Posts Tagged ‘marketing research’
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
By Barbara Bix
Shortly after I got up this morning, I strolled over to Marketing Over Coffee for a quick shot before heading off to work and found this great article, entitled How to restore the faded luster to marketing by Rich Guha. In my opinion, it’s a “must read” for anyone looking to build a business or aiming to build a career in marketing.
It’s about the big picture
Referencing management heroes such as Peter Drucker and Ted Leavitt, the article discusses what companies have lost as marketing becomes more specialized. Guha advises marketers that wish to add significant value to the business to:
Tags: 6 Ps, behavior, branding, buyer personae, click stream, customer, customer needs, Drucker, Leavitt, market intelligence, market value, Marketing, Marketing Over Coffee, marketing research, marketing specialization, priorities, strategy, tactics, value of marketing, value proposition, voice of the customer
Posted in Framework, How to, Internet marketing, market intelligence, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, Pricing, Uncategorized, value propositions | No Comments »
Monday, October 11th, 2010
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Boston is rapidly rebranding itself as what Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner, and perhaps others, have dubbed as the Innovation Economy. This week the focus was on marketing.
MITX, under the umbrella of FutureM, organized dozens of (mostly free) events dedicated to exploring and sharing how the newest technologies and insights are changing the way that marketers think, create, engage, and measure. It was information-packed, exhilarating, and exhausting.
This post focuses on what excited me most as a B2B marketing consultant. Hint: My company’s tagline is “using customer knowledge to increase sales”.
This is a preview of
The future of marketing will be all about customer data
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Read the full post (878 words, 5 images, estimated 3:31 mins reading time)
Tags: B2B marketing consultant, customer development, customer engagement, customer feedback, customer information, customer research, customer-centric, digital marketing technologies, FutureM, innovation, market need, marketing research, minimally viable product, web analytics
Posted in Buying process model, Internet marketing, market intelligence, social media marketing, Speaker notes, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
A quick search on Google indicates that surveys about business-to-business (B2B) marketing priorities tend to concentrate on tactics–rather than strategy. They also tend to focus on investments in various types of promotional activities, rather than the greater marketing picture. As for strategy, at least one survey seems to indicate that in a tight economy, B2B companies rank demand generation first and then raising awareness.
What happened to the focus on the customer?
The irony is that gaining deeper insights into customer, or prospect needs, rarely shows up as a priority, let alone a high priority. Why not?
Tags: B2B marketing, customer case studies, customer intimacy, demand generation, lead gen, listening tools, marketing priorities, marketing research, sales, sales enablement, social communities, social media, surveys, usability testing, win/loss
Posted in Buying process model, Internet marketing, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy, social media | 2 Comments »
Friday, June 19th, 2009
By Barbara Bix -
Blogs and Linked In and Twitter, oh my! So much information, so little time… It’s all a bit overwhelming.
Imagine my relief when Peter Buechler, publisher of the Marketing Guy 2.0, told me that help was on the way. Full of hope and expectations I set off to attend this morning’s breakfast meeting: Social Media Overload—How to Make Sense of It All.
Tags: content aggregator, marketing research, metrics, social information, social media
Posted in social media marketing | 5 Comments »
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
With the economy slowing, prospective buyers are scrutinizing every penny they spend. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon sellers to clearly articulate the value that prospective buyers will derive once they buy.
In recent posts, we’ve discussed the characteristics of a compelling value proposition, and the importance of concentrating your firepower on those companies that most value your capabilities. This week’s post discusses concrete steps you can take to identify, validate, and test your value propositions.
This is a preview of
Developing a compelling value proposition: What you need to know
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Read the full post (922 words, 1 image, estimated 3:41 mins reading time)
Tags: buyers' needs, compelling value proposition, decision makers, key stakeholders, market segments, marketing investments, marketing research, mitigate purchase risk, most promising prospects, purchase preferences, slowing economy, target market, value proposition
Posted in Marketing strategy | 6 Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
As we discussed last week, a compelling value proposition is a clear, concise description of exactly how buyers will benefit from your solutions. Done well, it motivates action by speaking directly to the needs of those who need your services most and mitigates risk by addressing potential reservations.
Your value proposition must target your most promising prospects
Nevertheless, to be truly effective, your value proposition must target your most promising prospects. Willie Sutton robbed banks because that’s where the money was.
This is a preview of
Getting top dollar depends on first determining who values your solutions most
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Read the full post (1035 words, 1 image, estimated 4:08 mins reading time)
Tags: business-to-business marketing consultant, marketing research, value proposition, win/loss analysis, win/loss data
Posted in Marketing strategy, Pricing, value propositions | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Here’s a response I received last week–after posting a complaint on the offending company’s online feedback form about a misleading product offer.
“Thank you for your e-mail regarding your account. It is always our aim to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. We are always concerned to learn that any customer is unhappy with the service we provide.
All applications are processed by our Customer Recruitment Department, so you will need to contact them directly [at phone number] with your request.
This is a preview of
Integrated Marketing Campaigns – What happens when they’re not?
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Read the full post (991 words, 1 image, estimated 3:58 mins reading time)
Tags: branding, buyer experience, customer satisfaction, integrated marketing campaigns, marketing messages, marketing research, post-sales strategy, return on marketing investments, sales cycle
Posted in Buying process model | No Comments »
Friday, September 5th, 2008
There are many reasons that sales cycles stretch out. As we discussed when we reviewed how businesses buy, most companies delay buying until: 1) they recognize a clear need for a solution, 2) have a sense of urgency, and 3) identify product or service providers that they believe will meet their needs.
At that point, however, most buyers have a heightened awareness of the cost of delay–and are anxious to move forward. When they don’t, it’s a telltale sign that your product or service is missing the mark.
This is a preview of
Maximizing Sales Productivity Depends on Meeting Marketing Requirements
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Read the full post (1099 words, 1 image, estimated 4:24 mins reading time)
Tags: buying behavior, contact management system, marketing research, most promising prospects, primary marketing research, purchasing patterns, sales cycles, sales history, sales productivity
Posted in Buying process model | Comments Off
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Will prospective buyers turn to you when they’re ready to move forward?
Getting the sale depends on affirmatively answering all three of the following questions:
- Have they heard of your business?
- Do they know that you can address the problem?
- Will they remember you when it comes time to buy?
Brand awareness is not sufficient. Think back to your own experience.
Sure, you’ve lost sales because prospective buyers haven’t heard of your business. But, I’ll bet you’ve also lost business because prospective buyers just didn’t realize that you offered a particular product or service.
This is a preview of
Will prospective buyers turn to you when they’re ready to move forward?
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Read the full post (751 words, 1 image, estimated 3:00 mins reading time)
Tags: capturing attention, marketing messages, marketing research, messaging, raising awareness, sales cycle, target audience, trigger events, value proposition
Posted in Buying process model, How to, Marketing communications programs, Marketing strategy | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
Last week, we discussed the importance of reducing the cost of sales—which I defined as the time it takes to prospect for new clients and close new business. This week, I’d like to discuss how to get started.
Step one is recognizing that for the most part, we can’t convince anyone to buy something from us that they don’t want. When it comes to shortening the sales cycle—as with other forms of behavior change, the thing to remember is that it’s all about attraction and motivation—rather than persuasion and pursuit.
This is a preview of
Shortening the sales cycle starts with getting into buyers’ minds
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Read the full post (320 words, 1 image, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)
Tags: buying behavior, buying process, cost of sales, marketing research, sales cycle
Posted in Buying process model | No Comments »
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