Ideas

Guide · Why isn't my marketing working

When B2B Marketing Stops Working, Check the Brand First

When leads hold steady and deals still slip away, the cause often lies in what buyers conclude about you, and a bigger budget won't repair that.

Guide · Brand point of view

A Brand Point of View Is How You Think Your Market Works

Most B2B buyers pick a favorite vendor before the pitch begins, and a brand point of view is how you give them a reason to pick you.

Guide · Choosing who to sell to

Choose a Target Market Before Your Customer List Does

A customer list records where a company has been. Choosing a target market is a separate decision about where it goes next, and it deserves its own facts.

Guide · Choosing your claim

How to Choose a Value Proposition: Lead With the Link a Rival Can't Copy

Behind every one-line promise sits a chain of cause and effect, and the line worth leading with is the one your operating records can back.

Guide · Choosing your claim

When to Reposition a Brand: First Check Whether Competitors Took Your Promise

A position that has stopped landing has often been crowded by rivals saying the same thing, and that problem has a different fix than starting over.

Guide · Choosing your claim

Brand Beliefs vs Brand Values: Why Every Values List Looks the Same

Most brand values are words no competitor would argue with; a brand belief is a position one would reject, and that's what lets buyers tell you apart.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

How to Create B2B Buyer Personas That Aren't Fiction

Build B2B buyer personas on one clear dividing rule, fill them from what real buyers said and did, and add the line a competitor's persona wouldn't have.

Guide · Positioning grounded in customer truth

Positioning, Personas, and Messaging: Why the Standard Assembly Line Fails

Most marketing teams treat positioning, personas, and messaging as a linear template exercise. This explains why your finished copy sounds like everyone else.

Guide · Who you're actually selling to

When No Vendor Stands Out, the B2B Buying Committee Falls Back on Four Things

A buying committee that can’t tell its shortlist apart goes with one person’s pick or the current vendor, then price, then the safest name, then a stall, and most of that is settled before sales gets a call.