Marketing Planning

Your Business is a System

In this week’s Moment of Clarity I share my thoughts on how seeing your business as a system can help you improve and grow your business.

About fifteen years ago I completely disassembled an old Corvette I bought in a fit of bad judgment at a swap meet. Every bolt. Every washer. Every piece of wire.

My friend Matt Shultz sums up marketing strategy thusly. Companies want to eat their dessert first. We all love the sexy stuff of marketing dessert – web sites, brochures, videos, etc. But nobody wants to eat their vegetables first. Marketing strategy is the vegetables.

And if you want a healthy sales program, you have to eat your vegetables.

When it comes to creating a sustainable funnel of customers, throwing more money at the problem isn’t the answer. A wise man said “That’s like giving a bicycle to a fish.” That wise man may have been slightly drunk but I think he was on to something.

Forget about those binders full of data. Focus on the journey to get the real value of planning. In this video I talk about the real reason you need a marketing execution plan. This week’s Moment of Clarity is a humdinger if I do say so myself.

Start with a $45 million dollar company and make a lot of bad decisions. Ba-ding! I’ll be here all week. Try the veal!

In this Smash Podcast I tell you the cold hard truth about prospects that you need to accept so you can start reaching them with more relevant messages and calls to action that actually work.

I’m a huge believer in polling your customers to uncover key insights into how they buy, what they think, how they evaluate similar suppliers, etc. In fact, most of my assignments start with customer phone interviews, because the information uncovered during these conversations is priceless when it comes to developing a strategy that is truly relevant to the people who actually buy your products or services. Fundamental marketing. I get it.

I received a very interesting call last week from a friend and client I worked with almost two decades ago. You’ll love this story of success and I’m super proud to be a small part of it.

In this Moment of Clarity I compare the parallels of training service dogs and marketing. In both disciplines, consistency and the use of incentives or “rewards” drives results.

A wise man by the name of Ed Schwarzkopf once said “People view consultants as guys that know fifty different ways to make love but don’t have a girlfriend”. I’m going to use bad language in this video. Specifically the word “Consultant”.

“Clarity Marketing Support was hired to lead marketing when a management turnover occurred within the company. Clarity's team took great initiative in learning about our specific circumstances came up to speed very quickly. They worked really well with the team and met all deadlines presented to them including a trade show campaign with an extremely tight timeline.”

Bernie Baum
Schwarz Pharma

I have found Clarity Marketing Support to be great with not only creative ideas but also deadlines and details. You don’t often see this in one package. I gave them the job to be the acting Marketing Manager for our company when I had to replace the incumbent. Pete acted as a member of my senior staff, and interacted with both our executives and outside contractors as if he were one of us. I would recommend Clarity Marketing Support without reservation for roles involving everything from strategy through to marketing implementation.

Joshua Konkle
Overtone Software

“Pete is stellar; he has the unique capability to blend strategy and tactics into a message understood by your target audience. Clarity Marketing Support's services are efficient and cost effective. Moreover, their network of support expands every time I meet with them. From idea to digital visuals then to paper – Pete’s team can deliver! ”

Jim Huebner
Zero Zone

Clarity Marketing Support, Inc.

B2B Fractional Marketing Leadership

Marketing Planning

Your Business is a System

Eat Your Vegetables.

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

It’s Not the Plan. It’s the Journey.

How to Create a $10 Million Company

Nobody cares about you.

What kind of car are you? And Other Stupid Questions You Should Never Ask Clients.

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

Shaping Prospect Behavior and The Art of the Reward

The Consultant’s Dirty Little Secret