This blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
Mergers and acquisitions have been occurring at a rapid pace for the past several years, setting records as companies look to generate value, acquire new technologies or unlock market access.
Despite their prominence and popularity, many M&As fail to achieve their desired outcome. According to one study, only 17% of the mergers studied had added value, 30% made “no discernible difference,” and a shocking 53% actually diminished value.
While M&As miss the mark for many reasons, a recent Deloitte report found that culture was the cause of 30% of failed integrations. Consequently, business leaders need to consider cultural impact alongside other factors to help ensure that the M&A process produces the intended outcome.
What Is Company Culture?
Unlike many business elements, company culture can be difficult to define and even more challenging to measure. In general, company culture is a nebulous combination of shared values, priorities, goals, attitudes and norms. In other words, a company is defined by what it produces, but company culture is derived from how that outcome is accomplished.
It’s vitally important to employees. In a Glassdoor survey, more than half of respondents indicated that company culture was more important than salary, and 77% evaluate a company’s culture before applying for a job.
With employees valuing company culture so highly, it’s obvious that disrupting (or destroying) an established culture with a merger or acquisition can be detrimental to an organization’s long-term success.
Best Practices For Culture Marketing Post-M&A
Following best practices for culture marketing post-M&A can help leaders alleviate employees’ concerns while cultivating a more dynamic, sustainable and supportive culture moving forward. Based on our agency’s experience in helping clients with their M&A marketing efforts, here are some of the best practices we’ve found to be effective time and time again:
Combining Teams Post-Merger & Acquisition: Why A “We First” Mindset Matters
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can be a significant business opportunity, but they can also be corrosive to company culture, causing people to leave when expertise and stability matter most.
Before the recent pandemic and the accompanying “great resignation,” an EY report found that nearly half of a company’s key employees depart within a year of a merger or acquisition, and 75% leave within three years of a transaction. This reality is even more prevalent today as employees are increasingly willing to quit their jobs in search of better opportunities.
Since M&As can create significant organizational anxiety and swift cultural change, it’s unsurprising that turnover often accompanies the process. While employees change jobs for many reasons, company culture is often one of the most common reasons.
That’s why businesses need a “we first” mindset when combining teams post-merger and acquisition. Here are four ways leaders can begin creating that dynamic now:
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Best Practices For Culture Marketing Following Mergers And Acquisitions
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
Mergers and acquisitions have been occurring at a rapid pace for the past several years, setting records as companies look to generate value, acquire new technologies or unlock market access.
Despite their prominence and popularity, many M&As fail to achieve their desired outcome. According to one study, only 17% of the mergers studied had added value, 30% made “no discernible difference,” and a shocking 53% actually diminished value.
While M&As miss the mark for many reasons, a recent Deloitte report found that culture was the cause of 30% of failed integrations. Consequently, business leaders need to consider cultural impact alongside other factors to help ensure that the M&A process produces the intended outcome.
What Is Company Culture?
Unlike many business elements, company culture can be difficult to define and even more challenging to measure. In general, company culture is a nebulous combination of shared values, priorities, goals, attitudes and norms. In other words, a company is defined by what it produces, but company culture is derived from how that outcome is accomplished.
It’s vitally important to employees. In a Glassdoor survey, more than half of respondents indicated that company culture was more important than salary, and 77% evaluate a company’s culture before applying for a job.
With employees valuing company culture so highly, it’s obvious that disrupting (or destroying) an established culture with a merger or acquisition can be detrimental to an organization’s long-term success.
Best Practices For Culture Marketing Post-M&A
Following best practices for culture marketing post-M&A can help leaders alleviate employees’ concerns while cultivating a more dynamic, sustainable and supportive culture moving forward. Based on our agency’s experience in helping clients with their M&A marketing efforts, here are some of the best practices we’ve found to be effective time and time again:
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Strategic Brand Consolidation Plans: How B2Bs Can Guide Effective Mergers & Acquisitions
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
A company’s brand is its most valuable and important asset. Regardless of sector, product offering or customer base, this intangible resource separates successful businesses from the competition. In the B2B sector, which requires prolonged sales cycles for enterprises to become recurring customers, long-standing brand value is especially critical.
It may not be reflected on its balance sheet, but a company’s brand brings immense value to a merger or acquisition (M&A). As a recent Deloitte report succinctly explains, “The value of a strong brand cannot be underestimated in today’s fast-moving commercial environments, where customer loyalty is notoriously difficult to acquire and sustain.”
Consequently, B2B brand consolidation is a critical—if often overlooked—component of an effective merger or acquisition.
With M&As accelerating in today’s disruptive, high-stakes B2B landscape, companies must maximize value and opportunity from the process, requiring a strategic brand consolidation plan that produces needed results.
Here are three ways companies can implement a strategic brand consolidation plan from day one:
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How to Master M&A Marketing
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
The merger and acquisition (M&A) process can be an exciting opportunity to grow a business and expand opportunities. They are also incredibly popular: M&A activity soared in 2021, reaching near-historic highs and surpassing $3.6 trillion in total value exchanged.
Despite inflationary headwinds, rising interest rates and fresh economic uncertainty, this year more than half of business leaders say they are looking to M&A deals to diversify their commercial portfolios, while 60% are considering M&A opportunities to expand access to new products, services and technologies.
While M&As are a common way for companies to expand their reach, capabilities and market share, the process can be challenging, fraught with conflicts and decisions that must be considered to make the process a success.
Marketing is a significant part of that equation, supporting organizations and facilitating communications throughout the process. For leaders looking to maximize the impact of a merger or acquisition, here are five crucial best practices to consolidate brands, unite employees and safeguard customer trust…
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Five Factors Of Effective Content Marketing
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
In 2022, effective marketing and content creation are inextricably linked. It’s one of the best ways to regularly connect with your audience while boosting your reputation and credibility.
The Content Marketing Institute helpfully defines content marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
In today’s digital-first consumer ecosystem, it’s increasingly important to generate content for potential and recurring buyers. Consider that 54% of B2B decision-makers report spending more than one hour reviewing thought leadership content each week. Meanwhile, nearly half of buyers view three to five pieces of content before initiating a sales process, and 96% of B2B buyers review thought leadership before making a purchase. Overall, nearly 50% of companies plan to grow their content teams this year, with recruitment for content creators, content marketing managers and content strategies leading the way.
Of course, more content is being generated than ever before, making it more difficult for brands to break through the noise and reach their target audience. Here are five factors that can help companies reach their audience with greater frequency and effectiveness.
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5 Must-Keep New Year’s Resolutions For B2B Marketers
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingThis blog post is written by Kathy Floam-Greenspan and appears on the Forbes Agency Council. You can read the full post here.
Another new year has begun, which means it’s time to make some promises and institute some changes. But not the kind of resolutions that we vow to keep on New Year’s Eve and then abandon days later. We need some substantive, tangible resolutions to help us thrive personally and professionally in 2022.
This is especially true when it comes to our marketing efforts. B2B marketing must continually evolve to capture mind share, generate leads and convert sales in an increasingly loud and crowded online ecosystem.
We can’t just keep doing the same things expecting ever more effective results to follow. But where should we begin? With limited marketing budgets and endless roads to follow, what are the marketing tactics we can’t ignore in the year ahead?
To help answer these questions and guide marketing efforts in the new year, here are my five must-keep marketing New Year’s resolutions for 2022:
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Why Brand Salience Is The Ultimate B2B Marketing Objective – Forbes Agency Council Post
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingIn today’s crowded online ecosystem, highly effective, breakthrough B2B marketing is more difficult to achieve than ever before. There is so much noise — so much content — that it takes sustained effort to break through.
Like trying to attract attention in a crowded room, gaining recognition, generating leads and increasing sales don’t happen by accident. As a result, effective B2B marketing campaigns take longer and are more involved than we often expect or believe.
This common misconception often keeps B2B SMBs from crafting appropriate target personas that generate new leads.
That’s not to say that B2B marketing is ineffective. According to one report, 60% of always-on, sustained marketing programs are successful. Instead, we need to reorient our thinking about B2B marketing. Embracing the right mindset and pursuing the right outcomes can make marketing campaigns a success.
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You Are Your Target Customer (And Other Marketing Misconceptions Costing SMBs) – Forbes Agency Council Post
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingAfter a restrictive and disruptive pandemic year, a lot of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are ready to grow, expand and differentiate their customer base. As a result, many SMBs are upping their marketing game, investing time, talent and financial resources to attract new customers, expand to new locations and embrace new markets.
According to Accenture, two-thirds of SMBs investing in marketing services are motivated by organizational growth. Meanwhile, we see a lot of B2B SMBs straining their resources to achieve these outcomes. With many owners doubling as marketing managers, it’s no wonder that so many people in the B2B marketing space are perpetually overwhelmed as they embrace misguided priorities, practices and outcomes.
That’s why, whether you’re an in-house marketing professional or collaborating with an agency, it’s important to operate with the right expectations in mind.
Here are five marketing misconceptions that can derail your efforts rather than enhance your brand.
1. We’re the target audience.
This common misconception often keeps B2B SMBs from crafting appropriate target personas that generate new leads.
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What Your B2B Sales Team Wishes You’d Consider Before Investing In Marketing – Forbes Agency Council Post
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingAfter an extremely challenging year, many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are feeling a renewed optimism that their teams can operate safely and that their businesses can flourish as the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us.
According to a recent poll conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife, 44% of the small business owners who responded are hopeful about the future, and more than half expect their revenue to increase this year.
I think that’s why we’ve been seeing many SMBs in the B2B sector enhancing their marketing investments or initiating the process for the first time. In-house marketing teams and third-party agencies can execute these efforts, but I’ve found that they are best positioned to succeed when leaders engage the sales team in the process.
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Five B2B Marketing Tactics To Fuel SMB Growth Post-Pandemic – Forbes Agency Council Post
/in Featured, Marketing, Strategic MarketingWhether you’re leading a bootstrapped tech startup or overseeing a significant organizational expansion in your B2B company, the right marketing strategy can make all the difference. When executed effectively, businesses that focus on solutions and products for other businesses can expect their marketing efforts to increase brand recognition, market exposure, demand creation, lead generation and sales.
That’s why, as companies begin to emerge from the pandemic, many are placing a renewed emphasis on marketing and advertising to optimize their competitive positioning as customer spending rebounds. It’s estimated that companies will increase advertising spending by more than 15% this year, often directing those resources to digital efforts.
At the same time, B2B marketing isn’t a magic bullet. It can’t solve every problem, and its impact can be limited, especially when deployed in a haphazard or incongruous way. This is particularly true for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the B2B sector, which often lack the financial and personnel resources of their corporate counterparts.
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