The Accidental Marketer Podcast

The new generation of B2B buyers have high expectations for the experience of interacting with and buying from suppliers. From the front-end of the "customer journey" (e.g., researching solutions) to the back-end (e.g., buying add-on products)-- to all interactions in-between, a focus on improving experiences provides a powerful non-price reason for customers to do more business with you!

Many of us have experienced personalization in our relationships with consumer products and services providers. But can B2Bs personalize their offers and communications? The answer is YES. New technologies are enabling B2Bs to deliver increasingly more customized messages and offers. The team uncovers some of the keys to success in using personalization to drive higher margins and customer loyalty...

This episode focuses on the trend of surge/dynamic pricing - the practice of charging more when demand is higher and vice versa. Just because technology gives unprecedented power to suppliers to match price with demand, should they do it? The team discusses the pros and cons of this variable pricing strategy -- when circumstances warrant it, and when to be cautious about the approach.

This season's discussion of trends continues with a growing phenomena: replacing traditional pricing models with subscription-based pricing. The group discusses why subscription models can make sense in many types of B2B and B2C businesses, which situations are best for the concept, and the "watch-outs" for sellers considering the approach. Listen and decide if you should be consider this trendy p...

This new season covers trends that businesses need to know about and have a plan for. This episode discusses how new decision-makers are gaining power in every industry. Is now the time for re-tooling your sales force to effectively call on economic buyers and executives? Should you start promoting to end-users in your market, when you never have before? This discussion will help you decide!

The last episode of Season 3 unpacks the interesting cases of Lexus and the Volkswagen Phaeton. These two brands -- one a colossal success and the other a notorious failure -- show how two companies attempting to do the same thing took divergent paths. See the specific strategic planning moves that led to Lexus' legendary success, and how Phaeton did the exact opposite -- to it's immediate and las...

Most marketers are familiar with Net Promoter Score (NPS) -- a metric to measure the strength of your relationships with customers. The Wall Street Journal wrote that some companies are reporting changes to NPS on quarterly analyst calls -- and called NPS a "Dubious Management Fad." You probably have an opinion on NPS -- listen in as we discuss plusses and minuses of NPS, particularly in a B2B con...

This week we focus on the agricultural giant John Deere. Amongst the many reasons for Deere's long-term success is an astonishing fact: they began practicing content marketing over 120 years ago! The team digs into the principles of B2B content marketing. Why does it work? How should companies be guided in developing content? Learn the differences between B2C and B2B content marketing strategies.

This weeks focus is on Netflix, a company that has continually been ahead of huge technological shifts. What kinds of practices does Netflix have -- as well as other companies who have successfully re-invented themselves? How do they know which trends to ignore, and which ones require massive shifts internal change? The group discusses the specific disciplines required to successfully respond to t...

Inertia and habit are the enemies of customer-centricity in business. In most industries, market dynamics often change long before companies adjust their strategies. Learn about a company that discovered they were focusing on the wrong stakeholder -- and how they changed their strategy in the nick of time. Mary, Sean and Tom discuss how you can save yourself the angst and morph your strategy befor...

Businesses of all types can learn a lot from what pharma companies do when their blockbuster drugs come off patent. Some fall off the revenue cliff, and some -- like Viagra -- do a remarkable job of holding share. In this episode, the team highlights what any business that faces low-priced competition can learn from Viagra's continued success.

One of the most underrated and over-performing businesses in the world is in the refrigeration business in China. You may have not heard of them, but there are some important, counter-intuitive secrets to their success. These include extreme dedication to customer-centricity (demonstrated over decades) and an ability to anticipate customer needs. Listen in as the team unlocks this company's succes...

The retailer Kohl's will return items to Amazon for you -- are they crazy? New types of partnerships are emerging almost daily, some between companies that have been -- or will soon be -- competitors. Why is this happening? Is it a good idea? The team dissects the idea of symbiotic competition -- when it makes sense, when it doesn't, and how B2Bs can think through the unimaginable -- should you pa...

B2B companies are seeing some of their high-margin offerings being undercut. Smaller competitors with fewer assets are specializing, moving faster, and leaving the traditional competitors to fight it out over commoditized products and services. In the worst case scenario, some industries are being "Uber-ized!" Find out what you can do to protect yourself!

This season's focus is modern case studies -- successes and failures -- that B2B companies can learn from. This episode examines the recent struggles of Kraft/Heinz -- how did they miss some key trends that have resulted in a significant drop in sales, profits and stock value? The team looks at why incumbents fail to act on big changes, and provides advice for how big companies can be more nimble...

All industries are being affected by new trends, technologies and competitors. With so much uncertainty about the future, companies need to be constantly experimenting with new ways of doing business. So why do so many companies continue to place big bets instead of monitoring a number of pilot projects for winners? The group discusses why this happens so often, and makes the case for more discipl...

People who understand value-based pricing know that it's a powerful strategy. So why don't more companies implement? Many think its not possible to accurately measure value from the customer's viewpoint. So they default to cost-based or competitor-based pricing approaches. The group concludes that those who think value can't be measured are wrong, and they are missing a huge opportunity to price b...

When your product or service generates important data that your customers can use in a broader "ecosystem," are their situations where you should block the data flow? What if this broader ecosystem includes your competitors? Should you willingly be part of "open systems", or is it to your advantage to create self-contained proprietary, closed systems? The team looks at all sides of this issue.

Does narrowing your focus to a single or a few target segments limit your opportunities for growth? While it is logical to think that targeting reduces your total addressable market (and it does), the team talks about the magnetic effect of focus - the ironic result of serving one segment so well that other segments are drawn to your value proposition.

Many B2B's have had the initial excitement of creating a needs-based segmentation strategy...only to have it fizzle out due to poor buy-in and bad execution of the initiative. They conclude that "it doesn't work." But it is actually very practical! And the answers to successfully implementing are easier than you think! Listen to the team give tips on how to make this powerful, differentiating appr...

It's a myth that most successful companies are doing enough to stay ahead of new competitors and technologies. The team discusses the very human - but dangerous - reasons incumbents move too slowly. Hear how legends like Jack Welch and Andy Grove made sure it didn't happen to them, how Millennial's might be just what these companies need, and how executives can solve the main issues and lead chang...

Some think that conducting B2B customer research is difficult, expensive, and not valuable because customers don't tell the truth about their needs! The team debunks these myths with many practical examples -- including stories of great insights uncovered in difficult industries and ideas for how to get truthful insight using very practical and inexpensive methods.

The team starts out this episode disagreeing on whether marketer's should continue to structure their strategies around the tenets of product, place, promotion and price. But they come to an agreement on how the 4Ps can still be a useful organizing principle for marketers.

Our second season continues to expose popular marketing myths. In this episode, Mary, Sean and Tom talk about why marketing and sales often don't work well together, and keys to getting them on the same page to the benefit of the entire organization.

Our second season will expose popular marketing myths hampering business growth. In this episode, the team talks about SWOT analysis -- and how this often-used and seemingly useful business planning tool can lead a business to invest in exactly the wrong things!!!