Author: Gordon Benzie

Gordon Benzie is a B2B marketing and analyst relations leader with over 25 years of experience helping technology companies increase visibility, strengthen market positioning, and accelerate revenue growth. In his fractional role, he works with enterprise software, SaaS, and hardware organizations to craft differentiated messaging, expand analyst and customer awareness, and leverage third-party validation to build credibility, generate demand, and support business growth.

What is the Best Analyst Relations Strategy?

Analyst Relations is a term used to describe the practice of working with industry analysts to help with marketing awareness and sales acceleration programs. The best strategy depends upon your objective. Many analyst firms exist today. Gartner, IDC, and Forrester are three of the more well-known firms, however, many others exist. In terms of revenues, IHS Markit leads the pack with almost $4B and 13,000 employees. Gartner follows closely behind with $3.3B and 15,000 employees (source).

One can trace the origins of this industry to when technology solutions became difficult to understand and compare. In other words, when the technology purchase process became complex, which began back in the 1980s. Since that time, there has been quite a bit of specialization and fragmentation of the IT, technology, and software markets. As new technologies continue to be introduced (cloud, AI, machine learning, etc.), systems and platform interoperability have only further added to the complexity!

Why the Role of Trusted Advisor Has Become So Important

I am a firm believer that deep down inside, people want to do the right thing. Perhaps it is my Economics training – a key foundation for this field of study is that consumers will typically make a decision that improves their well-being. Of course, if that decision is good for you, but not good for society, then the theories of Economics don’t always explain how decisions are made or necessarily lead to decisions being made for the greatest common good. In these cases, we need a trusted advisor.

Quite often it can be difficult to say the “right” thing with family or friends. Most of us want to see our family and friends achieve success, meet their goals, and feel good about what they are contributing to society. The reality, however, doesn’t always work out as smoothly. The truth can be hurtful or damaging, or at least appear to be at the time.

Does Brand Value Live Beyond the Grave?

I was most amused when reading about a new Scotch whisky that now carries the Lehman Brothers name. The product is called “Ashes of Disaster,” so is clearly meant to evoke memories of the failed financial services company. As a reminder, some consider the failing of Lehman Brothers the catalyst that triggered the 2008 global financial meltdown.

According James Green, a 34-year-old London entrepreneur that is launching the whisky, “It has a contrite, bereft peatiness,” as quoted from the Wall Street Journal article. Mr. Green plans to offer his spirits online and has gotten orders from bars in London and New York.

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How Much Content Should You Share?

In the world of content marketing, every marketer must make a decision on what information should be provided openly, and what should require registration to access. Traditionalists will argue that the concept is straightforward – information that is more valuable should be deemed “worthy” of registration to gain access. With registration, however, comes an expectation of future follow up, be it in the form of a call or email from the sponsoring party. This knowledge dissuades the reading of your material, working against your desired objective.

Today these lines are blurring, which is causing some angst for those of us involved in content marketing.

Simplify Your Message in Your Communications Strategy

I find it quite interesting to observe how purchase decisions are finalized. This process is even more fascinating when you look to see how the process has changed over time. As a marketing professional, it is critical to understand just how your target audience makes a purchase. If you don’t understand this process, you will likely waste precious resources, time, and effort trying to encourage behavior that might never occur.

Let’s first take a look at what I would consider to be a pretty basic purchase process – the decision to buy an ice cream at the beach.

What Happens if a Supplier Enters your Market?

Google just announced plans to offer wireless service. What might this mean for AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile? How would you respond if a new supplier announced they are going “upstream” and will now offer the exact same product or service you offer?

I was amused when I read about this announcement, including the quotes provided by Google, and the reporter’s assessment, so I thought this might be a good topic to explore in greater depth.

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Marketing is More Than Advertising

I find it interesting when I speak with new acquaintances and they ask me what I do. I’ll typically respond with “I’m a marketer” or “I’m part of a marketing team.” Nine times out of ten, the response I’ll get back is “Oh, you do advertising.” I used to be surprised with this response, given that advertising is really just a small part of the marketing discipline. Now, I have come to expect it.

Of course, advertising is a part of the marketing mix. It comes in many forms, as shown in this recent media share chart.

Average allocation of advertising budget for marketers in 2013. Source: BIA Kelsey.

Each of these categories is part of the advertising spend, with each component offering unique advantages and opportunities, depending upon what you are selling and where your audience resides.

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Is there a Link between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty?

Few would argue the importance of customer satisfaction. Every business owner strives for happy customers. In practice, however, what does it mean to achieve customer satisfaction? What makes a happy customer? Are they more profitable? More loyal?

Fortunately, considerable research has been performed on this subject, which will be quite helpful to address these questions. The first challenge is to understand what is actually going on versus what business owners think is going on. According to Lee Resources, 80% of companies say they deliver “superior” customer service, but only 8% of people think these same companies actually deliver this type of service. That is quite a perception gap. A big part of the reason why such a gap exists is that most unhappy customers don’t tell you – only about 4% – according to “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner.

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