Latest News from Grant Johnson

B2B Companies Play Catch-up in Social Media Arena

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:45:00 EDT

This Q/A with Grant Johnson, conducted recently by Drew Neisser, CEO of Renegade, a NYC-based social media and marketing consultancy, also ran here on The Drew Blog. B2B companies for the most part have been playing catch up to their B2C counterparts in the social media arena. One company that is coming on strong in this area [...]

Architecting a Superior Customer Experience

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:45:00 EDT

Recently I led CMO Roundtable discussions with several CMOs in the Metropolitan D.C. area and Philadelphia to explore their roles in architecting the customer experience. In the Web 2.0 world, customer experience and loyalty have become the key differentiators between leaders and laggards. While the importance of delivering great experiences for customers is generally understood [...]

The Customer is Truly King – A Look at Why Customer Obsession Needs to be Your Organization’s New Business Imperative

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:58:55 EST

In their classic book, “The Discipline of Market Leaders,” authors Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema described three basic “value disciplines” that can create customer value and provide a competitive advantage: operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy. For a long time since the book’s publication in 1983, many companies successfully adopted a customer intimacy strategy [...]

Memo to Super Bowl Advertisers: It’s Time to Draw up Some New Plays

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:44:58 EST

Good communications succeed by connecting with the audience. Whether you’re talking about a business-to-consumer organization or an enterprise software company, it became clear that not all ad agencies and their clients subscribe to this mandate as I watched wide range of ads airing during the Super Bowl on Sunday. While the game kept viewers on [...]

It’s Time to Make Marketing Dollars Work Smarter

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:30:41 EST

As we embark on another year with an uncertain and fragile economy looming, one thing is certain: most marketers are wasting money. In the Web 2.0 world, and given the measurability of all things digital, at least it’s not as bad as the old lament: “I know half of my money is wasted; I just [...]

Architecting a Global Brand – Part 2

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:58:50 EST

Having created and shaped several successful brands during the past 20 years, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft), FileNet (acquired by IBM), AST Computer (acquired by Samsung) and now Pegasystems, there are several keys challenges that must be addressed to successfully build and maintain a global brand: charter; structure or architecture; investment; management; alignment; and advocacy. [...]

Good Customer Service: You Either Get It or Don’t

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:40:38 EST

It seems the chasm between good and bad customer service is growing wider every day. There are many reasons why this is happening. First, social media has empowered the consumer to not only voice her opinion, but also to create a rapid shift in positive or negative sentiment towards companies. Second, the combination of increasing [...]

Selective Hearing: The Voice of the Customer

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:25:00 EST

For many of us, the clarion call to become more customer centric is echoing throughout the halls; we all need to better acquire, serve, and retain customers. While there are many avenues to customer centricity, one of the primary approaches to getting closer to customers starts with designing and implementing a Voice of the Customer [...]

Who Owns the Customer?

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:16:02 EDT

In most companies, if you ask that question, you’ll often hear “we’re customer driven, so of course everyone owns the customer.” The problem is that when everyone owns the customer, no one actually does. This lack of true customer ownership is in part caused by the fact that most companies are organized along functional lines [...]

Maximize Customer Lifetime Value by Managing the Customer Lifecycle

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:31:46 EDT

The ability to seamlessly manage customers across the entire lifecycle and thereby maximize customer value remains an elusive goal for most organizations. There are many reasons for this: companies have established artificial customer service boundaries and silos that require multiple departments to service a single customer; different customer specialists are required to receive then fulfill a given service request; or they simply don’t have the right software technology and business processes to match customer need and service ability at the moment of interaction. As a result, organizations are only realizing a fraction of potential customer wallet share, experiencing high rates of churn and spending far too much time and money delivering repetitive information that only frustrates the customer. From the customer’s perspective, they experience doing business with disparate individuals and companies, rather than a single cohesive organization. Too often, customers hear the dreaded phrase, “I am going to have to transfer you to another department,” or “I am sorry, I am not empowered to do that, you are going to have to speak to someone who is…can you call back later when they are return to work?”. When customers interact with the company, too often they are starting from scratch with every interaction, unable to benefit from the context provided during prior interactions.

Customer Success is Contagious

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:26:45 EDT

You know you’re destined to fail if the words “customer success” appear only on dusty, off-centered posters adorning break rooms and hallways at your company offices. Or maybe that organization has already shuttered. On the other hand, when customer success becomes woven into the fabric of how a company operates, and is truly measured by customer validation and not a company’s own self-assessment of success, it can become contagious to the point where it produces sustainable competitive advantage.

Customer Centricity Begins Where a 360-Degree View Ends

Fri, 20 May 2011 12:27:17 EDT

While it’s one of the enduring tenets in the CRM market, a 360-degree view of the customer is fundamentally flawed. Why is that? Having all the information at your fingertips about any given customer is of little value if you can’t do anything with it to better serve the customer at the point of interaction, across all contact channels and organization silos.

Customer Acquisition and Expansion in the Resurgent Economy

Fri, 06 May 2011 11:11:05 EDT

At a joint presentation, Martyn Christian, CMO at Kofax, and I explored challenges of customer acquisition and growth and also discussed RO-based strategic approaches that help us achieve measurable success in these endeavors, despite the challenging economy. Since both of us lead marketing in global organizations that engage in high-value and relatively long purchase cycles, it’s important to keep in mind that the enterprise software sales cycles are typically very involved, multi-influencer, multi-touch processes, and marketing and sales must be totally aligned throughout the buying cycle to ensure success and optimize results.

Building High Performance Marketing Teams with Customers Top of Mind

Thu, 05 May 2011 09:09:59 EDT

In today’s competitive software industry, it’s crucial to have a high-performing marketing team in place that’s focused on customers. As a seasoned veteran who has led marketing organizations of all sizes, I can’t emphasize this enough. Organizations which underestimate the importance of customer focus, and fail to allocate adequate resources to the cause, do so at their own detriment.

Software providers suffer from overreliance on M&A

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:13:45 EDT

Consolidation among leading software companies has changed the overall dynamic of technological advancement. Many are taking the “stack” approach and zeroing in on acquiring companies with existing offerings, instead of making deeper R&D investments and focusing on continuous internal improvement. As a result, the industry is experiencing a real crisis in innovation.

CMO Challenges in Building and Maintaining a Global Brand

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:01:04 EDT

Having created and shaped several successful brands during the past 15 years, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft), FileNet (acquired by IBM), AST Computer (acquired by Samsung) and now Pegasystems, there are six keys challenges that must be addressed to successfully build and maintain a global brand: charter; structure; development; system; alignment; and advocacy. Brand charter [...]

The #1 Success Factor for CMOs: Leading Change

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:35:13 EDT

The most essential quality and success factor I’ve seen for CMOs (at least in technology companies where’s I’ve spent the past two decades is the ability to lead successful change initiatives, especially on a global basis. I’ve seen others fail when, upon achieving executive support for a change initiative, the CMO thought that hard work was done.

The #1 Success Factor for CMOs: Leading Change

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:37:48 EDT

The hardest, and most essential, quality and success factor I’ve seen for CMOs (at least in technology companies where’s I’ve spent the past two decades is the ability to lead successful change initiatives, especially on a global basis. I’ve seen others fail when, upon achieving executive support for a change initiative, the CMO thought that hard work was done.

Selling the “Strategy Imperative” to the CEO

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:58:44 EDT

Given all the pressure to deliver "in quarter" results, it's becoming increasingly difficult to get executive attention on strategy formation and/or re-examination. Executive energy is largely consumed with driving operational excellence and available "cycles' are devoted to sales and growth initiatives designed to drive near-term, measurable improvements in sales and/or profitability. It makes sense given we are still "heads down" working our way out of an enduring global recession

Pick the CEO, Not the Company

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:13:16 EDT

Most organizational experts will tell you that when joining an organization, the company's culture is the key to determining whether you will thrive or suffer in a given work environment. While this is true for a mid-level manager or individual contributor, the closer you get to the top, the less the overall culture matters and the more the CEO's leadership and management style impact your work satisfaction.

Is Your Brand Architecture a Foundation or a Facade?

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:28:43 EDT

If you haven't revisited your brand architecture in more than a year, it's likely what you're building is a façade, rather than reinforcing a foundation. Because technology and innovation are inextricably linked, tech companies are continuously introducing new products and services, and in most cases, adding brands and sub-brands into their product portfolios. Over time, even a sound architecture can begin to crumble under the strain of too many overlapping brand layers.

Marketing Your Way Out of the Recession

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:24:47 EDT

It’s anyone’s guess when the recession bottoms out and we get back to growth. Rather than remain in a “state” of denial – like California did for too long – or adopt a hunker down mentality – “let’s just ride this one out” – as many companies have, there’s a middle path of taking proactive [...]

Sales and Marketing: Why can’t we all just get along?

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:20:59 EDT

Over the past 15 years helping clients wage war in the technology marketplace, we’ve come to appreciate that the first battle for marketing is often the one fought inside a company between sales and marketing. Let’s face it, the two functions are often at odds due to the he fundamental schism of one function primarily rewarded for delivering near term results, i.e. get sales this quarter, and the other function primarily rewarded for creating competitive advantage and building brand preference. It’s no wonder there’s a lot of finger pointing in the hallways and conference rooms across America. But when internal struggles consume cycles, it’s always with the collective company back to the customers and prospects vs. forming a customer-facing united front, the only winners in the fight are competitors who have figured it out. So here’s a few consideration for marketers on how to enter the battle – arms locked – with sales.

Building High Performance Marketing Teams

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:43:46 EDT

When joining a new company, it’s critical to quickly assess the team you’ve inherited to determine what level oforganization restructuring and rebuilding will be required to ensure functional success. Before rushing to judgment and a rapid makeover, take time to understand – on a personal level - the structure, composition, talent, strengths and weakness of the team. Besides the obvious gaps in competencies, under-performers and open positions, often there are more subtle clues to the most pressing organizational shortcomings as well as staff member potential.

Technology Brand Development Essentials

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:35:16 EDT

Having created and shaped several successful brands over the past decade, including FrontBridge (acquired by Microsoft) and FileNet (acquired by IBM), there are a few fundamentals that are key to successful brand development. It has to start at the top with the CEO supporting an investment in branding and disciplined brand management. Without that, it’s a non-starter. Given technology companies are continuously innovating and changing products, the brand strategy has to be differentiated and relevant to target markets and the executional guidelines have to be consistently applied in order for brand equity to be built over time

Technology Brand Development Essentials

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EDT

Building High Performance Marketing Teams

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:23:49 EDT

When joining a new company, it’s critical to quickly assess the team you’ve inherited to determine what level of organization restructuring and rebuilding will be required to ensure functional success. Before rushing to judgment and a rapid makeover, take time to understand – on a personal level - the structure, composition, talent, strengths and weakness of the team. Besides the obvious gaps in competencies, under-performers and open positions, often there are more subtle clues to the most pressing organizational shortcomings as well as staff member potential.

Is Your Brand Architecture a Foundation or a Façade?

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:59:21 EDT

If you haven’t revisited your brand architecture in more than a year, it’s likely what you’re building is a façade, rather than reinforcing a foundation. Because technology and innovation are inextricably linked, tech companies are continuously introducing new products and services, and in most cases, adding brands and sub-brands into their product portfolios. Over time, even a sound architecture can begin to crumble under the strain of too many overlapping brand layers.

Pick the CEO, Not the Company

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:15:00 EDT

Most organizational experts will tell you that when joining an organization, the company’s culture is the key to determining whether you will thrive or suffer in a given work environment. While this is true for a mid-level manager or individual contributor, the closer you get to the top, the less a culture matters and the more the CEO’s leadership and management style impact your work satisfaction.

Selling the “Strategy Imperative” to the CEO

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT

Given all the pressure to deliver “in quarter” results, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get executive attention on strategy formation and/or re-examination. Executive energy is largely consumed with driving operational excellence and available “cycles’ are devoted to sales and growth initiatives designed to drive near-term, measurable improvements in sales and/or profitability. It makes sense given we are still “heads down” working our way out of an enduring global recession.

Marketing Your Way Out of The Recession

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EDT

Marketing through a recession requires a more thoughtful approach to segmentation, customer acquisition and retention.It's anyone's guess when the recession bottoms out and we get back to growth. Rather than remain in a "state" of denial - like California did for too long - or adopt a hunker down mentality - "let's just ride this one out" - as many companies have, there's a middle path of taking proactive measures steps now, so that when growth reappears, your company is better positioned to gain an unfair share of the increased customer demand that will be there to harvest. Here are a few considerations to come out will your guns ablazing.

Sales & Marketing: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:15:00 EDT

Sales and marketing alignment, integration, coordination, and collaboration is key to maximizing marketing ROI and sales productivity. Over the past 15 years waging war in the technology marketplace, I’ve come to appreciate that the first battle for marketing is often the one fought inside a company between sales and marketing. Let’s face it, the two functions are often at odds due to the he fundamental schism of one function primarily rewarded for delivering near term results, i.e. get sales this quarter, and the other function primarily rewarded for creating competitive advantage and building brand preference.

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Selling the “Strategy Imperative” to the CEO

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST