Every Company in Every Industry Has a Walmart Type Competitor

No Need to “Out-Walmart” Your Low-Price Competitors

Walmart type competitors cause a "down economy" for companies that rely on low hanging fruit for their revenue source.  They blame low-price foes for eroding the value that their higher priced products offer.  Not all low-price competitors are as prolific as Walmart, but this type of competitor inspires companies who practice solid marketing principles to thrive while others fall by the wayside.

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By John Bernardi

A Marketing Driven Company Makes Selling Easier

Do Marketing Cultures Outperform Sales Cultures?

I Believe That a Marketing-Driven Company Makes Selling Easier

From my experience most small and mid-sized companies are product-centric and sales-driven.  They fall short of practicing solid marketing principles.  Their promotion and sales campaigns fail to achieve ROI goals.  They typically reward only short-term quota related metrics.  Buyers are wary of their sales reps who ask to partner with them to solve a problem but don’t have the necessary business acumen for adding value, which results in customer relationships that last only as long as a given sales opportunity.

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By John Bernardi

Marketing Masters Outperform Others

Marketing Masters Are Change Masters

Their Masterpiece is Marketing Excellence

If your company subscribes to the basic keys to success that apply to any marketing competency and have achieved novice, apprentice and practitioner competencies, you may aspire to join the guild whose masterpiece is marketing excellence.

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By John Bernardi

Marketing Practitioner Competency

Has Your Company Achieved Marketing Practitioner Competency?

Marketing practitioners don't consider "marketing" to be a department.  Instead, it is a concept and belief that is wholly embraced and executed throughout the organization.

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By John Bernardi

Should You Raise Your Marketing Environment to Hallmark Status?

Excellent execution of an adequate plan will produce stronger results than adequate execution of an excellent plan.

Who will identify which changes are necessary to raise an important aspect of your business to the next level?

Who will implement your changes?

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"I Am Not My Target Market"

You Probably Don't Match Your Ideal Customer Profile

It's tempting to make intuitive marketing decisions based on your own preferences.  But, you're likely to either miss out on a great opportunity or follow a path to unsatisfactory results.  All it takes is a few false starts and your aspirations for moving your company to the next level will fade into the sunset.

What happens is that - the product or service that you've designed, or the campaign you've developed, or the channels and locations you've selected, or the price points you've chosen - are based on your perception rather than being aligned with the facts associated with those to whom you are marketing and selling.

Research, surveys, interviews and testing will enable you to define and understand each finely tuned B2B segment or B2C persona.  First, understand their pain points, objections, information sources, and what's important to them.  Then, you can innovate ways to solve problems, enhance experiences, place content where their they will discover it, and create raving fans.

Armed with a value proposition tailored to each segment or persona, you will be ready to generate, qualify, nurture and convert leads to sales ready status.

You need someone who encourages you to consider this principle every time you make a marketing decision.

By John Bernardi

Are KPIs Your Catch-22?

KPIs Can Be A Catch-22

People Will Behave

Processes Will Be Implemented

Based On What You Measure

If you are unable to measure what is important, you will communicate importance to the things that you can measure, which may be sending people and processes in the wrong direction.

Important Vs. Urgent: CEO Dilemma

Important Vs. Urgent: The CEO's Dilemma

Important Vs. Urgent: The CEO's Dilemma

If you don't complete the urgent stuff, you will fail.

                                    But

If you don't complete the important stuff, you won't thrive.

Importance Vs. Urgency Applies To Marketing

Marketing means finding customers and converting them to raving fans because of their great experience dealing with your people, channels, touch points, and products and services that give them pleasure or eliminate pain.  If you can't do this, you will always be suffering the pain of competing on price.