community Health Plans) survey shows that most health plan organizations consider digital marketing mediums to be more effective than traditional print and broadcast communications. Increased competition and the shifting consumer-to-patient journey amplify the urgency of adopting digital methods. In addition, the need to more closely track the effectiveness of tactics and improve ROI amid pressures to reduce spending, mean that it’s time to enhance and refine your digital healthcare marketing efforts.
Rebooting Your Marketing Strategy to Meet B2B Buyer Expectations
Wed, Oct 21, 2015 — Before the digital marketing boom, sales teams were the hunter-gatherers – the ones that had to go into the forest and slay or harvest what our company would subsist upon. In those days, the typical B2B marketer was asked to sharpen the arrows, restring the bows – and hope that our prep work was good enough to ensure an acceptable bounty. When the sales team shouldered 100 percent of the prospective buyer’s journey, it was up to us to ensure the prospect knew about your company, could call or visit the office for more information, and were loaded down with a highly polished set of sales materials (and telephone script) that hooked them on the notion that yes, we are the definitive answer to their problem.
How to Best Leverage Marketing Technologies in 2015
Thu, Jan 22, 2015 — I was recently asked my thoughts on how technology and digital trends will shape the future of marketing. As I pondered this question, I took note of all of the ways that I am digitally connected to the outside world. My laptop, smartphone, phablet, tablet, and e-reader were all dripping digital data to some unseen force through my WiFi connection. A fitness tracker awaited the opportunity to observe and report my next activity. Acting as marshals for many of these resources were my modem and router, which collected the needed inputs and outputs and converted my actions into trackable information.