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How Advanced Analytics Is Changing B2B Selling

Harvard Business Review

While there’s less buzz around business-to-business markets, these innovations are changing the game in B2B as well, even in old-line industries selling what might be considered commodity products. For a deep dive into the elements, see our related HBR article “ The B2B Elements of Value ”).

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5 Pitfalls of Marketing Waterfalls

Strategy Driven

The ‘lead’ is rightfully labeled as MQL, or SALs which helps a marketing operations person understand the definition for each defined stage, but it doesn’t help a practitioner understand if the customer segments being targeted are over indexing or under indexing, based on their investment and executional plan.

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Building a Direct-to-Consumer Strategy Without Alienating Your Distributors

Harvard Business Review

As a result, many B2B companies remain stuck in a stalemate. Alternatively, the company can operate in stealth mode by targeting customer segments that have been poorly served or ignored by traditional distributors. Microsoft was able to do so largely due to its monopolization of the desktop operating system market.

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Can Chinese Smartphone Darling Xiaomi Compete in Western Markets?

Harvard Business Review

With a business model of at-cost hardware and software up-selling, it recently raised its 2013 sales targets from 15 million smartphones to 20 million, and is now gazing abroad. For example, consumer brands tend to have more of a social/emotional component to their jobs-to-be-done, while B2B products are heavier on functional needs.

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Design Can Drive Exceptional Returns for Shareholders

Harvard Business Review

for 10+ years; deployment of design as an integrated function across the entire enterprise; evidence that design investments and influence are increasing; clear reporting structure and operating model for design; experienced design executives at the helm directing design activities; and tangible senior leadership-level commitment for design.

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China Needs a New Generation of Dreamers (and New Dreams)

Harvard Business Review

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, the world’s largest online B2B global trading marketplace, is probably the most obvious choice. For those operating in China, this is, indeed, a quandary. Can you, in fact, name ten Chinese entrepreneurs who you think dream dreams big enough to be likely to build the future? Can you name five?