Over this past year, the word “pivot” has become the buzzword as businesses responded to a new climate for commerce. Successful pivots are grounded in good communication — and that’s the realm of marketing.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a few things have changed in the past 18 months. The key is survival; “thrival” is … the consumer. And if you you’re not listening to them, you’re in trouble.
In times like these, it’s not optional to listen to them — it’s mandatory. You don’t have the luxury of being successful just because you exist. Have you wondered in the past year why some companies in the same industry have gone out of business while others not only haven’t but may even have thrived?
One listened. One didn’t.
Listen to them. Find out what’s important to them now, not what was important yesterday. It›s not your product or service, it›s about what the benefit is to them to do business with you — today.
“That’s how we’ve always done it” yields road kill!
Marketing professionals need to “know the territory,” as goes the famous refrain from “The Music Man.” In this issue’s cover story, “Coming Back: How Marketing Will Build (Back) Business after COVID,” eleven leading authorities in our community offer perspective on what the market looks like today and what’s likely to drive it going forward.
Websites are key communication platforms for businesses to connect with their market. Getting visitors to one’s website is a long-standing issue marketers address. But another issue is getting users to stick on the site once they’re there — and that is what Raj De Datta discusses in the feature article “Lost in the Amazon.”
A second feature is an in-depth exploration of legal issues of reputation and what recourse business and individuals have when they are the victim of online defamation.
Regular departments educate on topics in commercial real estate, technology and healthcare — such as this month’s “Prep Now for Open Enrollment Success – 5 Steps to Ensure Success” that will help businesses get a solid start on the next open enrollment period.
Often the wild card in the magazine’s consistently valuable content, the Roundtable feature this month shares the replicable experience of a local business taking a collective, employee-up approach to help solve problems that has saved the company more than $2.5 million in the past two and a half years.
Always varied and always relevant, the content of In Business Magazine offers value to its readers. I’m pleased to help bring this month’s issue to you.
Sincerely,
Jos Anshell
Managing Partner
Marketing Forensics
Jos Anshell has been at the forefront of marketing in Arizona for more than 35 years. His knowledge and experience in strategic planning, marketing, and financial and operational management has provided that expertise to an impressive array of national clients such as Nintendo, Fender, Intel, Joe Boxer, US Airways, Grand Canyon University and many others.
Since selling his agency several years ago, Anshell has established a successful marketing consultancy called Marketing Forensics that helps owners, CEOs and CMOs realistically address the marketing changes that have occurred in the world in recent years and how that will impact their success and viability in the future.
