Making Every Word Count

Win the Hidden Buyer Journey with Smart Influence

Attending the American Marketing Association (AMA) conference in June 2025 reminded me why I prioritize events like this. Each time, I aim to return with at least three new concepts I can apply or share. This year, one insight hit me hard—and it’s still on my mind. It focused on how, today, more than ever, a hidden buyer journey exists. Marketers need to take notice.

Up to 98% of a buyer’s journey happens before they ever visit a vendor’s website.

That’s not a typo.

This number flips traditional demand generation strategies on their head. It also presents a real challenge: how do you influence a buyer before they ever know you exist?

The Right Metrics to Measure Analyst Relations Performance

In far too many enterprise software companies, analyst relations is treated like a box to check. It’s viewed as something that “just needs to be done.” Brief the analysts. Send the slide deck. Analyst relations performance is measured by showing up in a quadrant next year. Done, right?

Wrong.

This mentality is costing companies real momentum. When leadership sees analyst relations as a compliance function instead of a strategic lever, the program becomes misaligned with growth. It gets funded without being understood. It gets evaluated using shallow metrics. And worst of all, it misses the chance to position the company as a true force shaping the industry’s future.

The culprit? Bad assumptions—and worse KPIs.

Creative, Affordable Case Study Video Options Are Still the Best Way to Tell Your Customer Story, As An Essential Part of Your Brand Message

Understanding the customer journey is step one in effective marketing. Without a clear map of how your buyers think, evaluate, and decide, your efforts are guesswork. This journey is not linear. It’s messy, influenced by peer reviews, competitive research, budget timing, and internal priorities. Once you understand your customer’s journey, a case study video is the best way to share this understanding to help find new prospects.

For marketers, the job is to understand that journey inside and out. What questions does a prospect ask early? When does skepticism peak? Where does trust form? To answer these, you need data, interviews, and behavioral insights. Once you understand the path your buyer takes, you can start placing proof points at the right moments.

That’s where the case study comes in.

How to Create Marketing Content That Expands Business Value

Industrial innovation is accelerating. Manufacturing and service organizations are swimming in more data than ever before. But raw data alone doesn’t drive value—context does. And that’s where marketing content can play a critical role.

When marketers explain how technical capabilities translate to long-term value, they create more than awareness. They extend the impact of a value proposition. They move from selling features to selling future gains.

Marketing With Agentic AI—What You Need To Know

The pace of AI development is astonishing—especially in marketing—where Agentic AI is taking root faster than almost anywhere else. These observations became crystal clear after I attended last week’s HSE Agentic AI Summit, hosted by Julia Nimchinski (shout out for a great conference!). Tech companies are already replacing entire functions with AI agents. These aren’t just tools. They’re early signs of a shift toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Why Marketers Need to Now Embrace a VUCA Mindset to Stay Effective

Marketing today is harder than ever. Customer behavior changes overnight. One viral moment can shift entire brand perceptions. Algorithms update constantly, upending months of planning. Budgets tighten while expectations grow. Channels evolve so fast that yesterday’s best practices quickly feel outdated.

In this chaos, the bar for being a strong marketer keeps rising. It’s no longer enough to be creative. You need data skills, agility, and sharp instincts. And, you must make quick decisions with limited clarity. You need to thrive in uncertainty.

Will AI Replace the Future Need For Enterprise Software Applications?

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way the world works. Many industries are already seeing major disruption from AI technologies. This shift is not small or temporary. The pace of change is fast, and the impact is deep. The world will never be the same again. Will the demise of enterprise software applications be next?

3 Ways to Engage the Analyst Community Amid Tariff Volatility

In an era marked by economic uncertainty and shifting global trade dynamics, software companies operating in industrial manufacturing and aftermarket service markets face a critical question. How do you stay relevant in the eyes of the analyst community when the ground beneath your customers is constantly moving? For industrial software and services companies, tariff volatility presents both risks and opportunities. The biggest challenge is the extreme uncertainty now present in the global marketplace.

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.

A Compelling Case to Invest in Quality Marketing Assets

Creating genuinely interesting and relevant content has always been difficult. In today’s AI world, it just got tougher. AI-generated content is easy to generate so some marketers are doubling down and producing even more documents and blog posts to capture attention and engagement. In this environment, quality marketing assets are essential. These types of assets significantly impact your marketing performance and budget. Are they worth it?