Finding Your Vertical and Bowling a Strike

In Geoffrey Moore’s ever-relevant book, Crossing the Chasm, he compares market development and segmentation to bowling, saying that one must take a pin-by-pin approach. Ian Howells, VP and head of marketing at software firm Sage Intacct, is a big fan of this analogy, and has tweaked and refined it to benefit his very effective micro-targeting strategy—an approach that can help…

The CMO’s Approach to Being CEO

The CMO’s Approach to Being CEO Though not all that common, when a CMO role transitions into being CEO, it’s a safe bet that they’ll have an emphatic approach to marketing and will maintain an involved role in the company’s efforts and execution. With Rob Chen, CEO at Brightlink with a CMO background, you’d be half right. Check out a…

The CEO: Every Successful CMO’s Best Friend

If you ask virtually every CMO about the keys to their success in having their marketing efforts cut through, you’ll likely find a few trends in their answers. For one, most of those CMOs will credit having their CEO completely on board. This isn’t a successful person demonstrating how humble they are, nor is it an attempt to curry favor…

Effective Communications and the Burden of Knowing Too Much

Though this used to mainly fall within HR’s purview, marketing departments are increasingly involved in shaping communications. There are a few reasons behind this change, among them the need to improve employee retention rates as unemployment increases, and the recognition that a healthy company culture can go a long way in shaping a good customer experience and creating persuasive, employee…

The Value of Personal Flair

The Value of a Personal Flair When it comes to ‘thank yous,’ it’s not often someone takes the time to put pen to paper. It’s usually an email, a quick text, or a phonecall, if anything. But Gabi Zijderveld, CMO of Affectiva, shared her experience in drafting 44 handwritten thank you notes in one night to the speakers at a…

How to Nail a B2B Rebrand

Adopting a new brand is never easy. It takes time, money, and effort. Settling on a name is hard enough, let alone securing trademarks and a domain name. Then, of course, there’s updating office signage and signs, company gear, online imagery, press releases…the list goes on, but for major, global brands, such an undertaking can cost millions. These difficulties don’t…