Comments for Agile Business Development http://agilebizdev.com Best Practices • Architecting Revenue and Profitability • Sales & Marketing Methodology Sun, 20 May 2012 19:39:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 Comment on Watch Your Balance! by Jay Oza http://agilebizdev.com/establishing_company_balance/#comment-4450 Jay Oza Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:01:11 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/establishing_company_balance/#comment-4450 I came across your sites since I have been doing consulting to CEOs of small high tech companies. It looks like you have done lot of work in this space which I think is becoming very important in driving business today. I hope to use your site to learn from your experience. Thanks for all the content you have created. I hope to get my blog to your level one day. I came across your sites since I have been doing consulting to CEOs of small high tech companies. It looks like you have done lot of work in this space which I think is becoming very important in driving business today. I hope to use your site to learn from your experience.

Thanks for all the content you have created. I hope to get my blog to your level one day.

]]> Comment on Agile Positioning by Christopher Payne-Taylor http://agilebizdev.com/agile_positioning/#comment-191 Christopher Payne-Taylor Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:33:08 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/agile_positioning/#comment-191 In my experience, the relationship between marketing and sales is similar to the one described in this article. The only difference is that marketing does not guide sales to the target with a laser signal. It carpet bombs, saturating the landscape with as broad an awareness as possible. This is a common fallacy of the new marketing mantra, that it’s all identifying as specific a target as possible, then going after it. Unfortunately, marketing tends to work best when the objective is to create the widest possible impact. For instance, Volkswagen’s “Drivers Wanted” campaign was initially very successful because it targeted a fairly broad demographic of young urban professionals. It wasn’t focused on any particular type of individual, or ones with a previously-identified interest in either small cars or coffee. The target very generically defined – young urban professional, driven, energetic, hyper-caffeinated. In contrast, one of the more spectacular failures was another campaign for the makers of Scion. Originally targeted at a narrow slice of young urban “club kids,” the car was rolled out exclusively trendy nightclubs in major U.S. cities. Unfortunately, it was later learned that the brand’s biggest consumer base was not “club kids,” but soccer moms. So, to go back to the military analogy, it’s relatively simple. Marketing provides air cover while sales covers the ground. Marketing’s mission is to achieve air supremacy, while sales' is to close enough deals to put the company into the win column. Pinpoint targeting is great if marketing has already accomplished its mission. If not, you're going to war with weapons poorly aimed and only half-loaded. In my experience, the relationship between marketing and sales is similar to the one described in this article. The only difference is that marketing does not guide sales to the target with a laser signal. It carpet bombs, saturating the landscape with as broad an awareness as possible.
This is a common fallacy of the new marketing mantra, that it’s all identifying as specific a target as possible, then going after it. Unfortunately, marketing tends to work best when the objective is to create the widest possible impact.
For instance, Volkswagen’s “Drivers Wanted” campaign was initially very successful because it targeted a fairly broad demographic of young urban professionals. It wasn’t focused on any particular type of individual, or ones with a previously-identified interest in either small cars or coffee. The target very generically defined – young urban professional, driven, energetic, hyper-caffeinated.
In contrast, one of the more spectacular failures was another campaign for the makers of Scion. Originally targeted at a narrow slice of young urban “club kids,” the car was rolled out exclusively trendy nightclubs in major U.S. cities. Unfortunately, it was later learned that the brand’s biggest consumer base was not “club kids,” but soccer moms.
So, to go back to the military analogy, it’s relatively simple. Marketing provides air cover while sales covers the ground. Marketing’s mission is to achieve air supremacy, while sales’ is to close enough deals to put the company into the win column. Pinpoint targeting is great if marketing has already accomplished its mission. If not, you’re going to war with weapons poorly aimed and only half-loaded.

]]> Comment on Buyers may not always select the product they like best - they often buy the one they fear least! by Christopher Payne-Taylor http://agilebizdev.com/buyer-psychology/#comment-128 Christopher Payne-Taylor Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:47:46 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/buyer-psychology/#comment-128 I think it's essentially a perceptual issue. There is a difference between what buyers “like” and values perceived to be associated with a particular product, and that difference is often significant enough to substantially affect the purchasing decision. For instance, I “like” the Ford Mustang and the latest model looks great to me. With a 4.0-liter SOHC V6 engine generating 210 horsepower standard at a price point at just over $21K, I really do like this car. However, my eye is also trained on the Honda Civic SI couple with a 2.0-liter K20Z3 engine generating 197 horsepower at a slightly higher price point of 22K flat. If I were buying solely based on what I “like,” I’d choose the Mustang. It’s definitely a cooler car guaranteed to make me look cooler, but my impression of Honda in general is that they make better-built, more reliable vehicles and I believe the Honda Civic SI is no exception. Therefore, I am going to buy what I perceive to be the better value, even though I like the other car more. From a marketing perspective, the objective is not to strive to get potential consumers to like anything. Instead, the emphasis is on building brand affinity, or establishing awareness in order to drive the target demographic not to like something, just be drawn to it. This is particularly important in some product categories, like refrigerators, where the “like” factor has inherently less play than the perception of which is the best machine. On a broader level, the disparity between what a person may “like” and perceive to be of value, is virtually universal, extending into areas in life not typically associated with marketing and sales. For example, many people like paintings of sea gulls and the seashore. However, even most seascape aficianados agree that these works are in an entirely separate league from a Vermeer or Rembrandt, a fact reflected in the enormous pricing differential. Net-net, just because you like something doesn’t necessarily mean you want to, or should, buy it. You may enjoy dating someone, but marriage is a different matter altogether, and the biggest catastrophes tend to occur when people confuse the two. I think it’s essentially a perceptual issue. There is a difference between what buyers “like” and values perceived to be associated with a particular product, and that difference is often significant enough to substantially affect the purchasing decision.
For instance, I “like” the Ford Mustang and the latest model looks great to me. With a 4.0-liter SOHC V6 engine generating 210 horsepower standard at a price point at just over $21K, I really do like this car. However, my eye is also trained on the Honda Civic SI couple with a 2.0-liter K20Z3 engine generating 197 horsepower at a slightly higher price point of 22K flat.
If I were buying solely based on what I “like,” I’d choose the Mustang. It’s definitely a cooler car guaranteed to make me look cooler, but my impression of Honda in general is that they make better-built, more reliable vehicles and I believe the Honda Civic SI is no exception. Therefore, I am going to buy what I perceive to be the better value, even though I like the other car more.
From a marketing perspective, the objective is not to strive to get potential consumers to like anything. Instead, the emphasis is on building brand affinity, or establishing awareness in order to drive the target demographic not to like something, just be drawn to it. This is particularly important in some product categories, like refrigerators, where the “like” factor has inherently less play than the perception of which is the best machine.
On a broader level, the disparity between what a person may “like” and perceive to be of value, is virtually universal, extending into areas in life not typically associated with marketing and sales. For example, many people like paintings of sea gulls and the seashore. However, even most seascape aficianados agree that these works are in an entirely separate league from a Vermeer or Rembrandt, a fact reflected in the enormous pricing differential.
Net-net, just because you like something doesn’t necessarily mean you want to, or should, buy it. You may enjoy dating someone, but marriage is a different matter altogether, and the biggest catastrophes tend to occur when people confuse the two.

]]> Comment on Should we be training our salespeople to be better marketers? by Matt Myers http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-10 Matt Myers Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:31:11 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-10 Nice job so far on the blog! Nice job so far on the blog!

]]> Comment on Speaking of the new reality of PR and marketing . . . by PeterEggleston http://agilebizdev.com/new-reality-of-pr-and-marketing/#comment-9 PeterEggleston Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:35:08 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/new-reality-of-pr-and-marketing/#comment-9 The core ideas I'm taking to the bank is that can be universally applicable are: 1. On the web, you are what you publish. Basically, the idea is you get known for how your content positions you, or how other content (such as blogs, social chatter, etc.) positions you. You don't need to depend on the Press to position you any longer. 2. Speak to buyer persona's in their language, not yours. This is obvious but so few companies actually do it. That is why we have so many companies doing 'world class, innovative, next generation enterprise wide solutions for revenue realization through process optimization.' 3. Manage Fear in your organizations. That is, the fear of change or doing something differently, mostly around loosing control of your content and how you get positioned by the social web. OK, those points might be a bit high level for those not in marketing, but for those business people that have to do marketing, the big picture is you don't need to spend thousands of dollars advertising any longer to get customer to come to you. For instance, viral videos cost next to nothing to make, yet they have huge impact. As an example, look at what a small blender company in Utah did: go to YouTube and search on 'Will it Blend.' This company got six million viewers exposed to it's products via it's first video in less than 10 days, all by spending a few hundred bucks, recording a one-minute long video, and uploading that to YouTube. Their sales went up by 5x - that is 500% !!!! The core ideas I’m taking to the bank is that can be universally applicable are:

1. On the web, you are what you publish. Basically, the idea is you get known for how your content positions you, or how other content (such as blogs, social chatter, etc.) positions you. You don’t need to depend on the Press to position you any longer.

2. Speak to buyer persona’s in their language, not yours. This is obvious but so few companies actually do it. That is why we have so many companies doing ‘world class, innovative, next generation enterprise wide solutions for revenue realization through process optimization.’

3. Manage Fear in your organizations. That is, the fear of change or doing something differently, mostly around loosing control of your content and how you get positioned by the social web.

OK, those points might be a bit high level for those not in marketing, but for those business people that have to do marketing, the big picture is you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars advertising any longer to get customer to come to you. For instance, viral videos cost next to nothing to make, yet they have huge impact. As an example, look at what a small blender company in Utah did: go to YouTube and search on ‘Will it Blend.’

This company got six million viewers exposed to it’s products via it’s first video in less than 10 days, all by spending a few hundred bucks, recording a one-minute long video, and uploading that to YouTube. Their sales went up by 5x - that is 500% !!!!

]]> Comment on Speaking of the new reality of PR and marketing . . . by Cherie Shipp http://agilebizdev.com/new-reality-of-pr-and-marketing/#comment-5 Cherie Shipp Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:01:30 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/new-reality-of-pr-and-marketing/#comment-5 Now that you have had a chance to digest the presentation, are there two or three universal ideas that you think you (and we) can use over the long-term? How will you change what you do? Now that you have had a chance to digest the presentation, are there two or three universal ideas that you think you (and we) can use over the long-term? How will you change what you do?

]]> Comment on Should we be training our salespeople to be better marketers? by Henria Campbell http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-3 Henria Campbell Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:12:32 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-3 Very thought provoking. I am forwarding to the sales/marketing folks in my organziation & family. Very thought provoking. I am forwarding to the sales/marketing folks in my organziation & family.

]]> Comment on Should we be training our salespeople to be better marketers? by Kurt Heiden http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-2 Kurt Heiden Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:51:36 +0000 http://agilebizdev.com/train-salespeople-to-be-marketers/#comment-2 Great blog, Pete. Thanks for writing it! Great blog, Pete. Thanks for writing it!

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