Business | Your Next CMO

Hey Sales, It’s Me: Your Lead Generation Champion!

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Jeff Swan Posted in Business, Lead Gen/Customer Acquisition

Be Sales' Rocky

As a B2B marketing manager, you hear the rumors, see the articles, and generally get the idea that Sales hates you. You’re either not getting them enough leads, the leads are not good enough, or even some combination of both. It can make even the most grounded marketer feel like Rocky in the first half of any of his fights! In reality this couldn’t be further from the truth. Sales loves you – they’re just too proud to admit it!

So how do you know Sales appreciates what you do? They meet their quotas. They have regular appointments booked with potential customers that fit their sales “Sweet Spot”. They even find themselves closing more deals, faster. If your sales reports and marketing metrics confirm this, your sales reps don’t really mean that you’re not doing a good job. What they really mean is that they want you to do more of it because it makes their job easier. How? A better qualified marketing lead will bring a prospective customer more than half way through the decision process before Sales even picks up the phone.

So what can you do as a modern B2B marketing manager? Develop a thick skin. Understand that Sales reps are born with a distinctive personality that, although it may come across as abrasive and unappreciative, are actually really great people. Work with the Director of Sales and make sure the leads you send their way are quality revenue-generating opportunities. Do this, and eventually there will be nothing left to complain about. In fact, as one of my colleagues stated the other day, “you’ll never have to buy lunch again”.

A Marketer’s Biggest Threat: What’s Always Worked

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Jeff Swan Posted in Business, Customer Retention, Strategy

Does THIS Still Work? I Think Not

In the modern age of instant updates, connected social lives, and the world at our finger tips, life is moving at the speed of light – it’s no surprise business is as well. Ever heard of a business being blindsided by a new competitor that seemingly came out of no where? Well that’s what happens when you don’t move with the market.

I recently spoke to a very successful business person who had built his business over the years through good old fashion networking, direct sales, and a practice of under promising and over delivering. Great foundation for a business and I’m not surprised he’s where he is today. Based on my research into his market his position is not threatened right now.

However, I would caution that it is likely not a defensible position on the long term because a business built on relationships dies when people move on to other companies or when a clearly superior offering enters the market.

This particular business owner needs to defend his position in the market by adding strategies and tactics his competitors are using to try and take his business. That combined with his already stellar service, reputation, and business sense will ensure he is successful for many years to come.

If this sounds like your business, here are a few low cost and easy to implement strategies to keep in front of your competitors:

SEO
Maintain visibility on search engines can cost as little as a few hundred dollars a month with the right contractor

Twitter
Leverage your professional network and broadcast your expertise to the whole market by communicating regular with your prospective and current clients via this free social network. Find something online your clients might like? Again, share it with everybody by sharing a link!

Marketing Automation
Software like HubSpot can automate monotonous sales tasks like initial contact emails and follow-ups, saving you time to do what you do best: sell! Sure it’s not “cheap” but HubSpot has designed its service to be accessible to even the smallest business with tiered package pricing.

These are just a few tactics you can add to a strong relationship-based marketing plan that will help defend your long-term position in the marketplace. With just a little bit more budget allocated to marketing and some additional work each week, you will extend your reach beyond your professional network, leverage the strong relationships you already have, and likely even shorten the sales cycle which can lead to significant revenue increases.

Want to learn more about creating a defensible long-term position for your business? Contact Your Next CMO for a free marketing consultation.

Thank You Google, I Missed You So

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Jeff Swan Posted in Business, Technology

Thank you thank you thank you thank to Google for finally releasing a reliable and user friendly maps app for iOS. All the joys of upgrading to iOS 6 has been trumped by the inadequacies of their ridiculously poor excuse for a Maps program. But now that is all over and we can all move on with our lives of being able to actually find where we’re going when we’re on the road and not getting stranded in the middle of the Australian outback.

Once more, Google has provided a free-to-use service for owners of its direct competitor’s products and have done so with style. The new app has a tremendous user interface that is both easy to use and a pleasure to look at. After doing a couple test runs, I was able to quickly find a couple obscure places here in Vancouver, learn more about their areas, and get GPS-like directions from my home in driving, walking, and transit. It is a significant step up from the former Google Maps program on iOS 5 and way more reliable than iOS Maps.

The quality and speed to market of this app makes me seriously consider why Apple chose to go with such an inferior product, not to mention going this long without a reasonable update. It has to be a business decision made without consideration of Apple’s dedicated user base. As with nearly every corporation in the world that slowly sneaks into the number one spot in their market, Executives at Apple are beginning to make decisions based on their wallets and not on the needs of their customers. Could this be the beginning of the decline of a dynasty? Maybe.

A message to everyone who works at Apple:
Please reign in your business team before it ruins what has been a decade of greatness from your company. Your products’ consistently great user experience and accompanying customer service has allowed you to become the most profitable company in the world and, as a fan, I am happy to pad your pockets as long as the good experience continues. Reject the temptation of raising the stock price even higher and focus on what’s made you successful for so many years – the user.

I for one am going to keep my iPhone and iPad and happily use them until something significantly better comes along. However, betray me again with something like this Maps debacle and I may just change my tune.

Why You Don’t Need a Phone Number or Email Address Anymore

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Jeff Swan Posted in Business, Lead Gen/Customer Acquisition

How many marketing campaigns have you designed around collecting some form of customer contact data? Usually it’s an email, but some ambitious marketers collect phone numbers as well. I’ve found over the past couple years the important of these direct forms of communication are not as important as something that is easily accessible and free for everyone to use:

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media puts communicating with friends, colleagues, and even complete strangers at your fingertips, and WOW is it ever helpful. In a recent meeting I found out how much.

I was heading to a coffee shop to meet a potential business partner last week (which is what we do in Vancouver). On my way, running slightly behind, I realized that I could not call or text him to let him know I was running late. For one split second I panicked feeling like I was being rude with no recourse. Then, Twitter saved the day.

A short direct message away and my colleague was alerted of my lateness and received a sincere, under 140 characters, apology. Disaster averted. The traditional business person in me requested his contact information at the meeting, but it really wasn’t necessary. Since we all carry smart phones, text, call, email, or social networks are all the same. They’re just messages connecting us to the contacts we care about.

So take a good look at your conversion form and ask yourself if you really need to get that email address. Can you request a twitter handle or even just ask them to follow your corporate account? The trick is to take your mind out of the tool and into the conversation. Then you can honestly ask, “Where can this conversation take place?” and “Where would be most convenient for my customers for this conversation take place?”

Conversion will improve!

Does Your CMO Drive Business Growth Through Culture?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Jeff Swan Posted in Business, Featured

I believe marketing executives need to be more than just focused on driving business, but instead should be driving a culture that matches both the market demand and the core identity of the organization. It moves beyond planning, implementing, and tracking campaigns and moves into affecting each and every business function.

The transformative approach outlined by Korn/Ferry in this whitepaper considers that every employee adds some value to the customer relationship. In nurturing the employee and developing systems that help them satisfy customers to the best of their ability organizations will be equipped to succeed for a long and sustained period of time.

Organizations led by this new generation of CMO build a lasting legacy that hold true importance to their customers in a way that was not possible in earlier generations. The relationship they create is stronger than price, incentives, or a well-designed brand in influencing buying behaviour. Therefore the new CMO views this relationship as more valuable than merely increasing transactions, but instead focuses on building long-term, profitable customer relationships.

So how does a CMO operate in a business environment that is constantly evolving, offering more and more innovative ways to reach an audience and reducing the barriers to entry for competing business like every before?

By focusing on culture. Build a culture that genuinely speaks to your best customers and they will want your brand and its products and services.