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Transform Your Brand’s Customer Experience

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Have you figured out that bringing a new customer into your business and keeping that customer as an active member of your roster are two different marketing functions? I’m sure you have! Freelance professionals must build and guide the entire arc of the sales process, from reassuring prospects who’d like to discuss follow-up questions about the capabilities of your service or product, to developing an efficient and welcoming onboarding procedure for new customers, to devising post-sale services or training that anticipates the type of support that will be helpful. Really, B2B selling is about presenting a positive customer experience at relevant (but not necessarily every) touchpoint.

It is well-known that B2B customer expectations are rising as they become more selective about vendors they trust and where they spend their highly scrutinized budgets. It may be too harsh to say that B2B customers have become jaded, demanding and fickle, but many are confronted with dozens of sales pitches in an average week as vendors compete for attention. But there is good news: 1.) You know that a well-designed and implemented customer experience matters to those with whom you do business; and 2.) It’s possible to distinguish your brand from competitors by delivering an exceptional customer experience (CX). In fact, a first-rate CX, as your market segment defines it, is one of the most powerful business growth accelerators and brand builders available today.

As products and services become more indistinguishable, and proliferate into a mass of “me, too” offerings, Freelancers and other business owners are in search of meaningful competitive advantages and CX has emerged as a potential deciding factor that can impact either customer loyalty or customer churn. Freelancers will do well to examine how your customer experience operates in real time, so that you can identify any lapses, improve efficiencies and create a consistently reliable and seamless experience that represents the best of your brand. Read on to learn the steps you’ll take to devise a successful CX transformation.

Planning: strategy and blueprint

Break down the steps of your typical buyer’s journey as lived by a prospect, starting with determining how most prospects find you. A Word-of-Mouth referral from a colleague has been revealed as the beginning of most B2B buyer journeys—have you determined who are your most enthusiastic referral sources?

It’s also been revealed that B2B prospective buyers prefer to avoid interacting with vendors until a particular service or product appears emerges as a strong candidate. At that point, the prospect will contact chosen vendors and confirm impressions about the product or service, Finally, a decision will be made about which brands will be added to a short list for an assessment by the decision team. CX marketing experts say that in the planning phase of your CX transformation, you should answer three questions:

  • What do you want customers to feel or how do you want them to react at the most important moments in their buyer’s journey your brand?
  • What behaviors or decisions influence those feelings or reactions?
  • How can you amplify or reinforce those factors that positively impact how a prospect feels or reacts to pivotal moments in your buyer’s journey?

Finally, as you devise an implementation plan blueprint for your CX transformation, keep at top-of-mind the following objectives:

  • Attract: Win more customers through distinctive value propositions and smarter targeting.
  • Serve: Deliver seamless, experiences.
  • Retain: Engage customers meaningfully at moments of genuine need to promote loyalty, repeat business and Word-of-Mouth referrals.
  • Grow: Drive sustained growth by meeting more customer needs that stimulate repeat business and referrals.

CRM Platform: the foundation

Using a Customer Relations Management platform provides many benefits, such as the ability to effectively and efficiently manage decisive aspects of customer behavior— which can reveal a better understanding of customers and give you insights into which buyer journey factors are most relevant to prospects, so that you can upgrade and transformed those experiences. With CRM, you can manage customer relationships more effectively and build a more customer-centric business. The primary benefits of using CRM include improved customer satisfaction, enhanced customer retention, increased sales efficiency, streamlined business processes and better data insights.

CRMs with AI capabilities include intelligent automation, predictive insights and AI agents that can take autonomous actions to further amplify these benefits. That data will show you a 360-degree, comprehensive view of your customers and guide you to build a personalized customer experience that will resonate. You’ll also can be positioned to develop stronger customer relationships and drive business growth—repeat business, enhanced customer lifetime value and brand advocacy that promotes loyalty.

Process: the operational aspects

What process transformation actually requires is an operating rhythm that’s advantageously timed to support each phase of the CX transformation rollout. You’ll verify the timing with performance outcome metrics, that are ideally powered by AI, so that you can evaluate customer responses. Weekly monitoring of key touchpoints such as customer engagement and drop-out rates will keep you on top of the process. When an effective process is in place, CX transformation benefits multiply. When it isn’t, you can quickly make the correcting adjustments.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Disney Food Blog. Riding the teacups at The Mad Tea Party in The Magic Kingdom Walt Disney theme park, Lake Buena Vista, FL

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Don’t Get Too Personal

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Personalized marketing defines the future of marketing. Personalized marketing has not delivered on its promise. Got it.

Personalized marketing was supposed to revolutionize how you communicate with prospects, build and strengthen relationships with customers and promote your services and products to target market segments. Its purpose is to tailor your marketing messages, customer experiences and other communication with individual customers based on their unique attributes, purchasing history and preferences. Higher customer retention rates, increased sales revenue, increased customer lifetime value and decreased customer churn are among the most valuable benefits associated with personalized marketing.

Marketers were highly enthusiastic. But then came trouble in paradise, as consumers signaled concern about the privacy of their personal information and browsing behavior, which caused some turbulence in the digital sector. A reset occurred, as certain leading internet browsers instituted a ban, or allowed users to restrict, the use of third-party cookies, the mechanism that enables tracking of online behavior. As a result, marketing leaders (and that includes Freelancers and small business owners) have had to rethink their marketing personalization strategies, just when they were wrapping their heads around Customer Relations Management software and how Artificial Intelligence capabilities refined and optimized the effectiveness of personalized marketing strategies. Sigh.

So, it was necessary for brands to go back to square one marketing and shore up collection of first-party data that customers were willing to share. That information is more valuable than ever now—-and isn’t it better that you own and control your customer data, that customers and prospects know what you know about them; and they also know that you won’t sell their personal data? There’s a lot of upside that results from expanding your collection of first-party customer info—the process helps you strengthen relationships, because you’ll have more opportunities to better understand customers and you’ll be better prepared to improve their experiences with your brand.  You can apply personalization on any digital channel if you have access to customer data — often unified through a customer data platform put into place by your CRM service, which will use AI and algorithms to tailor customer experiences based on his/her data and behavior.

Realize that your customers expect and appreciate a personalized experience from the brands they regularly engage or do business with regularly. A McKinsey research study found that 76% of customers are more likely to purchase from brands that personalize. Customers want to know that the brand understands who they are and their needs and does not bombard them with unwanted sales offers.

The benefits of successful marketing personalization

  • More consistent and relevant customer experiences. Personalizing customers’ experiences shows that you understand their preferences and interests. This makes them more likely to engage and remain loyal to your brand, since they know you won’t pummel them with unwanted info.
  • Increased sales conversion rates. The more relevant your offers, the more likely that prospects and customers will value and accept the call-to-action you’re prompting them to, whether that’s purchasing a service or product, signing up for a subscription, or scheduling a consultation. Personalization enables you to entice customers with offers based on their past purchases, interests and real-time behaviors, since you’ll know what matters to them.
  • Higher customer loyalty, retention and lifetime value (LTV). Personalization sets you up to deliver relevant marketing messages and content, as well as the context in which to make recommendations for services or products, add-ons or upgrades, that are likely to resonate. When your organization demonstrates to customers that you are paying attention to their priorities, customers are more likely to give you repeat business and extend the customer lifecycle, which is vital for retaining customers in the long term.
  • Maximized marketing efforts and budget. Personalization ensures you’re always targeting customers with highly relevant offers. This means you’re not wasting your (and your customers’) time and resources. Coupled with the increase in conversion rates and revenue, this makes personalization an incredibly powerful tool for maximizing marketing spend and return on investment (ROI). It can even apply to your broader branding efforts, such as choosing the best name for your YouTube channel in order to engage a specific niche audience and earn more returns from your multimedia content.

 Types of personalization

Marketing personalization can be expressed in different ways, depending on what you want to achieve. For example, some personalization is one-to-one, meaning it’s directly related to the customer’s specific information — a technique increasingly powered by AI personalization. Think email marketing, from blogs or newsletter to special offers or events. Other times, personalization is applied using a targeted approach through customer segmentation, where you choose specific characteristics or customer attributes for a customer group based on their buying history or other interaction with your brand puts them into the segment receive a certain personalized experience.

Personalization can be as simple as having a person’s name in an email rather than an all-purpose general greeting, or as detailed as including the details of a customer’s recent purchase or web browsing in that email. It could also include showing particular product promotions on a website based on a person’s past purchases, or sending special promotions via SMS or a mobile application. Customers expect personalization on every channel, a continuity across website, mobile, SMS (text) and email communications.

Other examples of personalization include:

  • Product recommendations based on past purchases or online browsing
  • Product promotion info based on the website pages visited
  • Email offers to a segment of customers who own a particular product or receive a certain service
  • Communicating with a customer post-purchase to ensure they are happy and have no difficulty using the product or service and accessing its benefits

Boundaries matter

While there is no doubt that customers and prospects expect and appreciate personalization, they want to ensure their privacy. When, where and how much your brand personalizes the customer experience deserves consideration. It is imperative that you avoid making those who’d like to engage with your brand feel that you’re getting too personal, that they’re being closely watched. The feeling that business owners and marketers want to communicate is “I matter to this brand.” Build your personalization strategies around that thought and avoid activities that may feel like a violation.

When inviting those who engage with your brand to share certain info, you can take an important step in relationship-building by demonstrating that transparency is a policy you live by. Customers worry about brands collecting too much data, using information in unexpected ways, or creating experiences that feel too close for comfort. How data is used, confirming that it will not be shared with third parties and demonstrating that cybersecurity measures have been installed to discourage data security breaches will go a long way toward earning the trust of your customers and prospects. Clearly stated privacy policies, explicit consent mechanisms, giving customers control over their data and only personalizing in ways that genuinely add value to the customer experience you provide are must-dos.

Tools for effective marketing personalization

To effectively personalize your marketing efforts, implementing data analytics tools is necessary. Analytics tools track customer behavior that reveals website interactions and email responses, for example, so you can accurately tailor your strategies in response. Utilizing a marketing Customer Relations Management platform will optimize those capabilities by centralizing customer data to facilitate targeted, personalized communication. N.B.–maintain the quality of your customer data by taking steps to ensure that it is updated and accurate.

CRM analytics serve as the foundation for both customer journey mapping and sales forecasting by providing the behavioral data needed to understand how prospects move through your sales funnel. Every touchpoint, interaction and transaction recorded in your CRM becomes a valuable data point that reveals patterns in customer behavior and purchasing decisions.

Customer journey mapping relies heavily on CRM data to identify which channels, types of content and engagement lead to conversions. This info helps you understand which activities are most likely to indicate a purchase, or make the prospect more likely to make a purchase. You’ll also learn where in the buyer’s journey prospects are prone to abandon—or accelerate— their buying decisions.

Finally, your marketing CRM platform will greatly improve sales forecasting and ensure the data will be accurate when you analyze historical CRM data to predict future performance based on current sales funnel activity and even seasonal trends. CRM reporting tools enable you to track every interaction across the customer lifecycle, providing the comprehensive data needed to create reliable revenue projections and identify which touchpoints contribute most to creating sales.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Everett Collection. Jean Porter and Jimmy Lydon in the film Sweet Genevieve (1947)

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7 AI Tools Take Your Freelance Entity To The Top

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If striking out on your own to launch a solo Freelance entity has progressed from interesting idea status to a Pinterest goal in development, you may be ready to explore a few specifics that will help you prepare to advance your plan from the Pinterest board to a functioning business entity. It is almost certain that you’ve considered how Artificial Intelligence-powered software and other digital tools can optimize your business operations. You’ll be happy to know that numerous AI-powered technological resources are readily available to help Freelance solopreneurs operate their one-person enterprise with an efficiency and impact that rivals larger organizations.

A 2026 report published by Upwork, the Freelance talent marketplace that serves both companies in search of knowledge economy workers and independent professionals whose business is to provide it and the digital communications provider Zoom, 91% of Freelance single owner business entities say that AI has reduced their routine administrative work and enabled 74% of respondents to scale without hiring full-time employees. In fact, many Freelance business owners view operating a single-person entity as an advantage that bakes in operational flexibility and strategic agility. When necessary, a Freelance solopreneur can turn to software-as-a-service AI agents and/or assistants, or hire a Freelance colleague whose expertise can be contracted on a per-project basis, to expertly manage whatever aspects of the project are outside of his/her wheelhouse. The Rise of the Solopreneur report, which surveyed nearly 3,000 respondents located in 48 states and participating in 12 industries, provides a window into how this entrepreneurial segment is building success and expanding its impact in the global labor force. For workers and companies alike, the rise of Freelance solopreneurs who strategically implement AI-powered tech resources demonstrates that the future of work may no longer be defined by the number of workers a company employs, but rather by the founder’s expertise.

The challenges once inherent in operating a business alone have steadily declined since the advent of tech advances that have become commonplace—cloud computing, e-commerce infrastructure, including secure online payment options, social media platforms and other marketing activities that promote the company and build the brand. Moreover, there are now Freelance marketplace platforms that facilitate the building of a vital client list. That’s all good, but life as a Freelance on-your-own business owner requires significant confidence and discipline, along with expertise in your field.

Being able to manage stress and stay motivated are a couple more must-have characteristics. You’ll also have to be ready to wear many hats, for example marketing, sales, customer service, accounting/finance and operations. Oh, yes, and as CEO, you are the face of the company. There’s no one else to delegate tasks to, so being incredibly resourceful, strategic in managing their time and all-around resilient are other qualities Freelance solopreneurs must live up to.

It can be successfully done if that is the way you want it! Below are a few technological resources that will help you stay on top of things and maintain a positive mindset while you do.

1. Financial Reporting and Analysis: AI-powered financial tools are foundational for sound decision-making that is informed by your company’s key performance metrics. AI powered financial tools can deliver timely, relevant perspectives to financial analysis and give eye-opening insights into what drives revenue and profit. However, AI financial tools are not one-size-fits-all and the service you choose must align with the your reporting and analysis needs. Predictive analytics for financial forecasting might be a priority.

2. Customer Relations Management: CRM integrates your marketing strategies with AI-powered technology and brings highly useful capabilities by using advanced analytics, market research and automation to deliver personalized customer experiences that increase sales conversions, increase customer loyalty, encourage repeat business and reduce churn. AI can enhance customer acquisition by facilitating targeted marketing campaigns, improving conversion through predictive analytics and making recommendations that help you optimize sales strategies. As well, CRM will ensure comprehensive customer service and a pleasantly memorable customer experience, by tracking and managing all customer touch points—for example, purchases and inquiries—to deliver consistent support.

3. Operations and Workflow Management: AI software systems are powerful tools that can, among other capabilities, streamline work processes and improve operational efficiency by mapping, automating and tracking your workflows to monitor your output and progress. An AI agent can also provide actionable recommendations to address critical operational issues and even augment or correct incomplete or inconsistent data, to help you obtain accurate insights and achieve informed decision-making. By training on historical data, AI models can quickly identify unusual patterns and outliers that might signal quality control issues. 

4. Sales/Marketing Funnel & Leadgen: AI-driven leadgen marketing/sales funnels are able to adjust timing, marketing or sales channels and personalized messages that respond to the behavior of prospective buyers In Real Time. Responsiveness is valuable to you because a lost lead is lost revenue. According to research by Mc Kinsey, adaptive AI-powered marketing/sales funnels reduce prospect drop-off and make a sale more likely. AI can manage customer relations management entries, qualify leads and even handle initial sales interactions via your AI-powered chatbot. AI lead qualification can ask the initial questions, score intent, tag high-quality leads and push the most promising prospects into your pipeline automatically.

Be sure to add a Follow-Up Agent, a software tool that automates the process of staying in touch so that promising leads are not lost due to insufficient follow-up. Instead of relying on manual reminders sent by you, the follow-up agent uses AI to “read” ongoing conversations and determine when and how to reach out, adapting the timing of follow-up and conversational tone depending on how the lead interacts. The system is designed to track engagement signals such as email opens, clicks, or unanswered messages. Based on this information, the follow-up agent does exactly that by composing personalized messages that reflect the context of the conversation and even the role of the recipient.

5. Content Strategy and Creation: AI can draft newsletters, blog posts, social media updates, marketing emails for campaigns and advertising copy, all tailored to specific audience segments and optimized for Search Engine Optimization. AI software can also analyze customer data to segment audiences and automate personalized marketing messages. A Content Repurposing Agent– will transform long-form content (blogs, YouTube, newsletters) into short clips that enable you to extract the full value of your strategies and messages and reinforce their impact by recycling it to the other platforms. Now you can produce social media posts, marketing emails—or even videos that feature you discussing key points of your message and what it means to customers—and using a script that’s inspired by the repurposing agent.

6. Graphic Design: AI is revolutionizing the design industry, making it possible for those who are not design professionals to produce credible graphic designs for your marketing materials that enhance personalization and improve engagement that promotes sales conversations. In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 65% of participants noted their company regularly use generative AI—nearly double the percentage recorded 10 months before and 69% of marketing and other creative professionals believe AI-enhanced tools boost their team’s creativity. AI can generate numerous ideas and variations based on initial input, helping graphic designers break through creative blocks and explore directions they might not have considered otherwise. AI is also lowering the barrier to entry for non-designers who need to produce visual content. User-friendly design assistants can guide novices through the creative process, offering suggestions and automating complex tasks. Take a look at some highly favored design software.

7. Cybersecurity & Data Privacy: Managing a primarily AI-driven business presents significant cybersecurity precautions. Small and medium-sized businesses, a category that includes Freelance solopreneurs, are more frequent targets of cybercrime than larger companies, industry research shows. The good news is agentic AI and AI agents are beefing up cybersecurity by automating decision-making. Not only will an AI-powered cybersecurity system enable dynamic access management by adjusting user access based on behavior and risk, in that way aligning with zero trust principles, but also agentic AI will continuously monitor activities, and reveal atypical patterns to identify and mitigate insider threats before they escalate.  Furthermore, agentic AI enhances workflow efficiency by automating tasks like alert triage and incident response, with applications in cybersecurity for autonomous threat detection and response (Lisowski, 2024). Organizations adopting agentic AI for security and governance are reporting significant benefits, including faster decision-making and improved risk management (Chiodi, 2025).

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Freepik

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Let Your Data Do Its Job

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It is likely that most business owners and other company leaders in America today often describe themselves as “data-driven” decision-makers and strategy builders; data driven is such a self-affirming and empowering term. In Real Time, though, it’s more than likely that rather few business owners and leaders are living the dream. Oh, many, if not most, subscribe to software-as-a-service financial tools, like NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics 365. They’re also hooked up for customer relations management, thanks to HubSpot and Zoho. It’s almost a given that a growing number of them have waded into Artificial Intelligence, probably starting with an AI-powered chatbot, maybe provided by Ada. Some may have already advanced to an AI digital assistant that will, by human command, expertly perform a variety of routine administrative tasks, such as scheduling meetings, sending standard emails (like vendor onboarding correspondence), or conducting research.

So business owners and leaders are mostly all-in with tech advances—I guess it makes them feel in control and secure. But the real question is, do business owners and leaders—you—understand and trust the data? Are you able to rely on the story your data tells you, the scenario it reveals? If your key performance index (KPI) metrics indicate that all is bubbling along as intended, I’m sure it’s safe to say that you understand which numbers indicate good news. But if one or more KPIs signal an anomaly that could be a warning of developing trouble ahead, would the message communicated by your data push you to take an action of some sort? When a red light is flashing, what will you do and when will you do it?

Do you take advantage of the precious resource of time that your data can give you and use it to take a second look at what may be an unexpected bump in the road? Maybe a KPI metric that’s tracking in the wrong direction will inspire you to check out another KPI to get another perspective on the number that you find rather worrisome? A truly data-driven leader strategy has faith in the scenario that the numbers reveal; those who understand and trust their information have confidence in the story that the info tells them, whether the description is a random shiver, or an obstacle that calls for a strategy and a plan to implement it. In other words, what separates winners from also-rans often comes down to one fact—when its time to make an impactful decision, what’s your usual response? Does your data play a starring role, or does it make only a cameo appearance?

Being data-driven means much more than access to reliable information. How and when you typically engage your info when there’s a potential problem to resolve, or a decision on the table—and even when good fortune allows you to enjoy smooth sailing for a while? So, if your relationship with your data resembles a standing appointment, a special occasion meeting that you faithfully keep once a month, it’s time to join the 21st century? Business owners and leaders who are data-driven IRT know that consistent attention to the data is how you leverage the resource. Identify a small set of meaningful “go-to” metrics—KPIs— to consult because you know they reveal pivotal aspects of company performance. You might choose to follow certain CRM marketing metrics; you’ll definitely refer to your monthly financial statements—Balance Sheet, Cash-flow, P & L—and take a once-a-week peek at, business vital signs that shine a light on basic functioning, such as top line revenue, operating margin, operating cash-flow and the quick ratio calculation. The goal when reviewing your numbers is not to sweat every small fluctuation, but to notice and investigate repeating patterns that could signal the need for a response.

Business owners and leaders who know that the best results are achieved by those who pay attention and act when necessary, avoiding the trap of analysis-paralysis. Verification is a good thing, but refusing to heed the story your KPIs tell you is a waste of your investment in data. It is sometimes wise to wait and see, to confirm the context and avoid a hasty response. But many owners and leaders of also-ran companies tend to hesitate when the picture the data reveals is clear, but perhaps unexpected. Being data-driven is about knowing not only which metrics matter, but also having the discipline and confidence to take action before competitors or other marketplace factors get there first. Winners are able to both interpret the data outcomes and trust the evidence, even when it challenges assumptions. That discipline is what ultimately turns data into a long-term advantage. Companies that consistently outperform others tend to:

  • Monitor KPIs—identify a small set of meaningful metrics to track
  • Look for pattern verification—do two or more metrics indicate that something needs your attention?
  • Make a course correction when necessary
  • Learn quickly from results

Make reviewing reports a weekly activity

The many demands and uncertainties of the 21st century marketplace have expanded the responsibilities required to effectively manage a business. Being data-driven means much more than access to reliable information. How and when you typically engage your info when there’s a potential problem to resolve, or a decision on the table—and even when good fortune allows you to enjoy smooth sailing for a while? So, if your relationship with your data resembles a standing appointment, a special occasion meeting that you faithfully keep once a month, it’s time to join the 21st century. Business owners and leaders who are data-driven IRT know that consistent attention to the data is how you leverage the resource.

Monthly, or even quarterly, reviews of certain reports were once standard—but if you aim to be responsible steward, it will be necessary to be more vigilant. By the time a quarterly report suggests that a certain development could be a problem, the trouble may have been brewing for weeks. Even a monthly review of KPIs can give too much of a head start to a matter that’s about to become urgent. One of the ways that stronger organizations maintain an advantage is to proactively pay close attention to business activity. Smart owners and leaders check their guiding KPIs frequently and, depending on your business, that could be weekly, or even daily (especially if you operate a restaurant). Looking to see whether things are moving in the right direction and thinking about an intervention you can put into motion if they’re not, is standard stuff these days. You want trustworthy forecasting that helps you avoid unfortunate surprises. Hot points might include:

  • Change in customer demand patterns—are certain customers not reordering as often as they once did?
  • Weakening customer engagement—are your usual social media groupies responding to posts less frequently?
  • Early signs of margin pressure—are prospects hesitating and pushing back against your pricing?
  • Is a supply chain obstacle increasing the amount you pay to acquire what you sell, or are you waiting longer to receive orders?

Understand which customers deliver the most growth

Business growth can be misleading and make you surprised to find that what appears to be growth has a shadow side. Meaning, your Profit & Loss Statement can reward you with an increase in quarterly revenue and simultaneously punish you with a shrinking profit margin that’s occurring because the cost of producing or acquiring the products or services you sell have increased. If you decide against raising prices because you fear that customers will not accept an increase— A savvy data-driven leader will turn to the metrics to research questions like:

  • What factors have caused production or acquisition costs to increase?
  • How can your company more efficiently produce the product or service that is sold? If you can make better use of your time, what you gain can be applied to another task and that may save you money. If you acquire what you sell, research the availability of vendors who may offer a lower acquisition cost and attempt a supply chain remedy.
  • Consult your CRM data and learn which customer segments or acquisition channels have a positive impact on growth—bring in the most revenue, profit and your highest Customer Lifetime Value. Also, are there certain customers who generate the most repeat business and referrals?

Treat pricing as an experiment

Pricing strategy is one of the most powerful factors in any business and yet many organizations treat it like a permanent decision — something set once and revisit occasionally. You may find, however, that once you’ve decided whether your company’s market position— high end, mid-market, or economy and identified the optimum profit margin range needed to make the entity viable, you can be more flexible about the prices you set than you may have imagined. Why not approach pricing as a learning process that’s supported by your CRM data? They analyze how different segments respond to price changes or special discounts. It may surprise you to learn that what appears to be business growth has a shadow side.

Your P&L is showing you a nice increase in quarterly revenue but disappointing you with a shrinking profit margin—maybe because of a supply chain issue—you may not be boxed in by a competitor who can afford to price more conservatively. Maybe you can make a modest price increase and make it work?

  • Are certain customer segments more sensitive to price increases while others are resilient?
  • Is there a good strategy to help “sell” customers on your price increase?
  • Will a small price increase change customer behavior?

Experimentation doesn’t need to be complicated. Small controlled tests can reveal a lot about what customers can truly value. Price increases can be passed to new customers only. Long-term customers may be more likely to accept the increase when you contact them personally and explain your now higher production, acquisition costs, or other operating expenses. They will get it. Extending the payment terms to customers who may have difficulty adjusting to an increased price might also be a good solution. Over time, these insights and experiences may lead to smarter pricing decisions and healthier margins.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Corporate Finance Institute

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Newsletters Are Back

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Marketing mavens have rediscovered the newsletter. After a period of what could be called benign neglect, when this once standard marketing tool fell out of favor and was sidelined, the reappearance of newsletters represents a long overdue acknowledgement of data-verified performance results. Without question, the newsletter has for several decades been among the most effective promotional and relationship-building resources in a marketer’s arsenal.

Some of you reading now may have once looked forward to receiving a favorite newsletter that was delivered by your postal service. Then, in the early 2000s, your humble newsletter demonstrated its agility and responded to the new technology known as email, and seamlessly adapted from hard-copy to digital format. In fact, it can be successfully argued that the multi-faceted, hard-working newsletter was the original email marketing content. The format has again demonstrated that it is an effective, and therefore valuable, component of well-conceived marketing strategies and campaigns. Marketing thought leaders have joined the cheering section, calling digitally distributed (i.e., email) content marketing as foundational to long-term business growth.

Newsletters by definition are communication tools that facilitate engagement and relationship development with readers—that is, current clients, past clients, prospects and also colleagues and peers who’d like to familiarize themselves with your business—and you. According to a 2026 report published by Newsletter Industry Statistics, 78% of B2B marketers use newsletters to generate leads and 60% say newsletters are their top driver of customer retention—which, BTW, invites repeat business. A well-composed newsletter can showcase your entity, and you, in many ways:

  • A platform for you to tell your brand story
  • Cultivate client relationships, inspire trust in prospects, re-engage past clients
  • Demonstrate your thought leader expertise
  • Nurture brand loyalty
  • Make announcements and updates
  • Present product or service spotlights
  • Generate website traffic and sales

Because your newsletter is capable of influencing more people than you may realize, and in more ways than you might imagine, it is imperative that you make it a good read. You have a story to tell; ensure that the information you share is relevant, timely and compelling. Spice up the text with a splash of appealing visuals that aligns with your narrative, using both still images and (short) video clips. Be sensitive to reader attention spans as you compose your newsletter: three pages, or about 500-600 words, is probably suitable for most but still images will expand the page count. Furthermore, your newsletter (and all of your marketing emails) should adhere to mobile device specs, because 60% will be opened on mobile. As for scheduling your newsletter, monthly is an acceptable frequency known to build and maintain reader engagement.

Make it relevant, visually interesting and personal

Before you commit to producing a newsletter for your Freelance entity, decide what you’d like your newsletter to do for your business? Would you like to increase brand awareness, generate leads, nurture relationships, or boost sales? In most cases it’s all of the above, but it makes sense to know your destination before you set off on a journey.

When you’ve clarified the purpose, you can confidently choose topics for articles and other content that will guide your creation of an effective marketing tool. Your customer relations management data will reveal what your clients want to know and, even better, can segment clients into groups based on relevant distinguishing criteria, such as for-profit or not-for-profit designation, pain points or goals that motivate clients to seek out your solution, purchase history, or frequency. By segmenting your audience, you can then tailor certain elements of your newsletter content to each group and in that way enhance the relevance, personalization, engagement and, ultimately, sales revenue generated. Artificial Intelligence software will optimize the insights provided by your CRM data, that can accurately pinpoint client preferences, priorities, behaviors and challenges. Moreover, AI software such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, Ideamap, or Microsoft Copilot, for example, can facilitate the brainstorming and idea generation process and present to you potentially dozens of interesting newsletter topics that would address the focus of your target newsletter reader groups.

According to data reported by Exploding Topics, approximately 72% of newsletter subscribers are motivated by a desire to either stay up-to-date with company happenings or learn about a topic of interest when they choose to subscribe to a newsletter. Surprisingly, when given the option of receiving updates about your brand by way of social media or an email newsletter that slips into their inbox, 90% of readers choose to receive your newsletter.

So there is your mission—identify headline topics that will be segmented by personalized interests and priorities and made available to readers based on what resonates most, as a way to encourage relevance and value that readers will associate with your newsletter, as well as your company. With assistance from your CRM and AI resources, you will learn which topics that a critical mass of readers would like to take a deep-dive exploration into, and also topics for which they’ll be pleased to receive just basic info. Lastly, readers will appreciate quick and visible access to links that announce upcoming events, perhaps some in which you’ll have a featured presence, such as a podcast, webinar, or teaching assignment. Ideally, your newsletter will function as a portal for conversation with your clients and prospects. Make it interactive by including a mix of content that they’ll anticipate reading every month, such as:

  • Links to your blog or other useful articles
  • One deep-dive article
  • Poll or survey
  • Product or service spotlights
  • Call-to-action
  • Special events—your speaking or teaching engagements, participation in charity events

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Muse Reading Greek (Boeotia) circa 435-425 BC

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“Upload Photo Here” B2B Gets Personal

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Creating B2B marketing content that brings in leads and builds your brand is a real challenge! Bound by (real or imagined) expectations to appear “business-like,” B2B content creators are known to merely deliver the info that decision-makers need—the what, why, when, by whom and how a product or service is used, topped off with a serviceable call-to-action. The particulars will be in there but the end result is usually content that’s dry and impersonal. It doesn’t reach out and touch, it checks off the boxes.

If developing B2B marketing content is your responsibility, keep in mind that the decision-makers you aspire to influence are actually human. They laugh, they get bored, get frustrated, curious and (sometimes) inspired. They are busy, if not overwhelmed, and it takes something special to get their attention and win their trust. Your target audience responds best to content that is fresh, unexpected and shows that you understand what’s important to them.

Maybe you’re ahead of me and already have a guerilla marketing campaign in the works, as was discussed in last week’s post? But once the guerilla sizzle has grabbed audience attention, back it up and bring the steak. Your next move is to convert the buzz into confidence and trust that leads to loyal relationships. You achieve that by knowing your clients and using that knowledge to develop content and other means of communication that demonstrates you have their priorities and needs on your front burner. Below are factors to keep in mind and actions you may decide to take as you re-examine your B2B marketing strategy and prepare your organization for the start of a new year.

Personalized customer profiles

To figure out how to sell your products and/or services, you must know the goals and priorities of your prospects and have an idea of what might worry them, too. Accurate and updated client information is among your most valuable resources; data can be collected in quick-and-easy, nonthreatening ways, on your website or social media platforms. In exchange for a prospect’s name, contact info, business name and category, you may offer free 15 minute video consultations, free copies of your case study, or a free link to the webinar on which you made a guest appearance info. Inbound marketing tactics, spotlighted by a tempting call-to-action, not only moves prospects through the sales funnel, it also functions as a portal for client info.

Beyond basic contact info, a review of previous client or prospect interactions with your company will reveal more detailed info, including the purchasing history of current and lapsed clients, their buying preferences, concerns and the amount they spend. Get to know your target audience by understanding their unique preferences and help yourself to retain clients, make more sales and reduce churn rate. Clients and prospects are what a mailing list is all about; it’s members represent potential sales revenue for your company. Consider the following questions as you build customer profiles.

  • Who is a window shopper and who is researching with a goal of buying? Have you designed a “try before you buy” option available to undecideds, or is it effective to initiate a face2face or video meeting to show undecideds how your solution will solve problems and achieve objectives that matter to them?
  • Who are they buying for? Is the prospect an end-user and stakeholder, who influences the purchasing decision, or is the decision-maker, who may not directly use the product or service, doing the shopping?
  • After they complete a purchase, what kind of follow-up support, including info on the optimal use of the product or implementation of a service, would the new client appreciate?

Purpose-driven content

Companies are re-evaluating how they deliver their marketing messages and many now feel that creating purpose-driven marketing content is integral to being seen as relevant to potential buyers. The more you know about the goals and buying behaviors of your prospects, the more successful you’ll become in selling to them. You want information that guides you to describe, price, deliver and provide after-sale support for your product or service in words and actions that are quickly understood and strike the right chords with the target audience and in so doing, earn their trust and confidence. Consider the three phases of the buyer’s journey:

  • Discovery phase: What do prospects see when they conduct a Google search of your entity? What links appear in the results and what story is told about your products/ services and brand?
  • Consideration phase: How is your company represented when a prospect or client engages with your social media and other content? What platform links, articles, images and websites appear?
  • Conversion phase: How does your brand show up when a client transacts business on your website? What action do you want your client to take beyond making a one-time purchase?

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © The Richard Avedon Foundation. Supermodel China Machado (born Noelie da Souza,1929-2016), photographed by Richard Avedon in New York, NY for the November 6, 1958 cover of Time Magazine’s 100 Women of the Year issue.