The trouble is that most businesses and their leaders don’t seem to fully appreciate the value of long term customer relationships. “New” customers sound more sexy than “Old” customers. On a lighter note, Tinder sounds more exciting than eHarmony. Our marketing academic audience knows about the 1987 seminal work by Dwyer, Schurr and Oh whereContinue reading “Customer Journey,CRM and Advertising Goals”
Category Archives: SFA – Sales Force Automation
B2B Process 2: Why does product specs/SoW feel like a rigged job description?
In Step 2 of the B2B Buying Process, the buying organization develops the Product Specifications/Scope of Work (SoW). This is the document that will be put out for request for proposals (RFP) or tenders. If you have never supplied to the buying company, and you are generally capable, you can face a sudden roadblock. That roadblock feels similar to rigged job descriptions that our dear readers have all experienced.
Why sales force compensation is over three times advertising spending in the US
You may not realize that US sales force compensation spending is over three times advertising spending. In 2006 sales force compensation was $800 billion, Meanwhile US advertising spend is estimated at only $187 Billion, in 2015. Sales is the world’s second oldest profession and its compensation is an evergreen question in sales for thousands ofContinue reading “Why sales force compensation is over three times advertising spending in the US”
Five Questions to ask to maximize the impact of your digital marketing spend
Too many marketers don’t seem to consider their internal organizational processes as they devise digital marketing campaigns. The customer journey continues after reaching your website.Here are some quick questions to ask if you want to get more bang for your digital buck :
[ Note: This post was published on March 3, 2016. It is updated on March 8, 2021 with a new image and the idea that you really get customer impact when you consider her entire journey that includes after arriving at your website.]
Why are B2B sales prospects not followed up?
This “Sales Statistics” slide has been making the rounds of LinkedIn and there seems to be some agreement that these statistics ring true. The statistics ring true for large organizations with a separate marketing division that helps generate leads that the sales organization does not follow-up. The statistics also ring true for small businesses whereContinue reading “Why are B2B sales prospects not followed up?”
What’s different between Sales and Business Development ?
Sales and Business Development are different- and there is a whole lot out there on the web, that consists of all manner of opinions and views on this very important topic. For, it lies at the very definition of marketing viz: “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, andContinue reading “What’s different between Sales and Business Development ?”
Why marketing is overwhelmed by IT and big data
Compared to other functional areas like supply chain,finance or HR , marketing seems most overwhelmed by IT and big data. David Edelman of McKinsey suggests how marketing and IT might co-ordinate and this blog had exhorted Ad agencies, marketing and IT to start embracing this huge data opportunity in an earlier post on the digitalContinue reading “Why marketing is overwhelmed by IT and big data”
The Sales Funnel is not a one way funnel -web analytics data now confirms
The Sales Funnel is the holy grail of marketing and ultimately sales and business itself. And now it turns out that the sales funnel is not a one way funnel like funnels are. A funnel has a wide mouth where the liquid is poured in and it comes out from the stem of the funnelContinue reading “The Sales Funnel is not a one way funnel -web analytics data now confirms”
“The Social Revolution is a Trust Revolution”- says Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com
“The Social Revolution is a Trust Revolution”- says Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com and in the video from the tenth Dreamforce conference, Men’s Wearhouse CEO George Zimmer seems to agree and say… I guarantee it! [Note: This post is from September 19,2012 with a video segment from the Salesforce Dream Conference, 2012 -Updated March 24, 2021]
Kraljic Model: Reducing risk perceptions and the 2009 Hyundai Assurance Program
The 2009 Hyundai Assurance Program is a great illustration of reducing risk perceptions even in B2C (Business to Consumer) situations. Keep in mind that the Kraljic model was originally developed to understand B2B (Business to Business) buying behavior. Kind of like relationship marketing that B2B marketers always practiced and B2C marketers have enthusiastically adopted – more as technology allowed easy availability of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and SFA (Sales Force Automation).