Jun 18, 2020

The quote from Winston Churchill is true on many levels, and points to the leadership needed in a crisis. There are many crisis management lessons to be learned from the military. Here are some of mine!

May 13, 2020

As companies emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown into a new business reality, the winners will be those who remain attuned to sound strategies. 

Apr 14, 2020

The second article on how Marketing can improve profitability deals with cost reductions, improved asset utilization, improved product mix and price increases. 

Jan 14, 2020

Profit improvement comes from growing the top line and improving productivity. Here is the first article of two, covering revenue growth. Stay tuned for the next installment, on improving Marketing productivity!

Jan 02, 2020

Like form follows function, B2B marketing tactics should follow strategy. Here is a practical primer to get the year started right!

Dec 18, 2019

Planning ahead for PR activities helps drive positive publicity and word-of-mouth. Here is a practical check list to use, covering objectives, target audiences and tactics.

Nov 19, 2019

Net Promoter Score is a simple way to measure customer satisfaction. Asking a follow- up question can give actionable information to use in the continuous improvement work.

Nov 05, 2019

This is how companies can create alignment around strategic goals, and have all employees pull in the same direction...

Nov 01, 2019

My take on what Industrial/ B2B Marketers should be doing, and how to be effective. Hint: it is not training ponies, nor dogs...

Oct 24, 2019

Using distributors is an effective way to gain market coverage. This post has advise around how to select and manage channel partners. It also shows some things to watch out for.

Oct 10, 2019

Practical framework to use for identifying trends in a company's ecosystem, and how to handle them.

Oct 01, 2019

Use a SWOT analysis to size up and evaluate potential acquisition targets

Sep 24, 2019

It is critical to play in the right markets. Here is a framework that can be used to determine industry attractiveness.

Sep 17, 2019

Selecting marketing channels is a key decision, that can have great strategic consequences for the capacity to add value to the end user. Read for tips on how to select and manage a distributor.

Aug 20, 2019

Sales and Marketing need to work closely together to get best results. This article provides a framework for dividing the tasks.

Aug 09, 2019

Two quick ways of gauging a business' strategy are to ask a set of questions, or do a SWOT analysis.

Jul 24, 2019

Interview on medium.com about “Life and Leadership Lessons I Learned In the Military”. We lived teamwork, initiative and Management by Objectives every day -a great skill set for the rapidly changing business landscape!

Jul 16, 2019

Strong brands provide differentiation in a competitive marketplace by communicating benefits and value. Careful brand management builds credibility, enables brand loyalty and builds trust.

Jul 09, 2019

To minimize marketing risk, B2B marketers must quantify the probability and impact of specific events, and put in place a process for managing them.

Jun 25, 2019

To develop a high performing sales force, training and coaching needs to focus on three areas: product knowledge, competitor knowledge and selling skills.

Jun 20, 2019

To compete effectively, Marketing Managers in B2B companies have to know their competitors, and understand what kind of threat they pose. This research is different from the financial reports analysts provide. A written summary of each important competitor is good to have, as part of a process for collecting and disseminating new competitive information.

Jun 11, 2019

Trade shows can be a cost- effective way of generating leads, fly the company colors and keep a handle on what is going on in the industry. But, it is important to pick the right show and carefully plan participation to get the best "bang for the buck".

Jun 06, 2019

To find, keep and grow customers, Sales and Marketing in B2B companies need to be joined at the hip, and work together to understand needs, provide good information and anticipate customers questions.

May 28, 2019

Even the best B2B marketing organizations will have a bad spell, where the marketing mix just does not seem to work as well any more. Inquiries go down, good leads are fewer and further apart, customer volumes are down, there are fewer clicks on the web site... what to do?

May 23, 2019

Developing new products is a dynamic activity that helps a company stay ahead of the pack. Hopefully customer needs and wants are captured during product development; even so a well planned launch is important to get traction. Based on 20 years hard won experience, here are some things to keep in mind when planning for that perfect rollout of your new offering.

May 14, 2019

Service Marketing has much in common with marketing of products. There are also some differences. For example, services are produced and consumed at the same time, they can not be made and then inventoried, and the quality strongly depends on the people delivering them. Read!

Jan 01, 2020

In this day and age of Design Thinking and Human Factors surprisingly many industrial manufacturers build things that may be functional, but not economical to build, or nice to use.

Apr 16, 2019

Here is a step- by- step guide for the B2B Marketer how to scope opportunities, so they can be compared and managed as a portfolio.

Apr 11, 2019

Many B2B organizations do not systematically research VOC (Voice of the Customer), and fall short of what is needed for making good decisions. Since this is important, here is a practical primer to the effective collection of information about markets and customers.

Mar 28, 2019

In a recent report Putting customers at the centre of the OEM supply chain, the Economist Intelligence Unit looks at manufacturers digital journey not in the Marketing function, but in Supply Chain. Their goal is clear: OEMs want to improve customer service and build stronger links with the product end-users.

Mar 19, 2019

In B2B companies, growing the top line takes continuous effort. The Marketing function plays a key role, and contributes much more than market communication. Based on what's working in the real world, here are some ideas how Marketing can proactively help.

Mar 05, 2019

Taking a company international is no small task. What works well in the home market might be less than perfect abroad. It is also difficult to manage from a distance, so successfully going international takes some planning. Leaders and strategists need to keep target markets, objectives, entry mode, structure and execution in mind.

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Feb 21, 2019

Contractors looking to improve the bottom line should consider renting equipment for a project. Renting can provide all the advantages of a premium piece of equipment, without the costs or responsibilities of ownership

Jan 01, 2020

Creating growth is a top priority at most every company, experienced Marketers are strategic thinkers, good at contributing market insights and customer analysis that talk to Board- level marketing challenges.

Jan 15, 2019

The Role of B2B Marketing is explored, and it is more than lead generation and social media!

Dec 25, 2017

Is it better for a country leader to be unpredictable in foreign policy, or to maintain a consistent steady curse? Here we use game theory to look for an answer. 

Dec 15, 2017

The language of business is English, but speaking the same language does not necessarily mean the parties understand each other's culture...

Jun 23, 2017

In root cause analysis, unguided deductive reasoning tools like 5 Whys or Fishbones can lead to investigator bias. This article has 11,000+ views!

Feb 07, 2017

Assessing market opportunities for attractiveness

May 15, 2017

Better Marketing of B2B Services

Jan 01, 2020

In B2B marketing, the core physical product is almost always augmented with services. This article shows how this can be used for differentiation.

Jan 09, 2017

Here I explain how B2B Market Segmentation can be done in Practice

Nov 28, 2016

Price Wars can be devastating, and put companies out of business. Lucklily, they can be avoided. Read more!

Jun 06, 2019

Management by objectives lets leaders challenge and empower employees, and works eqully well for newer and more seasoned workers.

Nov 21, 2016

When selling big ticket items like equipment, auctions are a good way of realizing a price close to the actual value. Read here how you should go about bidding...

Nov 15, 2016

B2B branding has a diiferent function that it does in B2C. Here are some thoughts oabout why it is important to invest in the brands.

Sep 27, 2016

The CFO says cut costs, Sales says cut prices. What’s a Business Manager to do? 

Oct 04, 2016

When a business is selling to another business, many consumer marketing approaches do not work. Business customers buy what they need, when they need it.