Roll with the wave

Fintech this, Fintech that, and Fintech everywhere. There’s plenty of debate about whether the evolution of finance – as some people call it – is the real thing or just another tech bubble. You can learn a lot from keeping an eye on where the “smart money” is going. In other words, organizations that fully embrace the disruption of traditional banking – especially established banks themselves – will likely lead the way.

How to make boring exciting

Sex sells. That much is clear, when you look at GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ads and pretty much every perfume and cologne ad under the sun. But what if you’re in the carpet cleaning or accounting business and you need to boost your ROI via a smart content marketing strategy? Consider this example of an oil and gas drilling company that somehow succeeded against all odds, and they didn’t even produce calendars with oiled-up gasmen.

Well, if it saves me $200 billion…

Blockchain’s growth as the technology behind Bitcoin is sending earthquakes and tsunamis through numerous industries, including what one article calls its unsexy future in accounting. But as it turns out, with compliance, auditing and accounting being a staple cost for business globally – with fines against banking amounting to some $200 billion since 2009 – blockchain may make life a little easier and cheaper for those who just want to follow the rules.

W5 to the rescue                          

One way to look at marketing research and strategizing is to break it up into the 5 W’s. Who is the customer? What does the customer want? When does he want it? Where? And the fifth – why? That last one is perhaps the most difficult and also most important W to investigate, because it’s about understanding the motives of your target market. That’s why Voice of the Customer (VOC) research is integral to the success of your marketing plan.

Don’t waste your shots

In basketball, do you want to be that sharp-shooting guard who shoots often but sinks a few, or do you want to be the calculating forward who shoots efficiently? B2B businesses would like to be the latter, but turns out they’re the former. The numbers indicate high levels of ad waste, with the worst stat being 96% of digital advertising reaching people outside of their target market – meaning a significant ad waste. The culprit? Too much reliance on B2C tactics.

Until next week, don’t ask why too often. It’ll just hurt your brain…