The question “is our product B2B or B2C ?” seems to be bewildering to anyone who has not actually been a field salesperson for B2B. The simple answer is that something is B2B or B2G (Business to Government) if that product or service is purchased by the organization not for personal use but for achievingContinue reading “Is our product B2B or B2C?”
Author Archives: StratoServe
Blogging with Typepad has been like a gym membership for the mind
Typepad, the blogging service we use for the StratoServe blog is celebrating its tenth birthday and here is Happy 10th Birthday to Typepad! Blogging for me, has been like a gym membership for the mind for the last 8 years. Here is how: Gym membership vs. Treadmill at home: Talk about the cost of a gymContinue reading “Blogging with Typepad has been like a gym membership for the mind”
Product protocol: why it matters in innovation
Product protocol also called product definition, product requirements or product deliverables is critical to innovation. A product protocol is necessary after you have chosen a new product concept, completed concept testing and done some preliminary sales forecasting of what numbers you expect to sell and at what margins.
Can you really start advertising at 1$/day ?
Given the significant interest among businesses about how much to spend on Google AdWords or other PPC here is a quick answer: you can really decide to spend as little as $1 a day and see how you go. Sounds like a "pennies a day" magazine subscription pitch but the fact is that you can stopContinue reading “Can you really start advertising at 1$/day ?”
AdWords PPC resolves: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted”
John Wanamaker (1838-1922) is credited with the saying “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half”.  PPC (Pay per click) programs like Google AdWords resolves the Wanamaker dilemma. [Note : Last updated January 2021 due to interest of our dear readers} The Wanamaker dilemma being thatContinue reading “AdWords PPC resolves: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted””
Better times for B2B? US Consumer expectations highest in 5 years
Today the Conference Board announced that US Consumer Confidence is at a 5 year high- so B2B should be in for better times. But first some details of the methodology and measure of the consumer confidence index. The Consumer Confidence Index is made up of five measures two of which relate to consumer perceptions ofContinue reading “Better times for B2B? US Consumer expectations highest in 5 years”
Conversion occurs when customers finally visit your website on their own
Conversion occurs when consumers start visiting your website on their own. Before that happens a common concern among online advertisers is that “we don’t see orders.” Part of the reason is that advertising and web analytics is not linked together as discussed
in a previous post. The bigger reason is the lack of understanding of the consumer journey.
Buying center concept: there are several people involved
The buying center concept is a tough concept to understand particularly if you have not actually worked for several years in B2B sales and faced numerous lost deals! Simply put- – there are several people involved in the buying center as explained in an earlier post. Here is a way to get a sense of theContinue reading “Buying center concept: there are several people involved”
Ten takeaways from 2013 Yale Consumer Insights Conference
The 2013 Yale Consumer Insights Conference over the weekend challenged thought boundaries for marketing and big data in quite an overwhelming way. Alternating between leading marketing practitioners and leading marketing academics- 25 speakers delivered their message in 20 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions and answers. Since the format of the conference was in one roomContinue reading “Ten takeaways from 2013 Yale Consumer Insights Conference”
Does Internet Sales Tax really level the playing field between clicks and bricks?
Does Internet Sales Tax really level the playing field between clicks and bricks? The US Senate has passed the Internet Sales Tax law that will force online retailers to collect sales tax for the shipping destination state. Initial plans are to have Internet retailers with over $1 Million sales to collect the state sales taxContinue reading “Does Internet Sales Tax really level the playing field between clicks and bricks?”