The Accidental Marketer Podcast

This week, we look at an executional pricing issue: when your company offers pricing allowances and discounts to customers without discipline. Most companies don’t have a defined process for strategically deciding if and when to lower price. The end result is often that the “squeakier” customers — rather than the high potential ones — get lower prices. The team discusses how to bring tools and discipline to effectively enable a smooth transition from a strategic price to an executional “pocket price” in day-to-day pricing activities.

Our pricing-focused season continues with a look at measuring customer's perception of your offer. Customers are typically willing to pay more for an offer of greater perceived value. The issue is: most businesses mistakenly believe there is no reliable way to measure the perceived utility or benefit of an offer. In this episode, the team discusses why — and how — measuring value is not only possible: it may be the most important metric in your business.

Our new podcast season is all about pricing. The vast majority of B2B price-setters do not use the full arsenal of pricing methods available to them. They tend to make certain (wrong) assumptions and default to certain "easy" methods. In this episode, the team discusses the three major ways that B2B organizations set price, and what can go wrong — and right — with each approach.

In our season finale of art vs. science in marketing, the team tackles what may be the most important topic in business: differentiation. Long thought to be a process that is irrational and immeasurable, Mary, Sean and Tom make the case for the scientific calibration of any product or service's level of unique value. They show how a tools-based approach to maximizing and measuring differentiation makes marketing more manageable and accessible to anyone in an organization.

When it comes to dividing markets, software and technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence are bringing new horsepower to segmentation analytics. But machines aren't yet highly accurate in inferring buyer's needs and motivations, which inform the most powerful forms of segmentation. The team discusses how marketers can best combine art and science to get maximum insights from segmentation strategies.

Certain strategic processes require you to rely less on data and more on qualitative observations. Influence mapping is one of them. Because concepts like influence and opinion are hard to quantify, the team debates which parts of influence mapping are art, and which parts are science. The discussion will help you master all aspects of this important strategy tool.

Today's 24/7 news cycle has combined with the relative informality and popularity of social media to create opportunities — and dangers — for brands. Listen in as the team shows marketers the keys to evaluating news-driven trends and knowing when to leverage or ignore them. The discussion covers specific, scientific steps that can be taken to capture opportunity and eliminate missteps.

Our season on the art and science of marketing continues with a deep dive into data analysis. Trying to find strategic insight simply by looking at data alone often leads to "analysis paralysis." Learn how marketers can use specific approaches to determine which data is helpful and which can be ignored. The techniques and tips shared will help anyone, regardless of their analytical skills, become more data-driven.

Our new season on the art and science of marketing continues this week with a focus on science. Specifically: which parts of a marketers job require a more scientific — vs. artistic — approach? Surprisingly, the team comes to the conclusion that scientific marketing is only partly about leveraging data. Using a scientific process to develop marketing plans may be even more important.

Our new season tackles an often-heard question: is marketing an art or a science? Certain parts of a marketing strategy require more science than art, while other pieces of a plan are the opposite. Knowing when you need to dial up the science, and when artistic instincts should lead the way is a key to success. The team breaks down the bigger picture and provides helpful analogies – including why science and art in marketing is like an Oreo cookie!