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

16Sep 2019 by Jennifer Zick

Guide: Building a Strong Marketing Program

Brand & Messaging, Fractional CMO, Marketing

“Vision without traction is merely hallucination.” ― Gino Wickman, Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business What does it take to go from a hot dog cart to a $459 million dollar a year restaurant chain? It takes a clear vision, backed by systematic process, led by experience. (more…)

13Sep 2019 by Judy Anderson

Four Myths of VOC Research

Brand & Messaging, Marketing

We talk to many executives who are interested in incorporating voice-of-customer research into their marketing program. Often their interest coincides with plans to enter a new market or introduce a new product or service. Other businesses simply want to use research to validate their approach with an external perspective. (more…)

30Aug 2019 by Jim Arnost

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone – Give Marketing a Seat at the Leadership Table

Fractional CMO, Marketing, Team

Let’s go out on a limb and assume that your company has a leadership team meeting every week or so. Perhaps you lead it, perhaps you muddle through it, lay low or like to stir things up. Who gets invited? Finance, Operations, HR, IT, Sales, Compliance and Legal? What about Marketing? Some of the time or all the time? In all honesty, why are they really there? As company leaders, to elevate the marketing function, this is a question you should clarify so your Marketing leader is delivering what the business needs. (more…)

21Aug 2019 by Jennifer Zick

TCSW19 Smart Smarketing Panel

Community, Event, Marketing

REGISTER HERE Smart Smarketing: Aligning marketing and sales to build healthy revenue at every stage of growth (A Twin Cities Startup Week Panel) It's coming! Twin Cities Startup Week is right around the corner: October 9-16, 2019, with hundreds of events taking place across Minneapolis and St. Paul metro communities. (more…)

19Aug 2019 by Marissa Matchey

How to have a Marketing Strategy rather than “Random Acts of Marketing” – an interview with Jennifer Zick

Brand & Messaging, Event, Fractional CMO, Marketing, Strategy & Coaching

Jennifer Zick, Authentic Brand's Founder and CEO, was pleased to join Benjamin Wolf as a guest on his podcast: Win Win - An Entrepreneurial Community. In this episode, Jennifer shares lessons learned in entrepreneurship (many shaped by experience in working with and for EOS-powered businesses), as well as advice for growing businesses on building a strategy-driven marketing program. Listen in to learn: (1) how to develop a marketing strategy and avoid “random acts of marketing;” (2) why you must sell what your product or service solves for your customer rather than just how great it is; and (3) the elements of a successful marketing plan when you're doing it on your own. Listen to the podcast here, or via the recording embedded below. (more…)

14Aug 2019 by Jennifer Zick

Have a Rising Star On Your Marketing Team?

Fractional CMO, Marketing, Strategy & Coaching, Team

Defining the “right person for the right seat” in the marketing department can be challenging for any business, but staffing for the marketing leadership role requires additional nuance when you have a rising star already on the team. Should you elevate your marketing coordinator / manager to the leadership role? Or should you hire someone with “been there, done that” leadership experience? (more…)

14Aug 2019 by Jennifer Zick

Marketing and Sales: Getting to Alignment

Fractional CMO, Marketing, Strategy & Coaching, Virtual Panel

Building an aligned marketing and sales strategy that can weather the ups-and-downs of a growing business is tough. We know it’s essential, yet alignment continues to be a significant challenge for many companies. (more…)

13Aug 2019 by Marissa Matchey

Jennifer Zick Makes Guest Appearance on The Schmidt List Podcast

Event, Fractional CMO, Marketing, Strategy & Coaching

This week, Jennifer Zick joined Kurt Schmidt, host of The Schmidt List Podcast, to discuss Jennifer's entrepreneurial journey and how Authentic Brand helps organizations grow with Fractional CMO leadership and Marketing Traction: a proven methodology for strategic planning, alignment, and accountability. (more…)

30Jul 2019 by Kelli Williams

What is this “Voice of the Customer” thing and why is it so important?

Digital, Marketing

There are several types of primary marketing research that businesses can use to help them gain valuable business insights. Many companies are looking for opportunities to become more customer-centric in their offerings, messages, and brand experiences. In that process, Voice of Customer research is growing in popularity. (more…)

02Jul 2019 by Marissa Matchey

Jennifer Zick Presents at Manufacturers Alliance Presidents’ Peer Group

Brand & Messaging, Digital, Event, Marketing

On June 26th, Authentic Brand was pleased to lead a presentation and workshop for the Manufacturers Alliance Presidents' peer group. A group of manufacturing leaders attended the session, titled "Building a High-Performance Revenue Engine: Aligning marketing & sales to fuel sustainable growth." (more…)