Marketing Strategy Archives - Page 2 of 3

Here is Why Investing in Marketing During Economic Uncertainty Makes Sense

Economic cycles are an inherent part of business. Growth, contraction, and recovery occur in predictable patterns. During times of economic uncertainty or contraction, companies must focus on core competencies and eliminate redundancies, inefficiencies, and non-essential operations. This reflection helps businesses remain viable and profitable. Strategic cuts can strengthen a company’s long-term success. However, not all cost-cutting decisions are beneficial.

Now Is a Great Time for a Marketing Strategy Shift From Paid to Earned

Marketing has a long history of change. There are many reasons why. Sometimes it is a new technology. Buyer criteria could change. Or there was just a need for something new. Today we are witnessing another major transformation. Today’s marketing strategy shift has been building over the past few years. Artificial Intelligence or AI has amplified the disruption.

One repercussion – and an opportunity – is to adapt what I’ll define as a marketing strategy shift from “paid” to “earned” programs (borrowing from PR jargon). Those taking advantage of this shift can boost the attention, engagement, and trust of target audiences. This includes customers and prospects, partners, and employees.

Building a Community of Trust is Critical – Now More Than Ever!

Last week, I attended the virtual HSE Summit on AI-Led Growth. This event aimed to guide those supporting Go-To-Market (GTM) initiatives in technology companies. The speakers and moderators structured the discussions into easy-to-follow topics. My favorite session was the Fireside Chat with Jon Miller: B2B Marketing’s Future in the Age of AI. I learned several key takeaways from this 60-minute discussion. Marketers in enterprise software must adapt, as the current GTM strategy needs a refresh. Those aiming to improve GTM performance must shift focus and budget toward building a community of trust. This shift is essential to staying relevant and expanding market share.

Unconscious Branding – Is This The Future of Marketing?

I recently had the opportunity to hear Leslie Zane, an award-winning Fortune 500 brand consultant, give a presentation. The event was a virtual conference hosted by the American Marketing Association on January 23, 2025. Her presentation, “The Future of Marketing,” shared several interesting insights based on her book, The Power of Insight. My key takeaway is that branding plays a much bigger role in the buyer’s journey than previously considered. A concept I’ll refer to as unconscious branding should be incorporated with greater focus as part of your overall marketing and analyst relations strategy.

Leslie’s theme was that many buyer decisions are based on subconscious rather than conscious thinking. This concept is enlightening and has major implications for marketing strategies. Marketers must rethink how they approach the buyer’s journey and decision-making process. Here are a few concepts that came to mind as I processed the findings of her presentation.

It’s Time to Break Down the Data Silos of Marketing!

New research suggests that Marketing organizations need to do a better job at breaking down the internal “silos” that separate functions and data. One of the reasons why this issue has emerged is that people like to keep a tight control their slice of the data “pie.” I thought it might be helpful to share some suggestions on what can be done to overcome this challenge to help unlock greater efficiency and performance with how Marketing teams operate – a win-win for all!

Data silos can be found in many places. Within a digital campaign, it might include contact information, such as name, title, employer, email address, and phone number. Event sponsorships might include a list of attendees; website visitors represent another source of contact information.

Over time, it can be difficult to keep track of all this information. And, to ensure the data is accessible and current. Further, with the changing data privacy laws and the fact that these records include Personally Identifiable Information (PII), it is now increasingly critical to know exactly where all this data resides.

How PR has Changed the Advertising Model

If the worlds of PR and marketing are set to further converge over the next five years, we should start to see evidence that this shift has begun (see related article). The viral sensation surrounding the recent Game of Thrones Starbucks coffee cup incident is a great data point that validates this transformation.

What struck me was what an amazing PR and awareness opportunity this became from a blurred, barely visible image shown for a split second on a television show. The way brands get promoted and recognized today certainly has changed!

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!

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.

Continue reading Does Brand Value Live Beyond the Grave?

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.