We call our bosses “leaders” out of respect for their organizational position. But have they learned how to drive B2B organic growth? In fairness, we provide training to the rank and file so they can develop new skills… but we expect our busy leaders will somehow “pick up” what’s needed. We’ve compiled 30 lessons for business leaders in the e- book, Leader’s Guide to B2B Organic Growth. You can even sign up to receive a 2-minute weekly video lesson for 30 weeks… an executive short-course in leading growth.
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When you consider B2B vs B2C, which market profession has greater advantages? Business schools offer more B2C courses, consumer research tools abound, and sophisticated marketers at B2C companies like Apple and P&G are held in high esteem. B2B marketers are often engineers or sales reps that were tapped on the shoulder and told to “do ... Read More
No one likes to be average—another word for mediocre—in something as important as growing their business. Of course, half of all businesses are below average in any given year. And few in the above-average ranks for B2B growth are confident they can stay there year after year. This can change for your business. You can ... Read More
If you are using older voice-of-customer methods (e.g. DFSS or QFD), you’re sub-optimizing. For B2B your methods must achieve 3 goals: 1) collaborate deeply, 2) pre-sell your innovation, and 3) maximize “value capture.” Four B2B approaches are explored here. ... Read More
Your “second objective” after customer insight should be customer engagement. These 9 approaches help: 1) Kill the questionnaire, 2) let customers lead, 3) discuss their “job-to-be-done,” 4) project your notes, 5) focus on customer outcomes, 6) probe… deeply, 7) don’t sell or solve, 8) get quantitative, and 9) use triggers. ... Read More
How valuable are B2B customer tours? Well – in the early 1980s, Eugene Goodson was the head of Johnson Controls’ automotive seating group, when a Japanese competitor requested a plant tour. The Japanese visitors spent less than one hour in the plant and took no notes. Harmless, right? Years later Goodson and his team were ... Read More
Warren Buffet once observed, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” If you’re a business leader worried about your “exposure” in troubled times, consider three tools to put in your economic survival kit: 1) cut the waste, 2) invest in B2B training, and 3) increase customer engagement. 1. Cut ... Read More
The strongest value propositions examine key customer outcomes at 9 levels (the essence of New Product Blueprinting): 1) Uncover outcomes, 2) understand importance, 3) define & set direction, 4) prioritize outcomes, 5) learn how to measure, 6) identify satisfaction levels, 7) measure next best alternatives, 8) quantify value created, and 9) quantify value captured. ... Read More
Don't overlook these 5 hidden risks when you develop new products for B2B markets: 1) customer detachment, 2) narrow targets, 3) internal bias, 4) competitive blind spots, and 5) low findability. ... Read More
Has your business correctly answered 4 questions? 1) Would better customer insight improve our innovation success? 2) Should we take a DIY approach to customer insight (vs. using “hired guns”)? 3) Should we learn improved customer insight from external trainers (vs. training ourselves)? 4) Should gaining this customer insight capability be a top priority (vs. other priorities)? ... Read More
