Argentum Blog

Argentum's blog, Marketing Op-Ed, highlights interesting, real-world examples of marketing with a little bit (okay, a lot) of opinion thrown in.  It's written by Susan Silver, President of Argentum Strategy Group, with the occasional guest blogger added to the mix.

It’s Okay to be Needy – Identifying Your B2B Customers’ Unmet Needs

It’s Okay to be Needy – Identifying Your B2B Customers’ Unmet Needs
Defining your customers’ unmet need can be one of the trickiest parts of developing a strong positioning statement, especially since it has to be a need your customers know they have. It hurts me every time I hear someone say “we just need to educate our customers,” because that’s a pretty good indication that the speaker...

Video: Using “Human Words” to Describe Unmet Needs

Video: Using “Human Words” to Describe Unmet Needs
Clearly articulating your customer’s unmet need is a great test of your ability to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. During a recent workshop with entrepreneurs at Chicago’s 1871, I took a few minutes to talk about  the importance of Unmet Need for your brand positioning, and how to more effectively articulate it.  Watch...

Warby Wannabes – Direct-to-Consumer 2.0

Warby Wannabes – Direct-to-Consumer 2.0
As a “classically trained” marketing person who believes passionately that the best products solve a real unmet need in a better way than anything on the market, watching the direct to consumer (DTC) revolution has been fascinating. And while I love Dollar Shave Club’s viral video and Warby Parker’s fab glasses, I...

Make Your Customers’ Lives Easier

Make Your Customers’ Lives Easier
Most companies say they excel at saving their clients time, but are all of your touchpoints really demonstrating that you understand how to help them do that? Kids Science Labs’ original voicemail message is a great case in point. Watch this quick 90-second video to learn how to more strategically use your customer...

Execute Tactics More Strategically

Execute Tactics More Strategically
Use what you know, or can infer, about your customers’ behaviors to help you make better marketing decisions. Check out this brief video for ideas on becoming more precise in how you execute your marketing tactics.

B2B Content Marketing: Digital vs. Face-to-Face

B2B Content Marketing: Digital vs. Face-to-Face
There’s exciting new research out from my alma mater, the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, about how B2B marketing teams can help drive more quality leads to sales through digital content marketing. The research, conducted by professor Bobby Calder and his team at the Medill School’s Speigel Research Center, explored which...

The Top Reasons Startups Fail

The Top Reasons Startups Fail
I recently came across some research done by CB Insights about The Top 20 Reasons Startups Fail. They’re data aggregators backed by the National Science Foundation and other heavyweights, and they regularly read startup post-mortems and compile an aggregation of why startups fail.  The first thing that really stood out to me was that HALF...

Overcoming “Not For Me” With Your Marketing Messaging

Overcoming “Not For Me” With Your Marketing Messaging
We’re bombarded with dozens, if not hundreds of messages every single day. Yet many of my clients and students still want to try to deliver a single message aimed at multiple targets. Entrepreneurs, especially, are not comfortable narrowing their target because they worry that’s akin to leaving money on the table. But here’s the...

Leveraging the Power of Word of Mouth

Leveraging the Power of Word of Mouth
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that Word of Mouth is their best source of business, I’d be a rich woman! Whether you’re a B2B, B2C or services company, Word of Mouth will always be your best source of business! Learn a little more about how to make it work for you in this quick video.  

If Your Business Model Relies on Ad Revenue, You’ve Got a Problem

If Your Business Model Relies on Ad Revenue, You’ve Got a Problem
I do a lot of advisory work with startups, both in the general community through Chicago’s largest tech incubator, 1871, and in the more academic world of University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Regardless of where the entrepreneur is based, I can’t help but cringe when I talk to a startup team whose business model is...