In this fourth episode of the “New Frontiers” season, the team dives deep on how to build a platform strategy. Given that most businesses should be at least experimenting with B2B industry platforms, Mary, Sean and Tom outline the key strategic considerations.

In this episode, the team analyzes whether B2B suppliers should join one of the exploding number of industry platforms. These platforms are Amazon-like businesses that aggregate and sell the B2B products of many manufacturers. The team discusses the pros and cons of joining. We hope you enjoy the discussion!

This week we dive deep into the topics of B2B industry ecosystems: the collection of related products and services that surround your offerings. The team outlines the strategic questions that inform your decisions about whether or not to participate in industry ecosystems: like should you be the hub of an ecosystem, a participant, or none of the above? They even suggest specific strategy tools that can help you make these complex decisions.

In this initial Season 11 episode, Mary, Sean and Tom define the differences between ecosystems, platforms and marketplaces. More importantly, they make a case why these concepts are so important for B2B marketers to be thinking about now.

In this episode, we discuss dynamic pricing. Airlines and hotels change prices all the time based on current circumstances. Can a typical B2B do the same? The team discussed the pros and cons of dynamic pricing models. They also discuss what you must put in place to make dynamic B2B pricing work.

In this episode, we discuss a wide array of pricing models. You’ve already heard about subscription pricing, “pay per” models and the like. But how do you know which models make sense in your market? The team defines a wide variety of contemporary and traditional pricing models, but doesn’t stop there. They go on to describe the circumstances in which each model is appropriate and why.

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.