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5 Questions to add to your Win/Loss analysis
Many companies conduct win/loss analysis on a formal or informal basis. These efforts often focus on product features, pricing and the performance of the sales reps which are critical to understanding the sales process.
Read MoreHumanized brands still need to be relevant and focused
Many marketers these days are focused on the importance of “humanizing” the brand in order to be more authentic and engage more deeply with customers. A lot of the discussion on this topic focuses on the opportunities (especially through social media) to showcase the real people behind a brand and engage consumers in two-way conversations.
Read MoreIt’s still the people – even with Big Data
A recent WSJ article on big data focuses on the mistakes organizations make as they implement big data initiatives. Common mistakes include being seduced by Big Data’s promise and moving forward without setting clear and achievable objectives, overestimating their staff’s abilities, trying to connect too many disparate data sources, having too many cooks in the kitchen and setting unrealistic goals. Four of these challenges do not relate to the technology side of big data – they are problems with the human side of the equation.
Read MoreThe other “focus” in focus groups
Much of the debate around the value of traditional focus groups centers on the discussion that happens around the table of participants. Left out of the conversation are the benefits traditional focus groups provide to the people sitting behind the one-way mirror – the team sponsoring the research.
Read MoreThe Price of Incivility
Isurus applauds the extensive research by Christine Porath and Christine Pearson on the “price” of incivility. They outline their findings in a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review. The long and short of their findings is that a lack of respect and civility in the workplace has real and meaningful consequences for the bottom line.
Read MoreRelevant messaging in a changing IT outsourcing landscape
IT organizations are becoming more mature users of outsourced services and delivery models. Isurus’ research across multiple technology categories shows a shift in how IT evaluates outsourcing options and its use of various models (offshore vs. domestic, in-house vs. outsourced, on-premise vs. offsite hosting, etc.), and these trends are also evident in research conducted by CIO Magazine, Forrester, and others.
Read MoreImproving innovation through better questions
Dwayne Spradlin, President and CEO of InnoCentive, recently contributed an interesting article in the Harvard Business Review that identified asking the right questions and defining the problem as critical elements of successful innovation: “When developing new products, processes, or even businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in defining the problems they’re attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important. Without that rigor, organizations miss opportunities, waste resources, and end up pursuing innovation initiatives that aren’t aligned with their strategies.”
Read MoreOne from the archives: 7 Communication tips from the B2B trenches
Based on research with business decision makers we’ve developed broad recommendations for B2B marketers aiming to overcome these challenges. Although each company and sector faces a unique set of communications challenges, the following seven themes apply in some degree to any company–including yours.
Read MoreThe human component of Big Data
You cannot avoid “Big data” if you tried. It’s plastered across every media outlet and promises to change the way business is done. As a research firm Isurus wholeheartedly endorses the two underling principles of how big data can improve business operations: 1) It is far better to manage your business with facts rather than assumptions. 2) In a general sense more data is better than less. However one thing that sometimes gets lost in the hype is that as useful and insightful as big data can be, running a successful business still requires sound human judgment, decisions and calculated risks.
Read MoreDo dominant personalities sway participants in focus groups?
It is almost inevitable that during the course of a set of focus groups one of the backroom observers will point to a participant with a strong personality and say, “I think that person is leading the other participants.” After almost twenty years of watching and conducting focus groups the idea that B2B decisions makers can be so easily swayed by an individual with a strong personality seems like the market research equivalent of the boogeyman.
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