Commercial and Politcal Responses Must Resolve to Stop Russian Aggression Nearly ninety years ago, we saw a forceful head of state annex what he called “homeland” territories.  Made sham promises to countries such as England.  Invade countries under false pretexts such as Czechoslovakia.  The threatening clouds of his real designs were visible yet deemed as something he would never do.  The world watched.  Failing to respond commercially or politically.  Such failure did not stop the rise of Adolf Hitler and his aggression that led to World War II. Ultimately, Hit ..read more

Buying Decisions Are Affected By Intensified Buyer Activism Sentiments During the past decade, we have seen a significant rise in consumer activism. And that has translated to a rise in both brand activism as well as shareholder activism. We have seen consumers changing buying behaviors with their pocketbooks. Refusing or boycotting certain brands due to their social or environmental stance. For many years, activism centered on the environment. In the past two years, we have seen more prominence in social justice issues. Affecting primarily consumer brands. B ..read more

Businesses Will Need To Reassess ESG Stance Beyond Just Environment The Russia-Ukraine conflict is ushering in a new world order of business.  While our eyes were focused on whether we will enter a post-pandemic or an endemic way of handling the COVID-19 virus, another tectonic shift was happening.  It happened this past week with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Upsetting a delicate balance of geopolitical and globalization order.  Including global business factors related to ESG – Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance.  There has been an uneasy truce betwe ..read more

Business Leaders Will Need To Account For Ongoing Uncertainty The conflict resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine has heightened concerns on many fronts throughout the world.  We are witnessing political, humanitarian, economic, trade, globalization, and governmental impact.  The attempt by Russia to overthrow Ukraine’s leadership and bring the country into its’ sphere is intensifying uncertainty for businesses across the globe. As I have written about on several occasions, uncertainty has always been a part of the business world.  Businesses have tried to tackle uncerta ..read more

B2B Leaders Must Develop Unified Approaches to Buyer Strategies and Customer-Centricity Even though the business world is experiencing tumultuous change, B2B’s structure and governance are still very much fragmented.   Hierarchy dominates.  Functions and departments are represented by an elevator button.  Stop at a reception desk of a typical multi-story B2B corporation headquarters, you are likely to be told that the marketing department is on floor 7, sales is on floor 2, operations on floor 3, and executive offices are on floor 5.  Despite the upheaval, the reticenc ..read more

B2B Buyers Will Endure Ongoing Challenges Ahead From an overarching perspective, some industries have enjoyed a robust recovery coming out of the pandemic while others are still in a slow slog.  In engaged B2B buyer research I have been conducting, there appear to be strong headwinds ahead for buyers to contend with.  Inflation will only exacerbate the headwinds facing b2b buyers.  Like jet streams originated from the west, there will be four headwinds buyers are facing now and into the future. Talent and Skills Gap While “The Great Resignation” is a factor, it is not the only f ..read more

Earned Buyer Insights Are Critical to Being Relevant to Buyers At the start of the year, I elaborated on the idea that empathy is derived from a place of deeper understanding. In today’s business climate, the right to gain this deeper understanding must be earned.  For leaders, it is easy to say to their teams to have empathy or be empathetic.  Without deeper understanding as a foundation, attempts to display empathy will ring hollow with buyers and customers.  This same principle applies to buyer insights.  Buyer insights are not just handed over by buyers and customers.&n ..read more

B2B Sales and Marketing Executives Need To Adapt to Digital B2B Buying I recently read a thought-provoking article on the future of B2B buying by Brent Adamson, the author of the Challenger Sale and The Challenger Customer.  Brent also serves as Distinguished Vice President for Gartner.  He has been one of the brightest thinkers when it comes to B2B sales and marketing.   His recent article in the February 01, 2022 issue of Harvard Business Review, Traditional B2B Sales and Marketing Are Becoming Obsolete, echoes similar sentiments about the future of B2B buying I have had ..read more

Business Leaders Must Adapt Buyer Insights Generation To Rapid Pace Of Change The world continues to evolve.  The pace of change like it has never been.  Certainty and predictability are illusory in nature.  What we have learned, in the past two years especially, is that buyers’ goals and behaviors are undergoing constant change.  As are the way buyers are interacting and their choices of channels.  This lack of certainty is putting a premium on buyer insights that provide a deep understanding of buyer goals and how to fulfill them.  In this world of new realities ..read more

Early Buyer Insights Can Alert Leaders To Risks And Opportunities We are living in a time like no other.  Where predictability is more elusive than we could have ever imagined.  Buyers, consumers, and people, in general, are changing their behaviors continuously and rapidly.  The heads of many buyers and consumers spin as each bit of news causes them to hesitate on buying something.  Each month now presents new potential events that can throw people off course.  Whether such events are environmental, political, global, economic, innovation, or crisis-related, the rippl ..read more