Blog

In Customer Experience, Bigger isn’t Better; Better is Better

December 4th, 2017

by AMAWM

For far too long companies have focused on size. More profits. More subscribers. More customers. More leads in the funnel. Bigger, so the establishment believes, is better. I invite you to challenge that thinking for a moment. What if better were truly better? Charles Kuralt famously said, “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” He was right about Interstates, and if asked about business today, he might say, “Today, it is now possible to do business end-to-end without seeing or speaking to another human.” In many respects, technology has removed humanity from business and customer experience. I believe the most successful companies are those who embrace technology without losing humanity.... Read More

Marketing That Moves: AMAWM’s Mission for 2017 – 2018

September 7th, 2017

by AMAWM

Welcome back to another great year with the American Marketing Association of West Michigan. Over the summer, the AMAWM board got together, reflected on the previous year, and got to planning. Based on some surveys, general feedback, and conversations from members, it was clear what changes needed to be made and what our audience really wanted. This year, we have made it our mission to engage our audience in luncheons, workshops, networking events, and other resources that provide the education and take-aways they need to get their professional marketing efforts moving in the right direction. We want you to take what you learned and be able to apply it to real life marketing challenges. With that, AMAWM is proud to announce this year’s... Read More

Read and refresh! Good Reads for Marketers

August 7th, 2017

by AMAWM

Whether you’re reading beachside, poolside or inside somewhere air-conditioned this summer, soon to be fall – here are a few book ideas from some of our own AMA of West Michigan Board Members.   Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, by Ann Handley Jason Dodge, Founder of BlackTruck Media + Marketing shares, “A little known secret at BlackTruck is that we have an expanding collection of business and marketing-related books on the shelf.” One of the books Jason recommends is Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley. He likes her fresh approach to online written content. “Ann’s insight on content is straight and to the point,” says Jason. Reading Everybody Writes is a great... Read More

B2B Marketing: Don’t Waste Time on Boring Hard to Find Content!

April 19th, 2017

by Dan Gibson

A recent post from our national AMA headquarters offered some statistics and explanation on content created by B2B marketers, and how often it isn’t being used by sales people in their organization, mainly because they don’t know it exists or even where to find it. The article cites various challenges with content and the audience it should reach, both internally and externally. Key Takeaways ​What? B-to-B marketers and sales teams often aren’t on the same page, as 52% of marketing managers say sales teams don’t know where to find content. So what? Wasted content is wasted money; 38% of marketers say they aren’t sure if the content is serving its purpose. Now what? A first step to closing this gap is for organizations to discreetly measure... Read More

2016 Marketing Year in Review

January 10th, 2017

by Dan Gibson

You’ve probably noticed the vast amount of discussion around how terrible 2016 was. We lost several renowned actors, musicians, entertainers, artists, leaders, and innovators in a year that was also filled with many tragic events, and an intense, closely covered controversial political race. Did someone say downer? While we agree 2016 was rough, we want to take a look back at the bright side of 2016 from a marketing perspective, and kick 2017 off on a high note by sharing some milestones and exciting happenings the AMA West Michigan Chapter experienced. We also want to mention several marketing headlines, hot topics, and trends from that past year that we envision will continue to strengthen in 2017. AMA West Michigan Chapter Headlines: Welcomed our... Read More

PR and Content Marketing for B2B Marketers

September 28th, 2015

by Rebecca Dutcher

B2B marketing is about cultivating thought leadership. You are still marketing to people who make the buying decisions and other influencers within an organization. Still, when 90% of customers will contact you when they are already ready to buy, you have to create content for them to find you in the first place. When you’re found online through search engines or relevant social channels, this can help you make RFP short lists, too. Highlight things in your industry, trends, even other companies (non-competitors) who are doing something new and interesting Share success stories and case studies of those who’ve used your products or services. Identify new applications for existing products/services Talk about the industry, it’s future and how you’re prepared B2B Marketing & Connecting with... Read More