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Seven Data-Driven Principles That Will Define B2B Marketing ROI In 2026

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By Paula Chiocchi

B2B marketers are swimming in data, yet many still struggle to connect that data to measurable business growth. At the same time, the martech landscape continues to expand, with more than 15,000 solutions now available worldwide.

When data lives in silos across customer relationship management (CRM) systems, automation platforms, analytics tools and identity solutions, it creates confusion instead of clarity. As the founder and CEO of a performance marketing agency specializing in B2B2C data, my perspective is that the B2B leaders outperforming peers in ROI aren’t collecting more data; they’re building smarter, connected ecosystems where insights continuously inform action.

Here are seven core data principles that will shape how we define and achieve marketing ROI in the year ahead:

1. Audit and reset your marketing data ecosystem.

Before you can improve outcomes, you must first understand your current data reality. According to Ascend2’s 2024 Data-Driven Marketing Survey, just 15% of respondents said their data is completely integrated. Although an increasing number of marketers are focusing on centralizing data and removing silos, the ongoing challenge of turning information into clarity remains significant.

Unifying data across systems gives organizations a single source of truth that eliminates conflicting records and fragmented customer views. When teams operate from the same accurate, integrated dataset, they are better positioned to spot trends, understand behaviours and make decisions with confidence. Data unification also strengthens collaboration across sales, marketing and operations—reducing friction and enabling faster, more aligned execution.

To get started with data unification, map every platform that stores or touches customer data—your CRM, customer data platform (CDP), marketing-automation platform and analytics stack—and identify redundancies or blind spots. This will be more than just a technical exercise; it will be a full-on operational reset.

2. Integrate for visibility.

Your first ROI breakthrough often doesn’t come from acquiring new data, but from unifying and activating what you already have. Integration turns data fragments into a single, actionable view of your audience. By connecting systems, you eliminate duplicate records, streamline reporting and enable predictive insight across the funnel.

When CRM and automation data align, marketing and sales gain the same visibility into buying signals. Integration also enables performance benchmarking, so you can track which channels or segments drive actual business impact. With this knowledge, marketers are better able to achieve end-to-end visibility, which is widely believed to lead to shorter sales cycles and higher marketing efficiency.

3. Enrich for relevance.

Our agency leaders know from experience that data enrichment ensures campaigns are guided by context and relevance, not guesswork. Integration drives completeness, but enrichment delivers precision. Static data quickly becomes outdated, especially in B2B, where job and company changes are constant. Adding verified contact, firmographic, social, domain or intent data enhances accuracy, reach and ROI.

You can enrich your data by enhancing existing customer or prospect records with new, verified information that provides deeper context—such as updated firmographics, job role changes, digital behaviours or intent signals. Enrichment is typically achieved by matching internal records against high-quality third-party data sources or identity graphs. This process fills gaps, corrects inaccuracies and adds new attributes so that segmentation and targeting are always based on the most current and complete view of your audience.

4. Accelerate the way you operationalize insights.

The gap between data collection and data action is where ROI is often lost. A recent survey found that 53% of marketers in North America view data analysis and insights as the top bottleneck in marketing cycles. You can operationalize insights by embedding analytics into workflows so teams can adapt campaigns, creative or audience segments in real time.

For example, analytics can be embedded directly into campaign workflows so teams receive automated alerts when key performance metrics shift—such as sudden increases in engagement from a specific audience segment or declines in conversion rates. These triggers can automatically prompt creative updates, audience refinements or budget reallocations, enabling teams to act in the moment rather than waiting for a reporting cycle.

5. Measure full-funnel impact.

Too many marketing dashboards still stop at lead volume. To prove true ROI, B2B organizations must measure across the entire funnel: awareness, engagement, opportunity creation and revenue contribution. Yet, an eMarketer article states that only 27% of marketers intend to adopt unified measurement platforms that provide end-to-end visibility into their data. Without unification, marketers work with disconnected systems that prevent their organizations from having one version of the truth linking awareness to conversion. In contrast, full-funnel measurement connects marketing activity directly to outcomes, giving leaders the confidence to invest where it matters most.

The importance of knowing what’s working and what isn’t brings up the topic of attribution. In B2B, sales rarely result from a single email or ad. More often, a prospect receives multiple touches—direct mail, programmatic impressions, an email—and only then do they convert. That’s why, for a more accurate view of ROI, it’s helpful to move away from last-touch attribution and embrace blended attribution that recognizes the full customer journey, rather than simply giving credit to the final click.

6. Prioritize trust and privacy (and account for bias) when embracing AI.

The rush to realize AI’s efficiency and performance advantages has put marketers face-to-face with issues such as bias and privacy. Regarding bias, AI models, especially those used in hyper-personalization, targeting and content generation, learn from the data they are fed. If that data reflects existing biases, the AI will as well.

AI governance requires marketers to perform ongoing auditing of their AI training data for representativeness and fairness. For example, actively check that data used for segmentation or targeting doesn’t unfairly disadvantage specific groups based on gender, race, age or location. When fairness and equity are prioritized, target audiences are more likely to trust the brand and remain loyal customers.

When it comes to privacy, many marketing systems that use AI are dependent on massive volumes of customer data, including highly personal information. AI governance provides the structure to comply with global regulations (such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and emerging AI-specific laws like the EU AI Act) while improving data quality and maintaining customer trust.

According to Gartner, responsible AI leadership builds trust with customers, employees and regulators. Further, LinkedIn reports that establishing trust with stakeholders is the key to B2B success.

7. Evolve continuously.

A connected data ecosystem is never done. Systems, standards and buyer behaviours evolve constantly. Marketers who treat their data environment as a living framework—auditing quarterly, updating integrations and refreshing sources—stay ready for what’s next. As I often tell clients, the most valuable database is a living one: dynamic, learning and aligned to business goals.

In 2026, the winners in B2B marketing won’t be those with the most data. They’ll be those who can make data work cohesively across every touchpoint. Clean, connected and continuously improving ecosystems will define the next generation of marketing ROI.

Feature image credit: Getty

By Paula Chiocchi

Paula Chiocchi is CEO of Outward Media, Inc., a provider of B2BC contacts, with email and digital IDs, that drive business growth. Read Paula Chiocchi’s full executive profile here. Find Paula Chiocchi on LinkedIn and X. Visit Paula’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

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Salesforce vs HubSpot: Which is the better business CRM?

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By Ritoban Mukherjee

Salesforce is the ultimate sales CRM. Marketing folks swear by HubSpot. Is one truly better than the other? ZDNET put them to the test.

The final verdict

Salesforce wins for enterprise complexity and customization power, but HubSpot still dominates ease-of-use and marketing integration. I’ve seen Salesforce effortlessly support massive organizations with complex needs, but I’ve also watched teams abandon it due to poor adoption. HubSpot gets teams moving quickly but hits walls when you need advanced customization or industry-specific workflows. It can also get pretty expensive once you start looking for advanced features

For most growing businesses, I recommend starting with HubSpot and evaluating Salesforce once you hit more than 50 employees or complex sales processes. The switching costs aren’t trivial, but neither is choosing wrong from the start and struggling with adoption for months.

Which CRM is better for SMBs?

HubSpot clearly wins for small businesses and startups. The free tier provides genuine value for teams up to five people, with a learning curve that’s accessible to new users. Small teams can become productive within days rather than weeks.

Salesforce’s complexity and pricing make it overkill for most small businesses. Unless you have very specific enterprise needs or complex integration requirements, the investment rarely pays off until you reach significant scale.

Can you migrate data between Salesforce and HubSpot?

Yes, but it requires planning and often professional help. Both platforms offer migration tools, but I’ve seen data integrity issues when companies rush the process. Contact records, deal history, and custom fields need careful mapping to avoid losses.

HubSpot’s import tools are more user-friendly for smaller datasets. Salesforce migrations often require technical assistance. Budget two to four weeks for a proper migration and consider hiring specialists for complex data structures or large volumes.

Which platform offers better customer support?

HubSpot has a significantly better support reputation based on my knowledge. Their chat support is responsive and the knowledge base actually helps solve problems. People have rarely waited more than a few minutes for assistance.

Salesforce support is notoriously frustrating, slow response times and representatives who often can’t solve complex issues. Enterprise customers get better support, but standard plans often leave you searching community forums for answers.

Feature image credit: Allison Murray/ZDNET

By Ritoban Mukherjee

Sourced from ZDNET

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How to Market Your Business Without Spending a Dime

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By Deedra Determan Edited by Micah Zimmerman 

Marketing doesn’t have to drain your budget. With creativity and consistency, you can build momentum and attract customers for free.

Key Takeaways

  • Partnerships beat ad spend when you collaborate with people who serve the same audience.
  • Consistent, repurposed content builds visibility faster than polished, expensive marketing.
  • Real relationships and referrals outperform paid campaigns — momentum is the real marketing engine.

 

When I first launched my business, I didn’t have a marketing budget. But what I did have was creativity, time and a sense of urgency to get my name out there. You don’t need thousands of dollars to make a big marketing impact. You just need consistency, connections and a willingness to get a little scrappy. Some of the best marketing strategies don’t cost a lot of money — they just require a high level of intention and effort.

Here are five ways to market your business without spending money (or spending very little).

1. Build partnerships

Partnerships are one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your audience. Look for businesses that serve the same type of customer as you, but don’t compete with you.

If you’re a fitness coach, you can partner with a nutritionist or a local smoothie shop. If you’re a photographer, team up with a florist or wedding planner. Host a workshop together, share each other’s email lists (with permission) or collaborate on a giveaway.

When two businesses with similar audiences join forces, both brands win. You expand your reach and build community, all without paying for ads!

2. Use the power of free platforms

Social media is the great equalizer for small businesses. Currently, TikTok and YouTube Shorts offer the most organic reach and allow you to get in front of thousands of people without spending any money.

Don’t overthink your content. Film short videos sharing tips, behind-the-scenes moments with your team or what you’re up to in the community. Remember that authenticity often outperforms polished content.

One thing that has been helpful in my business is repurposing content. A 30-second video we make for a TikTok gets reposted on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and LinkedIn. One idea can work four times harder for you!

3. Grow and nurture your email list

Your email list is the most valuable marketing asset because it’s all yours. Social media platforms can change their algorithms overnight, but your list gives you direct access to your audience through their inboxes.

Start collecting email addresses as soon as possible. Add a signup form to your website and social media bios, and offer something in return, such as a discount code, a free e-book or a mini course.

Once people are on your email list, stay consistent. Send regular updates, tips or insights that make them look forward to hearing from you.

4. Share your voice

Visibility builds credibility, and there are so many ways to share your expertise.

Start by pitching yourself as a guest on podcasts that reach your target audience. You’ll get exposure to new listeners and position yourself as an authority. Or, start your own show. There are free and low-cost hosting platforms to help you publish your podcast for under $100 a month.

If you prefer writing, contribute articles to local publications or industry blogs. If you’re more comfortable speaking, offer to speak at community events, meetups or conferences. These opportunities give you a captive audience and can drive new clients to your business. (Pro tip: end your presentation with a QR code that links directly to your email signup or freebie.)

5. Engage your community and encourage word of mouth

The most powerful marketing tool still comes down to relationships. Get involved in your community, whether that’s through volunteering, joining a local business group or partnering with a non-profit. When people know and trust you, they’ll naturally want to support you.

And don’t be shy about asking for referrals and reviews. Most happy clients are glad to share your name; they just need a little nudging. Send a quick follow-up email or text asking for a Google review or testimonial. Those words from real customers are more persuasive than any ad you could run!

You can even start a small referral program. Offer a discount or bonus for every new client someone sends your way. It doesn’t have to cost much, but it creates a ripple effect that builds loyal advocates for your brand.

At the end of the day, great marketing doesn’t always come from money–it comes from momentum. Every video you post, email you send and relationship you build compounds over time. Keep showing up in your community, keep adding value and soon you’ll realize you don’t need a big budget to make a big impact.

By Deedra Determan 

Deedra Determan is the Founder & CEO of D2 Branding, a top digital marketing agency recognized by Entrepreneur magazine. A business coach, speaker, and author, she helps female CEOs build personal brands for financial and time freedom. She also hosts the Do It My Way podcast.

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Edited by Micah Zimmerman 

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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4 marketing tricks to not fall for this holiday season

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By Marielle Segarra, Malaka Gharib

Extra 20% off! Factory sale! Last chance! You may have seen these offers while shopping. But are they actually good deals?

To find out, Life Kit spoke with Brian Vines, a reporter at Consumer Reports, and Lindsay Weekes, editor-in-chief of Brad’s Deals, a site that curates promotions from online retailers. They share common marketing techniques that companies use to entice shoppers to buy more — and tips on how to make smarter purchases.

Technique 1: Creating a sense of urgency 

When you see words like “buy now” or “flash deal,” while shopping, take caution, say our experts. Retailers use a sense of urgency to push consumers to make quicker shopping decisions, Vines says. They don’t want you to think too hard about the purchase.

This strategy also relies on shoppers’ fear of missing out, Weekes says. It makes people think, “if I don’t purchase this right now, I’ll never get this deal again.”

The next time you encounter an offer like this, take a beat. Remember, companies are constantly making products, Vines says. “You will not miss the boat.”

You may realize that you only wanted to buy something because it felt urgent. Or you might find a better deal, especially if you wait to shop for something at the end of the season, Weekes says.

Technique 2: Calling out the “original price” 

When you see a price tag that displays an item’s “original price,” say $200, next to the current price, say $75, that’s called price anchoring.

“It makes people fixate on that [higher] price versus the sale price,” Weekes says. It can also make the product appear higher-value, making you want it more.

A lot of the time, that “original price” was never the original price — or hasn’t been that price for a long time, Weekes says.

Outsmart the gimmick by focusing on the actual price of the item, our experts say. If the tag says it’s $75, then assess for yourself whether you think that’s a good deal, regardless of that original price.

Technique 3: Inflating the base price

Another pricing strategy retailers use is to raise the base price of an item just before the busy season, then offer a steep and enticing percentage discount, like 40% or 50%. But since the base price is higher, the item might cost the same as it did last week, or maybe more. This tactic is called “high-low pricing.”

To get around this gimmick, do a price comparison, say our experts. Look for historical pricing data online, or how much the retailer has charged for this product over time.

You can also see if a product is cheaper at another retailer or a second hand website. That’s a great option for clothing — you can even find the same pair of jeans, new with tags still on, for a fraction of the price when you buy second hand.

If you’re shopping at a store, go online to see if you can find a better price at another store across town, Vines says. Then talk to a sales associate and ask them if they can match that competitor’s price. You can also add an item to your online cart and check on the price over a few days or weeks to see if it changes.

Technique 4: Building a fantasy 

Marketers sell you a fantasy: the idea of that picture-perfect holiday dinner where everyone’s connecting and nobody’s fighting. Or the vision of you as your sexiest, most confident self.

“These all play to our aspirational, I’ve-got-my-stuff-together side, based on the amount of things we’re able to gather and put in our carts,” Vines says.

So if you find yourself typing in your credit card information while fantasizing about some idealized version of yourself or your family, pause, say our experts.

That doesn’t mean you don’t get your family any gifts for the holidays. But when you consider a purchase, remember that you don’t have to buy this particular item.

You can also get creative. Bake them their favourite cookies. Plan a group dinner or a family hike. Find a treasure they’ll love at a second hand store. These gifts can be just as meaningful as something you buy from a store.

Feature image credit: Mininyx Doodle/Getty Images

By Marielle Segarra, 

Marielle Segarra is a reporter and the host of NPR’s Life Kit, the award-winning podcast and radio show that shares trustworthy, non-judgmental tips that help listeners navigate their lives.

Malaka Gharib

Malaka Gharib is the deputy editor and digital strategist on NPR’s global health and development team. She covers topics such as the refugee crisis, gender equality and women’s health. Her work as part of NPR’s reporting teams has been recognized with two Gracie Awards: in 2019 for How To Raise A Human, a series on global parenting, and in 2015 for #15Girls, a series that profiled teen girls around the world.

Sourced from KOSU

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Social media marketing falls flat as a signal of quality, research finds

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Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Research published in Information Systems Research finds that social media marketing (SMM) does little to help high-quality firms stand apart from competitors. Instead, it often pushes companies of all quality levels toward similar spending and pricing strategies, blurring the very signals firms hope will differentiate them in digital marketplaces.

The INFORMS study, “Signalling Quality to Consumers: The Role of Social Media Marketing,” was authored by Qinquan Cui and Kenan Arifoğlu of University College London and Dongyuan Zhan of the University of Science and Technology of China.

Social media platforms have transformed the way consumers learn about products. Unlike traditional advertising, where firms broadcast one-way messages to increase awareness, SMM allows consumers themselves to generate and share information such as reviews, ratings, comments, and peer recommendations, all of which influence perceived product quality.

As a result, firms increasingly rely on SMM both to expand their customer base and to influence the external information consumers receive.

“Firms often believe that spending more on social media marketing helps signal superior product quality,” said Cui. “However, when we modelled this environment using a game-theoretic approach, we found that high-quality firms cannot reliably use SMM spending to separate themselves from mid- or low-quality competitors.”

Game-theoretic approach is a way of analysing situations where multiple decision-makers (players) interact, and the outcome for each depends not only on their own choices but also on the choices of others. Game theory provides a formal mathematical framework to predict behaviour, identify optimal strategies, and understand incentives in competitive or cooperative environments.

To analyse the strategic interactions in their study, the researchers studied two scenarios: a benchmark case, where SMM only increases product awareness; and an information-revelation case, where SMM also improves the precision of online reviews and other external factors.

In the benchmark case, the researchers found that firms cannot credibly signal their product quality simply through different SMM spending levels. What they found was that two things can happen: first, there can be something called “partial pooling,” where low- and mid-quality firms choose the same level of SMM spending, while at the same time, high-quality firms separate by spending less; second, there can be “full pooling,” where all firms spend the same amount.

“We discovered that higher-quality firms actually limit their SMM spending to maintain a smaller but more profitable customer base,” said Arifoğlu. “Spending more would invite lower-quality firms to mimic them, making separation impossible.”

That said, when SMM does play a specific information-revelation role, meaning it makes online signals like reviews more accurate, the challenge intensifies. The study found that only full pooling or a limited form of partial pooling can occur, and that high-quality firms find it even harder to distinguish themselves from lower-quality firms.

In a sense, when all firms spend at the same level on SMM, a commoditization of messaging and branding can happen.

“In situations where SMM enhances the precision of online reviews, mid- and low-quality firms actually lose some of their incentives to pool with high-quality firms,” Zhan said.

“But high-quality firms also cannot set themselves apart. In the end, the information glut created by SMM spending by mid- to low-quality firms makes it more of a challenge for high-quality firms to differentiate.”

The authors conclude that SMM may not be the most effective quality-signalling tool for firms in competitive environments. Rather, high-quality firms may benefit from moderating their SMM spending rather than increasing it, and being more focused and innovative in their marketing to their highest-value market segments.

Feature image credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

By Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sourced from Phys.org

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Why Huawei’s Former PR Leader Says Most Brands Get Global Marketing Completely Wrong

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Every week, Yanko Design’s podcast Design Mindset powered by KeyShot brings you conversations with design leaders who are shaping how products, brands, and experiences connect with people around the world. Hosted by Radhika, the show explores the intersection of design thinking, strategic communication, and the human stories behind successful brands. Whether you’re a designer, entrepreneur, or simply curious about how intentional design shapes our world, this weekly series offers insights you won’t find anywhere else.

In episode 12, Radhika sits down with Chris Pereira, founder and CEO of iMpact, a China-Western communications and go-to-market firm based in Shenzhen. With nearly two decades in China, fluency in Mandarin, and a notable stint as a Huawei PR leader, Chris brings a rare perspective to the table. Named one of Forbes India’s Top 30 Globalization Innovators, he’s spent his career helping brands navigate the treacherous waters between cultural intention and reception. What emerges from this conversation is a masterclass in how design decisions carry meaning, whether you intend them to or not.

Download your Free Trial of KeyShot Here

When “On Brand” Goes Off the Rails

Chris opens with a stark reality check: “Design isn’t neutral, especially across cultures. A font, a color, a slogan that wins in New York can really backfire in Nanshan in Shenzhen, China.” The challenge isn’t just about translation in the linguistic sense, it’s about making intention travel across borders intact. Every design choice tells a story about your values, and Chris emphasizes this with a striking insight: “The question isn’t if your design will tell a story, but what story you’re telling. So it’s whether you’ll own that narrative or let it own you.”

When brands think they’re “on brand” with a global strategy, that’s often exactly when things break down in local markets. Chris shares a personal anecdote that illustrates the stakes: “I had a friend a few years ago in China and he always liked to wear a green hat… But in China, there’s a specific phrase. If you’re wearing a green hat, it means your partner is cheating on you in the relationship.” What’s an innocuous fashion choice elsewhere becomes a cultural faux pas in China. For brands, this translates directly to sales, green hats simply don’t sell in Chinese markets, regardless of how well they perform globally.

Why Respect Can Look Like Disrespect (and Vice Versa)

Cultural landmines extend far beyond colour choices. Chris recounts a dinner meeting where cultural respect signals completely misfired: “The Chinese host used chopsticks and before he ate he put food onto my client’s plate… But my business partner, my client, he got very angry all of a sudden. He said, I know how to use chopsticks. I’m not a kid.” The Chinese host was showing respect; the Western guest felt insulted. Both sides wanted to build trust, but the trust was actually eroded by the interaction.

These seemingly small details matter enormously for visual communication too. Sticking chopsticks upright in rice is a cultural taboo in China associated with funeral rites, an advertising image showing this would be deeply inappropriate, yet a Western creative team might not know to avoid it. Chris’s firm uses a systematic 10-item pre-mortem checklist that expands into roughly 100 specific considerations, covering everything from brand names and colour schemes to who appears in imagery and what scenarios are shown. The goal should be consistent across markets, Chris explains, but the methods must adapt: “The result or what we want to convey in every country is the same. We care about the local community… How we get there is very different.”

Stop Saying You’re Great (Get Someone Else to Say It)

Perhaps the most critical insight Chris offers is about trust-building through third-party endorsement. “If I sit here and tell you, Radhika, I’m really great. I’m amazing… Honestly, that’s not a good way to convince the other person. The better way is to say, this professor has given me a letter of introduction. I was on TV last week on that media.” From a brand perspective, advertising says “I’m great,” while third-party endorsement says “he’s great” or “she’s really trustworthy.” Chris’s advice is direct: “If you don’t have the third-party endorsement, you shouldn’t do advertising.”

He encourages brands to “stand on the shoulders of giants,” pointing to the “Intel Inside” label on laptops as a perfect example. Industry awards, professional association endorsements (like dental associations for toothpaste), and partnerships with established entities all build the trust foundation necessary before spending on advertising. For product launches, Chris advocates showcasing customer success stories: “Maybe we can donate some of our products while we’re doing our announcement. And they can come and say how much that means to them for their community.” This provides powerful, authentic validation that no amount of paid advertising can replicate.

What Huawei’s Crisis Taught About Winning Together

Chris’s time at Huawei during one of the most challenging periods in the company’s history taught him invaluable lessons about resilience and messaging. When he joined in 2016, the message was all about dominance: “We’re number one in this industry. We’re number two in this industry. We have a huge end to end supply chain.” That message made employees proud but scared competitors. “If you’re in the United States at your Apple or Google, you’re like, oh, crap, this is kind of scary. Right. And they’re going to take our business,” Chris recalls.

The lesson? “The importance of win win or finding ways to work together in a way that’s good for everyone in the community is important.” Huawei eventually shifted its messaging toward building an open ecosystem, helping everyone in the supply chain succeed together. Chris also learned about the long-term mindset necessary for trust-building. When the Meng Wanzhou crisis hit in 2018-2019, many questioned whether Huawei would survive. Yet the company had a record year recently, expanding into new sectors like automotive. This taught Chris the importance of resilience and “thick skin” for both brands and individuals, and that trust requires time and consistency to build properly.

Redefining Speed: Why “Shenzhen Speed” Isn’t What You Think

The concept of “Shenzhen Speed” came up multiple times, but Chris is careful to define it properly. It’s not about rushing business relationships or pushing for quick deals. Rather, “when we say Shenzhen speed, we’re not talking about the speed of your business development… the speed is response. So if you send me a message and I respond quickly, we close the loop quickly.” Trust, conversely, needs time.

As Chris puts it, quoting a German friend: “Going in the wrong direction very quickly is not efficient. So in other words, if you’re going in the right direction slowly, that’s actually maybe better than going super fast and going in circles.” This is especially true for Chinese companies going overseas. Chris identifies cross-cultural communication as the primary challenge: “They all have great products, but they still lack a ability to communicate in a cross-cultural setting.” And crucially, human connection matters more than technology: “Get on an airplane and be on site at a trade event, visit your clients in person, have coffee with them. So none of that can be done by AI, interestingly.”

The Three Non-Negotiables Every Brand Needs

When asked about his non-negotiables, Chris identifies three foundational principles. First, compliance, “You need to follow the law anywhere you go,” he states simply. Second, authenticity: “If you’re not authentic, you will lose the trust of the local market.” Chris shares what he calls the 20-60-20 rule: 20% of people will always love you, 60% don’t really care either way, and 20% will actively dislike you. “When we’re doing our design work and business work, it’s important to bring your true self to the table because then you’ll attract the consumers, your customers, your partners, your friends who are like minded.”

Third, purpose beyond profit. “We’re not just doing business and doing design work and doing PR for money. I think we want to make the world a better place,” Chris reflects. For him, this is personal: “I have a nine year old son who’s half Chinese. So what we’re doing is helping Chinese companies and helping China tell their story in a more effective way overseas and building more trust and friendship.” In the rapid-fire segment, Chris crystallizes several key insights. His quickest litmus test for international success? “The team, the team behind the product.” The most underused asset in cross-border launches? “The actual relationships… in the local market.” And what beats beautiful design every time? “A brand mission. So a mission, a worthwhile cause to do something.”

Making Intention Travel

What emerges from this conversation is a fundamental truth: design is never neutral. Every choice, from fonts to colours to the people you feature in your imagery, communicates values. The challenge is ensuring those values translate as intended across cultural boundaries. Chris’s approach is both systematic and deeply human: use checklists and structured processes, but never forget that trust is built person to person, through authentic relationships and genuine commitment to local communities.

For designers and brand strategists working in an increasingly global marketplace, the message is clear: you can’t afford to be culturally naïve. What “works” in your home market may actively harm you elsewhere. But with the right approach, thoughtful localization, authentic partnership, and patience, brands can successfully make their intention travel across borders. Chris Pereira can be found on LinkedIn, and Design Mindset releases new episodes every week, bringing you more conversations with leaders who understand that great design isn’t just beautiful, it’s meaningful.

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Sourced from Yanko Design

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Why Marketing Savvy is the Important Attribute of Successful Entrepreneurs

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By Kirk Stange ,edited by Micah Zimmerman 

Key Takeaways

  • Marketing proficiency is the foundation of every successful entrepreneurial venture.
  • Without effective marketing, even great products and services go unnoticed.
  • Entrepreneurs must master marketing before focusing on other business skills.

Several key attributes contribute to being a successful entrepreneur. For an entrepreneur to succeed, they must have multi-faceted skills in various areas.

Knowing how to structure a business administratively is a vital skill for an entrepreneur. For example, having well-defined structures and procedures for business management is critical. Effective business management skills are essential. Obviously, the larger the company, the more challenging this can become.

Figuring out how to have a successful financial plan within your business is also essential. Any business needs to have a workable budget and financial plan. It is also crucial to be able to create accurate and realistic forecasts for the future. Without such financial data, most businesses will quickly get into trouble.

Understanding the best strategies for recruiting and retaining talent is crucial. For any business to succeed, hiring the best legal talent available is essential for driving business growth. To do so, companies need to understand where and how to post jobs that align with their business needs. They will also need to know how to pursue the best talent actively.

Furthermore, making clients and customers happy is also essential for a sustainable business. There is no way any business can succeed if most of its customers and clients are not satisfied with the goods or services it offers. If customers and clients are not happy, the word can spread. A business also ends up with negative online reviews, which makes it harder for the company to succeed.

However, knowing how to create a successful marketing plan is a crucial skill for an entrepreneur. For any business to get off the ground, an entrepreneur must know how to attract customers or clients to the company. Many entrepreneurs are skilled in other areas, but they often lack a comprehensive understanding of the best practices for marketing their business. Until they become proficient in understanding marketing, any entrepreneurial efforts will likely not be successful.

Why is marketing the most important skill of an entrepreneur?

The Know-how to advertise successfully is complex and cumbersome. Many businesses engage a marketing company to develop and implement a marketing plan. Such an approach can be hit or miss for many businesses, as some marketing companies may or may not do a great job. Many marketing companies may not understand the specific niche of your line of business.

Understanding how business marketing works, from top to bottom, is key for businesses that succeed or fail. In this day and age, digital advertising probably makes the most sense for many businesses because you can better target those in need of your company’s services through search engine optimization and online advertisements that target those in need of your company’s goods or services.

Having a web page with lots of content is crucial for most businesses. Advertising through the major search engines can also make sense, in addition to engaging in search engine optimization, so that the website appears organically and through artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT. Pay-per-click advertising can also make a lot of sense for many businesses, as advertisements appear when individuals are searching for companies in a particular area.

Another option to consider includes paid advertising through social networking sites. Social networking sites can result in more visibility than radio and television at a more palatable cost. Most people think of Facebook and X, but there are many other options available, including Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok and other social media platforms.

Some businesses, however, still like to brand through television, radio, billboards and other conventional means. Such an approach can be cost-prohibitive for many companies, leading to overspending. Branding also does not necessarily result in leads.

Other businesses may resort to word-of-mouth marketing. They may become active in the community through referral groups, civic or community activities, door-to-door soliciting and other means. However, these techniques may not deliver the boost that most businesses need.

Before you launch, analyse your marketing prowess

Any entrepreneur must carefully consider their marketing strategy before launching a new venture. Many entrepreneurs need to enhance their knowledge and skills in marketing before they take the plunge. Otherwise, they will lack sufficient customers or clients to sustain and grow the business. Even if the products or services are top of the line, if the marketing efforts are not well thought out, most in the community will not even be aware of them.

It might mean reading some marketing books and literature. For others, they may need to take some marketing classes. For those who are self-taught, they might conduct research online through search engines and artificial intelligence tools. It can also mean meeting various marketing professionals to get their ideas and input.

However, until marketing knowledge and plans are where they need to be, many should understand that marketing is the first skill any entrepreneur needs to learn. Without marketing proficiency, there will not be enough business coming through the door to sustain the business. Yes, once a company gets off the ground, the other skills are equally important. However, if you are considering the chicken or the egg question, it’s marketing.

By Kirk Stange 

Kirk C. Stange is a Founding President and Attorney at Stange Law Firm. Mr. Stange built Stange Law Firm from the ground up, starting in 2007. Stange Law Firm now has offices in nine states, continues to expand, and is the second-largest family law firm in the country, with thirty offices.

Edited by Micah Zimmerman 

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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The easiest (and least scary) way to automate your marketing

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While marketing industry buzz tells us to expect more automation, so far, the rate of adoption has not reflected expectations. Is this because Machine has not yet reached the perfection that we demand (despite our ample room for human error)? What is it that we fear when we read about the newest automation tech on the block? Realistically, you’re not going to be replaced. Truthfully, all to be feared is that we’ll have more time on our hands to do what we’d prefer to be doing. And yet, the reluctance to automate is strong.

Looking back over the last decade, it’s clear that the introduction of new technology has created greater possibilities and more roles for marketers. It’s inevitable automation and technologies will be playing an even more integral role in the future of marketing. The good news is that it’s OK to take baby steps with automation at first. All automation technologies exist to simplify work processes, however, they come on a scale of complexity. Smaller-scale marketing technologies are designed to relieve you of the more repetitive, mundane tasks. These are the technologies we can hopefully agree are best to start with and therefore more realistic to adopt first. You’re not going to buy a Ferrari when you just passed your test.

Feed automation

You may or may not already be using data feeds in your daily work. If you’re not, a data feed is merely a file that contains information such as inventory. The possibilities a data feed can unlock in marketing have steadily grown. They are mostly used when a marketing channel (e.g. Google, Facebook, AWIN, Amazon) requests your inventory in order to create ads or listings. Relying on the IT department to adapt the data can cause a huge delay and friction in making dynamic and responsive ad campaigns online. This is where a feed automation tool, such as Channable’s feed manager, simplifies the work process. A feed automation tool can automate the creation of feeds for retargeting, social ads, display and many more. Look out for a technology with a good UI and UX because you’re hoping to steer clear from overcomplicating processes.

Online ad automation

If you’ve ever had to write or implement ad copy for PPC ads, you can probably agree it’s fairly cumbersome. There are automation systems on the web that can help you generate hundreds of highly relevant copy for ads, sitelinks and keywords. You do this by building a template using dynamic fields. The system will be directly liked to your ads account, so after you’ve built the ad structure, it’ll only take a click of a button and potentially hundreds of ads are in your account. This then frees up time to focus on optimizing campaigns or bidding. Bidding is also something that you can now automate. AI technology will analyse the optimal time and budget for your keywords. Channable’s PPC tool is an automation tool that can generate the ad copy straight to your account, but there are others that include bidding and advanced targeting possibilities.

Social media automation

Social media has become the best online place to reach your target market. Posting regularly allows you to communicate directly with your audience, helps build a brand image as well as many other things. Social media automation tools allow you to schedule posts so you can prep them in advance and get on with other tasks in the meantime. Tools include Hootsuite and Buffer for scheduling social media posts. There are also tools that can provide you with insights for social media content based on influencers and your competition, such as BuzzSumo. If you’re interested in automating product ads for social media channels, you would actually need a feed manager because the channel will require your inventory in their specific feed format.

Marketplace listing automation

If you or your client is a retailer that sells via the giant online marketplaces, such as eBay or Amazon, marketplace automation can help list products, add new listings, and make easy modifications to existing listings. This is really a plug and play technology as once the connection is made everything is real-time. Check out Channable’s marketplaces integrator to upload to multiple marketplaces from one place or see the possibilities offered by each marketplace.

Email marketing automation

Sending emails to existing clients, reminding old ones that they can still use you, or reaching out to prospective customers are all activities that can be automated. Low-level email automation purely enables you to send a group a certain email at a scheduled time. Mailchimp and Dotmailer are popular choices for email automation. But you can do so much more such as creating different segments, which will allow for specifying the message of the email to the audience you want to read it. Or setting up a sequence, so that a reader will receive follow up emails that you only had to set up once. This is easily created if you’re using a CRM such as Hubspot.

If you’ve gotten to the end of this list and realised you’ve either implemented some or all of the above levels of automation, give yourself a clap on the back. You’re already more adapted to the technological future than you thought. It’s not something to fear and is easier to implement than it appears. If you haven’t implemented them all, remember how much better your life is with one of them and the possibilities the others could open up for you. Automation technologies will be more commonplace in our future and it’s best to start now. It’s all about enabling you to spend your time more wisely. Read Channable’s guide on how to choose a feed manager for the next step in adopting marketing technologies.

By Senni Whitaker

Senni Whitaker is head of marketing (UK) at Channable

Sourced from The Drum

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Why Marketing Savvy is the Important Attribute of Successful Entrepreneurs

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By Kirk Stange • Edited by Micah Zimmerman 

For any business to get off the ground, an entrepreneur must know how to attract customers or clients to the company.

Key Takeaways

  • Marketing proficiency is the foundation of every successful entrepreneurial venture.
  • Without effective marketing, even great products and services go unnoticed.
  • Entrepreneurs must master marketing before focusing on other business skills.

Several key attributes contribute to being a successful entrepreneur. For an entrepreneur to succeed, they must have multi-faceted skills in various areas.

Knowing how to structure a business administratively is a vital skill for an entrepreneur. For example, having well-defined structures and procedures for business management is critical. Effective business management skills are essential. Obviously, the larger the company, the more challenging this can become.

Figuring out how to have a successful financial plan within your business is also essential. Any business needs to have a workable budget and financial plan. It is also crucial to be able to create accurate and realistic forecasts for the future. Without such financial data, most businesses will quickly get into trouble.

Understanding the best strategies for recruiting and retaining talent is crucial. For any business to succeed, hiring the best legal talent available is essential for driving business growth. To do so, companies need to understand where and how to post jobs that align with their business needs. They will also need to know how to pursue the best talent actively.

Furthermore, making clients and customers happy is also essential for a sustainable business. There is no way any business can succeed if most of its customers and clients are not satisfied with the goods or services it offers. If customers and clients are not happy, the word can spread. A business also ends up with negative online reviews, which makes it harder for the company to succeed.

However, knowing how to create a successful marketing plan is a crucial skill for an entrepreneur. For any business to get off the ground, an entrepreneur must know how to attract customers or clients to the company. Many entrepreneurs are skilled in other areas, but they often lack a comprehensive understanding of the best practices for marketing their business. Until they become proficient in understanding marketing, any entrepreneurial efforts will likely not be successful.

Why is marketing the most important skill of an entrepreneur?

The Know-how to advertise successfully is complex and cumbersome. Many businesses engage a marketing company to develop and implement a marketing plan. Such an approach can be hit or miss for many businesses, as some marketing companies may or may not do a great job. Many marketing companies may not understand the specific niche of your line of business.

Understanding how business marketing works, from top to bottom, is key for businesses that succeed or fail. In this day and age, digital advertising probably makes the most sense for many businesses because you can better target those in need of your company’s services through search engine optimization and online advertisements that target those in need of your company’s goods or services.

Having a web page with lots of content is crucial for most businesses. Advertising through the major search engines can also make sense, in addition to engaging in search engine optimization, so that the website appears organically and through artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT. Pay-per-click advertising can also make a lot of sense for many businesses, as advertisements appear when individuals are searching for companies in a particular area.

Another option to consider includes paid advertising through social networking sites. Social networking sites can result in more visibility than radio and television at a more palatable cost. Most people think of Facebook and X, but there are many other options available, including Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok and other social media platforms.

Some businesses, however, still like to brand through television, radio, billboards and other conventional means. Such an approach can be cost-prohibitive for many companies, leading to overspending. Branding also does not necessarily result in leads.

Other businesses may resort to word-of-mouth marketing. They may become active in the community through referral groups, civic or community activities, door-to-door soliciting and other means. However, these techniques may not deliver the boost that most businesses need.

Before you launch, analyse your marketing prowess

Any entrepreneur must carefully consider their marketing strategy before launching a new venture. Many entrepreneurs need to enhance their knowledge and skills in marketing before they take the plunge. Otherwise, they will lack sufficient customers or clients to sustain and grow the business. Even if the products or services are top of the line, if the marketing efforts are not well thought out, most in the community will not even be aware of them.

It might mean reading some marketing books and literature. For others, they may need to take some marketing classes. For those who are self-taught, they might conduct research online through search engines and artificial intelligence tools. It can also mean meeting various marketing professionals to get their ideas and input.

However, until marketing knowledge and plans are where they need to be, many should understand that marketing is the first skill any entrepreneur needs to learn. Without marketing proficiency, there will not be enough business coming through the door to sustain the business. Yes, once a company gets off the ground, the other skills are equally important. However, if you are considering the chicken or the egg question, it’s marketing.

By Kirk Stange 

Kirk C. Stange is a Founding President and Attorney at Stange Law Firm. Mr. Stange built Stange Law Firm from the ground up, starting in 2007. Stange Law Firm now has offices in nine states, continues to expand, and is the second-largest family law firm in the country, with thirty offices.

Edited by Micah Zimmerman 

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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AI Video Has Changed Marketing Forever — and Standing Out Requires a New Strategy

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By Hope Horner • Edited by Chelsea Brown 

AI has stripped the cost and complexity out of video production. The result? An endless stream of content where attention, not output, becomes the true competition.

Key Takeaways

  • AI video allows anyone to produce polished content on demand. What once required crews, budgets and weeks of production can now be generated in minutes.
  • With an avalanche of professional-looking content, companies must pivot from competing on production quality to competing on authentic insight, genuine expertise and human connection.
  • Brands must use AI as a tool to amplify human creativity and understand that having something meaningful to say matters more than saying it beautifully.

AI video tools have crossed a threshold. What used to require crews, budgets and weeks of post-production can now happen in minutes. Text-to-video generators can create actual clips that replace live-action filming — no cameras, no sets, no talent needed. Every brand, startup and side hustle can flood social feeds with polished content that would have cost thousands just a year ago.

The result is an avalanche of video content most marketers aren’t ready for. And when everyone has access to infinite content creation, the bottleneck shifts to something much scarcer: human attention.

The great video inflation of 2025

Think about what happened when desktop publishing killed the printing industry’s pricing power. Suddenly, every business could create professional-looking brochures and flyers on demand. The market got flooded with mediocre design, but the cost advantages were too compelling to ignore. Printing companies that survived had to find new ways to add value beyond just putting ink on paper.

AI video is that moment for content marketing. When every solopreneur can generate Hollywood-quality product demos and every startup can create testimonial footage without actual customers, the video landscape inflates, and we’re not talking about a gradual shift. This is a supply shock.

The number of professional-looking videos published daily is already increasing by orders of magnitude. Marketing teams that were previously constrained by video budgets suddenly have access to unlimited content creation. The creative brief that once became one hero video now becomes 50 variations optimized for every platform, demographic and use case.

For marketers, this feels like winning the lottery. Unlimited content at near-zero marginal cost? What’s not to love?

But there’s a catch. When everyone has the same superpower, no one has an advantage.

Why this time is different

Previous waves of content democratization (think YouTube, smartphones or social media) expanded the pool of creators but didn’t eliminate production friction entirely. You still needed some combination of equipment, skill or time to create compelling video content. That friction acted as a natural quality filter.

AI video removes that filter in many ways. The barrier between having an idea and having a polished video is getting smaller and smaller. A text prompt becomes footage. A description becomes a testimonial. A concept becomes a commercial.

This creates what economists call a “lemons market” — when quality becomes indistinguishable at first glance, markets get flooded with mediocre products. Your audience will face an unprecedented signal-to-noise problem. Professional-looking content will be everywhere, but most of it will have nothing meaningful to say.

The brands that understand this dynamic — and position themselves accordingly — will have a massive advantage over those caught off guard.

The coming brand extinction event

Here’s what most marketers aren’t seeing: AI video doesn’t just make content creation cheaper — it makes content forgettable. When every video looks professionally produced, none of them stand out visually. When everyone can create testimonials and product demos, the format itself loses credibility.

We’re heading toward a content landscape where production value becomes almost meaningless as a differentiator. The slick graphics, perfect lighting and smooth transitions that used to signal “professional brand” will be table stakes. Worse, they might even signal “generated content” to increasingly savvy audiences.

This shift will be brutal for brands that have built their entire content strategy around looking polished rather than saying something meaningful.

How to survive the content inflation

The companies that survive will be the ones that pivot from competing on production quality to competing on authentic insight, genuine expertise and genuine human connection. The production quality will be a given, so it’s the content strategy that will stand out.

This means treating AI video tools like what they actually are: incredibly powerful production assistants that still need direction, strategy and human judgment to create anything worth watching. The technology can generate and optimize the footage, but it can’t generate the insight that makes someone care.

Smart brands are already preparing for this shift. They’re investing more heavily in understanding their audiences, developing unique points of view and building authentic relationships that can’t be automated. They’re using AI to amplify their human creativity, not replace it.

Most importantly, they’re preparing for a world where having something meaningful to say matters more than saying it beautifully. Because when everyone can make beautiful content, the only competitive advantage left is having something worth saying.

The content inflation crisis isn’t coming — it’s already here. Early adopters are already flooding feeds with AI-generated content, and the volume is only going to increase. The brands that recognize this as an existential shift, not just a new tool to experiment with, will be the ones that survive.

Importantly, this conversation isn’t about whether AI video is good or bad. It’s about understanding that when production costs get lower, everything else about marketing changes. The rules, the strategies, the competitive advantages you’ve gotten used to — all of it gets rewritten.

Your choice is simple: Adapt to the new rules now, or get swept away by the brands that do.

By Hope Horner 

Hope Horner is a serial entrepreneur who built Lemonlight from her bedroom. She’s been named Inc.’s Top Female Founder (twice), landed on the Inc. 5000 list (seven times), and won 30+ awards. She writes about entrepreneurship with clarity, candor, and bite.

Edited by Chelsea Brown 

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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