In marketing, keeping score matters. There was a time when being funny or memorable was enough. Back then, there was an obvious line between marketing and sales and we marketing types didn’t need to worry as much about ROI. Today, that’s how a CMO or agency gets fired. Every dollar spent needs to contribute to […]
Sales Activities
Google Shopping Introduces Free Product Listings
What You Need to Know Google announced this week that they are advancing their plans to introduce free product listings into Google Shopping before the end of April in the U.S. This change will occur on the “Shopping” tab on Google, where we will start to see organic product listings below a paid shopping carousel […]
At This Critical Time, Are Your Emails Reaching Your Customers?
Many of us rely on emails to regularly communicate with our customers and prospects. But, how many of them are getting through? According to a new study by Validity’s latest annual Email Deliverability Benchmark report, inbox placement rates have declined in the US, with an average of 82% of promotional emails reaching the inbox in the fourth […]
Should We Be Selling During the COVID-19 Crisis?
The COVID 19 and related issues have brought about a plethora of “Should We Be Selling” articles. I’ve made my position clear in previous posts. But I saw a headline that caught my attention. Should we be selling? The answer is simply, “no”. We should be humanizing. I was struck by this, not for what […]
8 Helpful Tips to Prevent Shopping-Cart Abandonment
Shoppers leaving a website without making a purchase is the worst-case scenario for any online seller. Such a loss-making tendency is called shopping cart abandonment. According to statistics by Baymard Institute, nearly 70% of consumers drop their baskets halfway through the checkout, meaning that for every 10 visitors, 7 of them close a page. Let’s […]
Process is the Foundation for Agility/Nimbleness
We want to be flexible, nimble, able to adapt to the circumstances, leap on an opportunity, respond quickly. We abhor process since that constrains our creativity and ability to innovate. Too often, when I talk to leaders and sales people about process, they cite some of the things outlined above as the reason they don’t […]
Build Your Buying Journey Step by Step
One of the staples of marketing is the ability to understand how a human being goes from never having heard of you to actually buying something from you, time and time again. In simple terms, it can be thought of as a sales funnel. But, that suggests a very linear, logical progression and if there’s […]
Confusing Simplification with Simplistic
Both we, our customers, our markets, our worlds are getting more and more complex. We face rapid change/disruption, overwhelm/overload, risk/uncertainty, turmoil, constantly shifting focus/priorities/agendas. In the face of this, we struggle to respond, whether it’s to fix performance problems, address new opportunities, grow and expand. As leaders and business professionals, we must constantly seek to […]
How Does Your Customer Make Money?
Can you answer the question, “How does you customer make money?” By that, I don’t mean at a superficial level, like, “Well, dugghh, Dave, they sell stuff……” I mean really understanding your customer’s business. It includes things like: Who are their customers/markets? What drives success with them? How are those markets growing? How does your […]
The Art of the Bluff
I was stunned and appalled to read an article sponsored by a major sales publication promoting the “Art of the bluff.” The author was cautious to highlight the negative connotations around bluffing—the feeling of manipulation, the proximity to lying, and the knife edge a “bluffer’ must walk to avoid lying. Trying as hard as I […]
