Jeff Allen

Companies who are omphaloskeptic (i.e. inwardly focused) tend to be much less successful than those who are highly attuned to the needs of their customers and may miss market opportunities because they don’t see patterns in customer behavior.

Not all satisfied customers are loyal. In fact, according to Bain and Company, 60% or more of customers who disappear, score themselves as satisfied or very satisfied just prior to switching suppliers! The good news is that you have a choice.

You are probably wasting the money you are spending on marketing. You already suspect this, but I’m here to tell you why you are right.

In our experience, companies that do generally achieve higher growth, enjoy more profitable business, and have a lower risk of account defection. When we ask companies that don’t measure loyalty whether or not their customers are at risk, invariably the answer falls into one of these three categories.

Taking the step to measure customer loyalty can be uncomfortable. It will probably result in some "Coachable Moments" for you and your team. But in the end — your customers will respond, your business will grow, and you will improve your relationships with the most important assets you have.

Although the technologies and tools available to the B2B Marketer have improved significantly over the past decade, the fundamental responsibilities of the role have not. Where a direct sales channel is in place, marketers are responsible for three functions: Creating the strategic position of the business, enabling the sales organization, and generating demand.

The question of "Do You Have Vision? is something we ask ourselves every Monday morning as we are reviewing our sales pipeline. We bring up the list of deals that are in play, and we challenge each other. We pick at each account, each decision maker, each culture, each opportunity. We do this because we fanatically protect our value statements.

Social Selling is to the sales profession what Content Marketing is to the marketing profession. It’s the one subject that sales experts are discussing in professional circles, both online and in sales meetings. Social Selling is a concept that develops the sales representatives' social networks.

It can be difficult to explain new processes to senior executives who aren’t deeply educated about the nuances of something as abstract as “Content Marketing.”

There is power in market focus, although many companies will fail to grow even when market conditions point to a new opportunity.