[ Heart + Smart ] Blog by Authentic Brand - Marketing content for B2B growth organizations

23 Jan 2020

Getting real about demand generation: Expectation vs. reality

Demand generation. These two words often cause anxiety for B2B marketers because they frequently come attached to unrealistic expectations. Business leaders tend to think that creating demand is solved by executing a few digital marketing tactics or implementing a marketing automation tool. In reality, demand generation is much more complex. (more…)

08 Jan 2020

Authentic Brand presents at debut Coalition9 sales and marketing cohort gathering

On January 7th, Authentic Brand Fractional CMO, Steve Grady, was a guest presenter at Coalition9 - a new sales and marketing leadership development cohort, founded and led by Aaron Eggert. We were honored to be invited to participate in the debut event that kicks off the fast-growing group! (more…)

07 Jan 2020

The mindshare power behind the Authentic Brand peer community

I knew when starting Authentic Brand that I wanted two of our core values to be generosity and humility. I envisioned creating a peer community of fractional CMOs who generously share their resources, learnings, and experience. A humble peer community that would lay down its armor before every group meeting so each member could be authentically vulnerable and transparent: traits that would not only help ourselves improve and grow but also our clients. (more…)

05 Dec 2019

We packed 2,154 bags of food for local children and families

Our Two Or More community of volunteers joined forces today to fight food insecurity and hunger in our community, by packing bags of groceries at The Sheridan Story. (more…)

02 Dec 2019

Authentic Brand nominated for 2020 BOLD Awards

Image by ACG Minnesota Fast-growing fractional CMO firm nominated for innovative approach. The 2020 BOLD Awards MINNEAPOLIS, MN – December 2, 2019 – Authentic Brand is excited to announce that we have been nominated for the Eighth Annual BOLD Awards, presented by the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth® (ACG.) The BOLD Awards are designed to honor and recognize innovation, inspirational moves, bold visions and leaders that have made BOLD moves to positively grow, restructure or enhance their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders. The…

25 Nov 2019

The value of a fractional CMO: Quick impact and low risk

There's a point in a company growth cycle when businesses recognize that they need to invest in marketing for continued growth. Often these companies have been sales-driven until they realize they need a marketing leader dedicated to building brand awareness and driving meaningful engagement to support business objectives. It's at this point that executives start considering how to fill this marketing role effectively. They’re often choosing between one of four options: (more…)

19 Nov 2019

The many dimensions of marketing

Most business leaders understand that marketing should help get more “at bats” through lead generation efforts, but many organizations miss the opportunity to engage marketing to its full potential. Beyond lead generating programs, marketing can and should be instrumental in client retention, growth, loyalty, advocacy, as well as other business strategies in product or service innovation, employee recruitment / retention, change management communications, and more. (more…)

13 Nov 2019

Coffee & Closers – Marketing Traction featuring Jennifer Zick

On November 5th, Jennifer Zick joined Mickeli Bedore, founder and host of Coffee & Closers, for an up close and intimate conversation about lessons learned (and still being learned!) in life and business. "Life has broken me in the most beautiful way," explains Zick, as she answers questions about her career journey across sales, marketing, and founder roles. In this 30-minute conversation, Bedore manages to stage a business conversation that evolves from sales and marketing to a deeply personal journey of faith, failure, acceptance, and growth. Continue reading

05 Nov 2019

On The Rise: Meg Van Sloun Appointed Vice President of Authentic Brand

Meg Van Sloun to lead client services for fast-growing fractional leadership firm. As momentum builds around Fractional CMO model, Van Sloun brings next-level operational leadership to growing client roster and CMO team. (more…)

01 Nov 2019

What is Marketing Traction?

If you've been following Authentic Brand for a while, you've likely heard us talk about Marketing Traction™. Marketing Traction is a methodology we developed to help small, growth-focused businesses build strategic marketing departments and create alignment between sales and marketing. It uses simple tools and a structured process to establish alignment, accountability, and focus. (more…)