Does it work? Suit up, shake hands, and deliver a speech about the technical superiority of your product. Trot out your recent press releases about the latest upgrades and newest features. Try to sound like these data points provide the quintessential business solution. recently met with Paul, VP of Solutions Marketing for a technology company. He told me they weren’t landing deals they had thought would be sure bets. asked him a few probing questions and as he told me the story, I quickly recognized the trap they had fallen into. Transform them into meaningful marketing solutions. MORE >>

But in our work with clients, we too often see our clients engage in myopic self deception. How to make sure your competitive analysis has real impact. All companies conduct competitive analysis. So to get real, the first thing companies must do is remove their bias from their analysis, which can be like removing enamel from your teeth. Product management and product marketing own this puppy… so, let’s talk about some best practices that will help bring your efforts into clear focus. It’s all about me! Not!). Box-checkers will provide only superficial information. MORE >>

Historically, marketing has been working on influencing the perceptions of buyers via engagement (often on various social media channels). In his new book To Sell is Human , Daniel Pink talks about information asymmetry in the sales process. He points out that the reason people have historically distrusted salespeople is because salespeople had all the information and the buyer had none. Thus the term caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). . Mr. Pink contends that we are now in the age of information symmetry. The buyer and seller both have a balance of information. MORE >>

Work together to eliminate Sales and Marketing waste. In today’s ‘do more with less’ environments, it just makes sense to insure your sales and marketing intelligence comes together.  We We found an interesting article outling these 7 Steps to Right-Time Revenue Optimization: Bring together personas and buyer profiles. Sales intelligence drives sales enablement. Map the content for Sales. Automate lead-to-revenue management. Closed-loop Sales and Marketing. Gauge effectiveness of the collaborative-revenue engine. Read the article in it’s entirety here. MORE >>

Our recent work for a health care client suggests that what seem like automatic renewals may lull brands into a false sense of customer loyalty. In fact, in our recent research with consumers who get their insurance through work, over a third have had the same insurance coverage (and the same job) for 10+ years, and over half have had the same insurance through work for over 5 years. These days, brands are looking for loyalty wherever they can find it. Think about it. When it comes to health insurance, most Americans still get their insurance through their job. MORE >>