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Most strategic plans are financial plans in disguise
In a recent column in CIO magazine Daniel Burrus points out the flaw he sees in many strategic plans by saying, “Most strategic plans are financial plans in disguise” and goes on to say that a strategy built around maximizing profits in the near-term limits long-term growth activities.
Read MoreMarketing and selling to the reptilian brain
Tim Riesterer’s recent HBR blog post about stimulating the customer’s “lizard brain” to make a sale correlates with Isurus’ work on messaging and sales effectiveness. Riesterer points out that most sales messages fail to compel buyers to move away from the status quo because our “lizard brain”—the brain stem and other structures responsible for our survival instincts—prefers safety and avoids risk. Implicit in this message is the idea that a purely logical message often isn’t enough to drive change. To make a sale that breaks the status quo, the sales message must appeal to the lizard brain.
Read MoreWhat have you done for me lately? Marketing short-term benefits
Across a diverse range of b2b and consumer product categories studied by Isurus in the last six months, the messaging strategies that best resonate are ones that speak to short-term benefits. Messages that speak only to long-term benefits failed to motivate buyers, even when the eventual benefit is very meaningful (a life-saving therapy, a significant ROI, etc.).
Read MoreWhen the voice of one customer is too loud
It is important, often critical, to respond to the needs of key customers. However, it is equally important to determine which requests represent one-off customizations for key clients and which represent an opportunity with other customers. Primary market research – especially quantitative data—helps to safeguard against over-reacting to a single customer incident.
Read MoreThe challenges of the strategic IT function
In most industries the IT function is looking to be more of a strategic partner to the business rather than simply a cost center and service provider. CIOs are looking across the business to identify ways they can help the business compete and grow revenue. Many have developed a business liaison function that they place within the business units; a few are even setting performance metrics for their strategic role in the organization. These efforts have met with mixed results given the relatively high hill to climb.
Read MoreFrom the Isurus Archives: Entering new markets
Faced with the need to increase revenue, technology vendors often view expanding the markets they serve as the best opportunity available. Unfortunately, when vendors enter new markets they sometimes overlook the importance of branding and market perceptions and the realities of the new marketplace. Successful market entry requires discipline, resources and a thorough understanding of the new segment.
Read MoreMarketing social business technology
Times have changed since 2000 when Wally remarked to Dilbert “I’m hoarding my knowledge in case I ever need it”. The MIT Sloan Management Review just released a new study, “Social Business: What are companies really doing?” that quantifies trends in adoption of social business initiatives and expectations for their future value.
Read MoreUsing primary market research to create custom content
If you’re thinking about conducting primary market research to support custom content, here are a few recommendations for getting the most out of the investment.
Read MoreCultural Lenses
Most US based marketers are aware that they need to take cultural differences into account when they extend their products into new regions around the globe. What they sometimes miss is that even with the United States different market sectors often have unique cultures that inform the decisions they make regarding business strategies and investment.
Read MoreYour perceptions vs. market perceptions: How well do they align?
Generalizing one’s own experiences and opinions to the rest of the world has its pitfalls, and is one of the fundamental reasons to do primary market research. Case in point: Heat, a San Francisco based ad agency, recently released data from its own study comparing use of social media among ad agency professionals to “normal people”. The results show a huge difference in use of social media platforms: For example, 92% of ad agency professionals have a Twitter account versus 39% of the general population. Major differences also exist for social media services like Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and others.
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