No deal is better than a bad deal

For good negotiators, "No" is pure gold.Why?That negative provides a great opportunity for you and the other party to clarify what you really want by eliminating what you don't want.Remember:"No" is a safe choice that maintains the status quo; it provides a temporary oasis of control.

Beware "yes", master "no"

We've been conditioned to fear the word "No". But is a statement of perception far more often than of fact. "No" is often a decision, frequently temporary, to maintain the status quo.Remember:Change is scary, and "No" provides a little protection from that scariness.

All starts with "No"

When you preserve a person's autonomy by clearly giving them permission to say "No" to your ideas, the emotions calm, the effectiveness of the decisions go up, and the other party can really look at your proposal.Remember:Great negotiators seek "No" because they know that's often when the real negotiation begins.

Let them say "No"

When someone tells you "No", rethink the word in one of its alternative meanings:<ul><li>I am not yet ready to agree</li><li>You are making me feel uncomfortable</li><li>I do not understand</li><li>I don't think I can afford that</li><li>I want something else</li><li>I need more information</li><li>I want to talk it over with someone else</li></ul>Then, after pausing, ask solution-based questions or label their effect:<ul><li>"What about this doesn't work for you?"</li></ul>Remember:People have a need to say "No." So don't just hope to hear it at some point; get them to say it early.

Train yourself to hear "No"

<ul><li> Counterfeit: When the counterpart wants to say "no" but feels that "yes" is an easier exit route or just wants you to keep talking to get information. </li><li>Confirmation: It is usually innocent; sometimes it is used to set a trap but almost always it is a simple statement without promise. </li><li>Commitment: It is the one that matters, it is the real agreement that leads to action. This is the one you should be looking for. </li></ul>Remember:An early "Yes" is often just a cheap, counterfeit dodge.

3 types of "Yes"

Saying "No" often spurs people to action because they feel they've protected themselves and now see an opportunity slipping away.Remember:"No" is not a failure. Used strategically it's an answer that opens the path forward.

"No" is protection

<ul><li>"No" allows real problems to come to light</li><li>"No" protects people from making bad decisions</li><li>"No" slows things down so people can think through their decisions</li><li>"No" helps people feel safe, secure, emotionally comfortable and in control of their decisions</li><li> "No" boosts everyone's efforts</li></ul>Remember:As Dallas Mavericks said "Every 'No' gets me closer to a 'Yes'"

The skills of "No"

If despite all your efforts, the other party won't say "No", you're dealing with people who are indecisive or confused or who have a hidden agenda. In cases like that you have to end the negotiation and walk away.Think of it like this: No "No" means go

Force the "No"

A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home. After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counterintuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life. Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

business

Business

books

Books

A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home.After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss’s head, revealing the skills that helped him and his colleagues succeed where it mattered most: saving lives. In this practical guide, he shares the nine effective principles—counterintuitive tactics and strategies—you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

A 24 year veteran of the FBI, Chris Voss is one of the preeminent practitioners and professors of negotiating skills in the world. He is the founder and principal of The Black Swan Group, a consulting firm that provides training and advises Fortune 500 companies through complex negotiations. Voss has taught for many business schools, including the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, Harvard University, MIT's Sloan School of Management, and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, among others.

Chris Voss

Tahl Raz is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Tahl Raz has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Tahl Raz's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Tahl Raz

Never Split the Difference

As a full-service digital marketing agency in Dubai, Digital Express can drive brand performance to achieve outstanding results. Our greatest passion and strength is in offering industry-leading web design, web development, software & app development, social media marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, and paid search services to our clients, along with a complete range of services you can expect from a top <a href="https://www.digitalexpress.agency/">digital media advertising agency Dubai</a>.

Digital Marketing Services In Dubai

They provide knowledge to us the best digital marketing and advertising agencies in Dubai.

Digital Express is a leading full-service digital marketing agency in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah UAE. Offering widest array of digital solutions including digital advertising, website design, web development.

Digital Marketing Agency Dubai | Digital Advertising Agency in Dubai, UAE

For example, a cable company that has a monopoly often has the worst customer service and products. There is no competition, therefore no reason to do better. It's not like customers can go anywhere else.

Good times lead to laziness

In hard times, there are higher stresses because there's less business. This forces us to go back to the basics of what it means to run a business. Loyal customers will stick with you. When a customer gets a sense that you would sacrifice your interest to take care of them, they'll give you love and loyalty.

Hard times

Manipulation might benefit you in the short term, but not in the long term. Mechanisms to get someone to buy:<ul><li>Dropping the price</li><li>Have a promotion</li><li>Buy one get one free</li></ul>These methods don't help someone to be loyal. They just add a promise or threat of punishment. Inspiration makes someone feel heard and feel like they matter. Good customer service is if you can show someone you care by trying to solve their problem.

Manipulation vs inspiration

Customer service isn't about the customer always being right, it's about the customer feeling heard. If we truly serve our customers with respect, we'll cultivate loyalty that lasts. + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: http://simonsinek.com/inspireU Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in... Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-... Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-your-why/ Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader... Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth... + + + #SimonSinek

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Economics

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Videos

Customer service isn't about the customer always being right, it's about the customer feeling heard. If we truly serve our customers with respect, we'll cultivate loyalty that lasts.

+ + +

Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. 

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do.

Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game.

+ + +

Website: http://simonsinek.com/
Live Online Classes: http://simonsinek.com/inspireU
Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek

Simon’s books:
The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in...
Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-...
Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-your-why/
Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader...
Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth...

+ + +

#SimonSinek

Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Simon has devoted his life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.  Every day is an opportunity to inspire someone. 

Official Simon Sinek brand account.

Learn more at simonsinek.com.

Simon Sinek

The SERVICE in Customer Service | Simon Sinek

Our agency is a big believer in data. We track website metrics, social media metrics, email marketing metrics, and pull in great <a href="https://www.greenmellenmedia.com/heat-maps-what-value-do-they-provide/">tools like heatmaps</a> to take things even further. However, a problem that can quickly arise is having too much data. It’s easy to build a giant report that shows everything, but the result of that is often that the key metrics get buried.

More data = less value

The biggest offenders tend to be digital marketing agencies and SEO agencies that send 100-page reports to their clients. It’s always a big red flag. Usually means it was outsourced by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.Experts know how to make things easy to understand, not harder.

If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter

Our dashboards work well, but really any method that you use to take lots of data and break it down is an excellent way to provide more value to those you serve.

Our agency is a big believer in data. We track website metrics, social media metrics, email marketing metrics, and pull in great tools like heatmaps to take things even further. However, a problem that can quickly arise is having too much data. It's easy to build a giant report that…

communication

Communication

Criticism can certainly discourage you from writing in the first place, and it also can disguise itself as perfectionism when it comes to your content marketing.If you delay publishing your writing — while you try to improve your content before anyone else reads it — you are likely trying to avoid criticism.

Content Marketing: Avoiding Criticism

Writing a blog for your business helps prospects get to know, like, and trust you while you educate them on what they need to know to do business with you.You naturally want readers to get a positive impression of your products or services. Anything less would be disappointing or downright devastating. The false belief associated with perfectionism is that if everything is “perfect,” you’ll protect yourself from someone pointing out something you did wrong or something they don’t like (which is impossible to control).

The Push To Be Perfect

Let’s imagine a scenario where no one criticizes your writing.It’s not that far-fetched of a concept because it happens on many blogs every single day … blogs no one reads.The downside of a lack of criticism is that your blog probably doesn’t have a substantial number of readers yet or your content doesn’t meaningfully impact the people it does reach.Criticism can be unpleasant, but it’s not the most harmful thing for your blog. Obscurity is.

Face Your True Challenge 

When you create content that isn’t boring and forgettable, there will always be someone who doesn’t like what you do.Keep creating anyway. A lot of people say “there’s no such thing as ‘perfect.’”When you’re passionate about your work, aiming for “perfect” may be necessary. But what you end up with is even better than “perfect” … because it’s a creation you’ve made that no one can take away from you.You can care about quality and produce meaningful work without driving yourself crazy.

Be Good Enough In Your Business Blogging

By now, we’re starting to get comfortable with inevitable things that will happen when you publish your writing:<ul><li>People will disagree with you.</li><li>A typo will occasionally appear in your final draft, even though you proofread carefully.</li><li>You’ll change your mind and cringe at something you wrote a year ago.</li></ul>

Building Confidence

And as you continue to get comfortable with the uncomfortable aspects of publishing, you strengthen your resilience and build your confidence.Confidence is vital for content marketers. It’s what enables you to stand for something that matters, think of remarkable content ideas, and attract prospects who identify with your brand.The more you produce, the less afraid you are of mistakes. Your confidence takes their power away.

Publish Regularly To Refine Your Mistakes

Your best writing that connects with the right prospects emerges when you’re actually doing the work.Since you start to reveal more about your point of view over time, will the wrong people also decide that you’re not for them? Sure.Keep creating anyway.

Both Ends Of The Spectrum

If a good idea fits into a blogger’s strategy, why would they wait to publish a post about it?It’s typically a desire to wait until they have a bigger audience. Avoid that attitude and remember that everyone starts by serving the audience they currently have (or, when you don’t have any readers yet, the audience you aim to attract to your business).Follow through with your idea, rather than hold off until a seemingly more ideal time.You’ll always have a chance to write about the topic again in the future — and with new insights.

Don't Hold Back Your Best Ideas

It’s smart to use ideas that fit into your content marketing strategy right away, even if you wish you were already a bigger influencer.When you use one of your best ideas and recognize the content is special, repurpose it in different formats to reach more people.A blog post will attract readers, but your target audience might also search for videos on YouTube. A version of that blog post that leads viewers back to your website can be put on YouTube so more people can discover and connect with your story.

Spread Your Most Outstanding Work

Even though it may be your goal to build your audience, it can be scary to expose your work to more people.Content is your chance to creatively position information in a new way — a way that your prospects want to hear it.Aren’t you more interested in finding the information you need from people you know, like, and trust? Those noteworthy bloggers write despite their perfectionist tendencies or fears of criticism.So, keep creating the work that gets people to know, like, and trust you.And publish it regularly on your website.

Noteworthy Business Bloggers Overcome Perfectionism

Business blogging and the fear of criticism go hand in hand, so it's time to learn the art of remarkable writing without perfectionism.

writing

Reading & Writing

Business Blogging Pro Guide (Get Results Without Perfectionism)

E-commerce marketing planning is about formalizing how you intend to drive traffic to a website and convert it from prospective users to customers.The plan specifies exactly how a business intends to use e-commerce marketing channels to attract, convert and retain customers. With an integrated plan aligned to the business vision and consistent with an omnichannel approach, a business can expect to see accelerated results.Nearly half of companies don't have a clearly defined digital marketing strategy. Of those who do, the majority have integrated it into their overall marketing strategy.

Defining An E-commerce Marketing Plan

The <a href="https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/race-a-practical-framework-to-improve-your-digital-marketing/">RACE Framework</a> is the perfect tool to assist the e-commerce marketing planning stage, allowing you to focus on each stage: plan, reach, act, convert, and engage. The model divides the customer journey into clear phases, demonstrating appropriate marketing activities playing a different role in each stage.

The RACE Framework

Plan: Create a digital marketing strategy, mission and objectivesReach: Grow your audience online, situational analysis and competitive landscape, target audience, budget and goalsAct: Encourage brand interactions and leads, media and channelsConvert: Increase online and offline sales through optimization, KPIs and success metricsEngage: Build customer loyalty and advocacy

The Five-Step E-commerce Marketing Plan

Begin your plan by assessing the previous year’s performance. To create an effective digital marketing strategy, you must first have a good idea of what is working as a strength as well as knowing your weaknesses.You should also have a view of the market and your competitors’ activities.<ul><li>Identify all of your current digital marketing activities.</li><li>Work out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats using the SWOT/ TOWS frameworks.</li><li>Outline your e-commerce marketing goals and make sure you’ve set SMART objectives. </li><li>Understand your target market, their needs, wants and expectations.</li></ul>

Step 1: Assess Current Situation (PLAN)

What is the growth timeline and how do you intend to reach new customers?Reach involves building awareness of your brand, products, and services. After all, no one can buy from your business if they don’t know it exists.ToFu (top-of-funnel) tactics as part of your e-commerce marketing plan should focus on how you can use other websites and offline media to drive traffic to your owned media e.g. website, blog, or social media profiles.

Step 2: Grow Your Audience (REACH)

<ul><li>Define your key brand messages to focus on awareness, familiarity and purchase intent.</li><li>Embed campaign tracking and attribution to adequately review performance.</li><li>Perform keyword research to identify strengths and opportunities (both paid and organic search) </li><li>Identify the appropriate channels to promote the right content to the right people.</li><li>Define a paid and display media budget to reach the correct audience.</li></ul>

Maximize Reach Of Marketing

What channels and content works best to grab attention with the target audience? What makes them take action?The ACT stage in the e-commerce marketing plan is aimed at encouraging interactions that will result in lead generation. It focuses on creating interactions with content rather than conversion at this point in the funnel. MoFu (middle-of-funnel) marketing works to position the company as the best provider to suit the customer's needs.Plan the next year’s activities with appropriate budgets and KPIs specifically aimed at the middle of the funnel.

Step 3: Prompt Interactions, Subscribers and Leads (ACT)

How do you intend to convert a lead to a sale? What activities will persuade your audience to take that vital next step and turn into paying customers? BoFu (bottom-of-funnel) looks at the end of the process; generating the conversion.Today’s customers expect a personalized digital experience. This might be dynamic landing pages, multichannel marketing offering a range of conversion techniques such as email, LiveChat, and product demos, and fully optimized mobile browsing.

Step 4: Focus On Conversion (CONVERT)

It’s important to remember that payment can be made through online e-commerce transactions or offline channels. The customer journey is not linear and a deep dive into analytics and customer data is essential to understanding the path to purchase. You should consider this as part of your omnichannel marketing strategy.Identify conversion funnels and paths to purchase.Plan how you can personalize the digital experience within your current constraints and resources.Establish a communication process between your marketing and development teams.

Points To Keep In Mind For The Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

This stage in the funnel requires you to keep adding value to your brand experience to generate repeat purchases, build loyalty, and improve customer satisfaction.<ul><li>Plan how you can use content to nurture the post-sale relationship. Examples include storytelling, case studies and engaging social content.</li><li>Outline your intended onboarding process using e-commerce marketing techniques and online messaging.</li><li>Establish your multi-channel customer service process e.g. chatbots, social media, call centres.</li><li>Identify post-sale customer data for remarketing opportunities that will build relationships</li></ul>

Step 5: Keep It Going (ENGAGE)

Your e-commerce marketing plan should include a view as to how you will track and report on all KPIs:<ul><li>Customized Google Analytics goals, segments, events and dimensions to reflect campaigns</li><li>A conversion-based forecast model for media ROI</li><li>The conversion rate for different types of leads or subscribers</li><li>A method of assessing the quality of visitors to your website</li><li>Attribution across all digital channels, but also how they influence offline sales</li><li>How to track returning customers and their value</li><li>Email subscriber engagement</li><li>Customer satisfaction and loyalty drivers</li></ul>

Measuring the Effectiveness of your e-commerce marketing plan

Thinking about your e-commerce marketing plan for 2022? Use the RACE Framework to create a focussed and well-structured digital marketing strategy.

How to write an e-commerce marketing plan Thinking about your e-commerce marketing plan for 2022? Use the RACE Framework to create a focussed and well-structured digital marketing strategy In.

How to write an e-commerce marketing plan | Smart Insights

To rank well on Google, you need to nurture your brand by building its expertise, authority, and trustworthiness — which is exactly what E-A-T stands for! Google wants to be as certain as possible that they are recommending sites that display a high level of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness — which is what E-A-T stands for! It’s Google’s way of protecting searchers from low-quality content that has the potential to be detrimental to a searcher.

Google E-A-T SEO

To be an expert is to be very knowledgeable about or skillful in a particular area. However, possessing this knowledge alone is not going to get traffic flooding to your website from Google. You need to understand how to communicate this knowledge in a way that engages people. How to create expert content?<ul><li>Keyword research</li><li>Understand serachers intent</li><li>Understand what buyers journey stage the searchers are at</li><li>Balance between being comprehensive while keeping it simple</li><li>Think about the next queries a searcher might have and have content ready to answer that too</li></ul>

Expertise

Being an expert is great, but it's only the beginning. When other experts/influencers in your vertical are citing you as a source of information or when your name (or brand) becomes synonymous w/ the relevant topics, then you are not just an expert — you're the authority.KPI’s for judging authoritativeness:<ul><li>Links from relevant & authoritative.</li><li>Mentions in the news or on authoritative websites in your space will still boost authoritativeness.</li><li>Majestic ‘trust ratio’ score & Moz Domain Authority score</li><li>Content is shared, widely & consistently across social media.</li><li>Branded search volume.</li></ul>

Authority

Too many bad reviews are a sign of low quality — which decreases your trustworthiness. Address complaints before you end up with too much negativity attached to your brand. Ways to promote trustworthiness:<ul><li>Have Contact, T&Cs, & Privacy Policy pages that are easily accessible.</li><li>Associate the website with a physical location — office/store address.</li><li>Have a secure web domain.</li><li>Have clear refunds & returns policies.</li><li>Include comprehensive specifications of products & relevant safety advice.</li><li>If you’re sharing knowledge, have an author bio included & cite external sources.</li></ul>

Trustworthiness

Following E-A-T as a framework when working on your business’s digital marketing means you’re taking a holistic approach to SEO & content marketing. Covering these three pillars is a smart thing to do, particularly if you want to rank pages on Google for the best search terms in your industry.

Over the past few months, you’ve probably seen the buzzword (or acronym, rather) “E-A-T” floating around. While this term has been in the lexicon of many SEOs for quite a while now, since the major Google algorithm update in August 2018 (AKA “the medic update”), a big bright spotlight has been…

Google E-A-T SEO: How to Create Content Google Wants

The term “marketing” appeared in the 1900s to describe activities and institutions taking place in markets, and early marketing textbooks were largely descriptive of these activities and institutions.
Marketing Management, which was published in 1967, was the first text to use an analytical approach to marketing and include findings of scholarly studies.

The History Of Marketing

One of the key underlying ideas advanced in the very first edition of the book was that company actions must be driven by customers and their needs. This core principle of customer-centricity has remained the central idea across all editions of the book. 
The rise of big data, social media, and sophisticated e-commerce has not changed the fact that a key purpose of any company is to create value for its customers.

Driven By Customer Needs

Marketing is all about understanding, designing, communicating, and delivering value. This is the foundation of marketing strategy and has not changed with time. What has changed are the tools that companies use to create value. 
Data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence are very powerful tools in managing value, but they are just tools. Without a sound strategy guiding their use, they can become a distraction from a company’s core mission.

Delivering Value

One important change that affects the business philosophy of many companies is redefining their ultimate purpose. As a result, an increasing number of companies include the creation of societal value in their mission statements.
This is an important development that is likely to have long-term consequences on the way these companies act in the marketplace and the way they structure their business processes.

The New Focus: Societal Value

In the old days, a brand simply told you what the product is and does and how it’s priced. But today, a brand is the company’s promise to deliver a specific benefit that addresses a particular need of its customers.
Moreover, the promise of many brands extends beyond functionality and reflects certain aspects of customers’ identity.

The New Approach

As more and more products are becoming commoditized, customers are looking beyond functionality for something that is meaningful. It is no longer just about the product. 
It is also about who the company behind this product is and what this company stands for. As companies understand this, they realize that to be successful in the market, they might have to reinvent their culture and realign it with the values held by their customers.

Countering Commoditization

Having a purpose also helps companies attract and retain employees. If you stand for something, you have a better chance of getting and keeping the right people, which ultimately will enhance profitability. 
This also extends to a company’s partners. For example, companies like Whole Foods prioritize suppliers that employ environmentally friendly and socially responsible business practices.

Having A Purpose

The ultimate goal is to create value, what has changed is the proliferation of information. In the past, advertising was the main tool to inform customers about products. Now, customers can get detailed product information from a variety of sources, both from the company as well as from other customers. 
And the same goes for companies. The proliferation of social media and the advancement in data analytics enables companies to know in real-time not only what customers are doing but also how they are feeling about their brands.

Same Goal, New Approach

It’s important to realize that today’s consumers are different. They are connected with so many people from so many other parts of the world and can find information with a simple click, without needing a salesman or an ad. 
Anyone who’s going to buy a car will probably end up seeing a salesman in the dealership, but most will have done a lot of their own work to know about their options. We have to recognize the existence of such an intelligent, well-informed consumer, which means companies have to make big changes to their traditional marketing tools.

An Intelligent Customer

People tend to go shopping in brick-and-mortar stores for different reasons. 
<ul>
<li>Some go for purely utilitarian reasons. They appreciate the fact that they can see what the product looks and feels like in reality and will eventually be able to buy it instantly and take it home. </li>
<li>Others go for more hedonic reasons; for them, it is more about the shopping experience. They don’t go to brick-and-mortar stores to save time but to spend time. </li>
<li>For many, it is also a chance to socialize with friends and family.</li>
</ul>

Going To The Store

In the past, marketing was not part of the development of the product. It was only called in after the product was made. Then it was the marketers’ job to sell as much as they could. 
But now marketing participates in product development. Marketers can offer design ideas and features. Engineers are the masters of the possible, but it is marketers who can best assess value because they are better at understanding the customers’ criteria for buying a product.

Customer-Centric Job Roles

As technological developments enable companies to track the impact of their activities, managers are expected to be able to document the return on the company’s marketing investment. This has its advantages and drawbacks. 
<ul>
<li>On the positive side, it enables the company to better allocate its marketing resources to areas where they will have the highest impact. </li>
<li>On the downside, however, this might focus the company’s marketing efforts on activities that produce short-term effects, to the detriment of activities such as brand building that have a long-term payout.</li>
</ul>

Transparency And Accountability

Phil Kotler’s groundbreaking textbook came out 55 years ago. Sixteen editions later, he and coauthor Alexander Chernev discuss how big data, social media, and purpose-driven branding are moving the field forward.

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

How Has Marketing Changed over the Past Half-Century?

<ol><li>Your customers are overwhelmed with information. Help them figure out what they need to know</li><li>Analyst reports, corporate blogs, display advertising, email marketing, infographics, podcasts, white papers, word-of-mouth recommendations: All are competing for the opportunity to influence buyers.</li><li>So much accurate and trustworthy information exists online that B2B customers dedicate only 17% of their purchase process to talks with potential suppliers.</li></ol>

Sensemaking for Sales

<ol><li> Salesrep employ a version of the Socratic method, not telling customers what to think but instead helping them create a framework within which to make their own decisions. </li><li>The aim is to support customers regardless of the outcome. When the buyer’s direction aligns with the supplier’s capabilities, the reps make that abundantly clear; conversely, they bow out early and direct their attention elsewhere when alignment proves elusive. Above all else, they help customers make sense of the information they’ve encountered to make confident purchase decisions. Their approach is a form of sensemaking</li></ol>

Sales Rep use it as opportunity to sell

<ol><li>At Gartner, we surveyed 1,100 B2B customers. </li><li>Nearly 90% agreed that the information they encounter as part of a purchase is generally of high quality; believable, relevant, backed by data, supported by expert analysis, and conveyed in a compelling manner. But they struggle to make sense of it. </li><li>Fifty-five percent of respondents find the information to be trustworthy but relatively undifferentiated. And 44% find the information to be trustworthy but contradictory; the various pieces are relevant and believable, but they suggest opposing directions.</li></ol>

Facts

<ol><li>When forced to decide in the face of overwhelming amounts of information, people often fall back on cognitive biases </li><li>Common ones include anchoring (relying too heavily on the first piece of information offered), belief perseverance (clinging to one’s initial thought), and the status-quo bias, which in B2B buying often translates to customers’ saying, “We’ve decided to study this more. Call us in six months.</li></ol>

Why it makes Sense?

<ol><li>Customer’s decision confidence: the degree to which the buying group believes it has determined the right questions to consider, prioritized the information that matters most, and identified consistent themes. Customers high in decision confidence have managed to make sense of the information and feel assured of their ability to make a potentially bigger, broader, more impactful decision. They are 157% as likely as others to complete a high-quality, low regret deal.</li></ol>

What can sellers do?

<ol><li>Trust in the seller: Things typically end poorly when a customer senses that a rep has failed to provide complete and accurate information because the rep is focused on meeting his or her own needs. Customers who are highly skeptical of a rep’s claims are 1.6 times less likely to make a high-quality, low-regret deal than are customers who believe their rep’s claims.</li></ol>

What can sellers do (Contd.)? 

<ol><li>Connecting customers with relevant resources: Sensemaking reps curate the information they share for utility and clarity, including only what will help customers advance with increasing confidence along their purchase journey. Sensemaking reps readily admit the limits of their knowledge. When skepticism of sellers can be so damaging, there’s clear value in simply saying, “I don’t know” rather than manufacturing a half-truth that can be easily fact-checked. And admitting one’s limitations can forge a powerful connection with buyers, who probably don’t know either. </li></ol>

1. What sensemaking sellers do Differently?

<ol><li>Clarifying information: In many ways, a sensemaking rep’s key to success is the ability to boost a customer’s belief that the rep empathizes with the difficulty of making a complex purchase decision. That requires helping customers feel that they’ve asked the right questions, understood competing perspectives, and accounted for potential contingencies. Sensemaking sellers are particularly adept at clarifying complex problems, explaining technical information, and turning abstract concepts into understandable, shareable, and compelling insights. </li></ol>

2. What sensemaking sellers do differently?

<ol><li>Collaborating on customer learning. A sensemaking rep ensures that the conclusions customers reach are their own. The goal is to Socratically guide buyers on a learning journey, not tell them what to do. Sensemaking reps often encourage customers to independently verify seller provided information and give them an easy way to do so. They offer a framework for learning that makes customers feel in control; that confidence increases the chances that buyers will make a decision rather than delay or stand pat</li></ol>

3. What sensemaking sellers do differently?

Your customers are overwhelmed with information. Help them figure out what they need to know.

product

Product & Design

There are two main ways you can approach the internet:<ol><li>You can be patient and giving, contribute to the discourse, and leave it better than you found it.</li><li>Work to squeeze every bit of value out of it and not worry about what’s left when you’re done.</li></ol>Individuals likely have some granular levels between those, but businesses are often much more black and white.

Leave it better than you found it

For example, I got an unsolicited message on a LinkedIn a few days ago that said the following:"Our team has launched (redacted), sales & prospecting automation software for Linkedin that allows you to not only automate connection requests and messages you send, but also create campaigns and build sales funnels on Linkedin."

The Message

Automation can be a good thing. If you find a tool that helps you streamline your workflow, go for it! Computers and the internet can make many aspects of our life much easier, and that should be celebrated.However, if the primary use of a tool is to reach more people, that’s just called spam. Even if it doesn’t make you look dumb (<a href="https://www.mickmel.com/marketing-automation-gone-bad/">like Mountain View Ford</a>), you’re still contributing to make the internet a worse experience for everyone.

Automation can be good

When you go hiking or camping, you’re encouraged to leave things better than when you found them. We should strive to do the same online.

There are two main ways you can approach the internet: You can be patient and giving, contribute to the discourse, and leave it better than you found it.Work to squeeze every bit of value out of it and not worry about what's left when you're done. Individuals likely have some…

teamwork

Teamwork

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Society, Arts & Culture

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