Connect Magazine - Bennett Graphics

publisher’s letter
Bathwater
The idea that a given market is considered “buyer friendly” versus “seller friendly” is prevalent these days. If a
market is saturated with supply, it is believed that buyers have all the leverage. In turn, many businesses invite
competition, and then feel the pressure to lower prices.
Certainly, it’s easy to color a market toward the buyer, but that mindset is not healthy for the business overall.
Data may tell us that pricing is low and that the number of substitute products and services is high, but giving way
to those variables distracts us from connecting with clients on a differentiated level.
Our contention is that if we simply defer to the metrics of a business
environment, we are not creating value. More specifically, value is created
through a deep level of understanding of a community and by entrenching
yourself and your company within it.
We are not saying that you throw the baby out with the bathwater and
disregard the pricing within a market. We believe that over the long term,
sustainability is rooted in your brand’s relationship to your clients. Just because
you may have to sell certain products at lower levels, doesn’t mean
you toss aside the opportunities that may not be explicitly clear right now.
When you have a deeper relationship with your clients, you become
a trusted voice in their world. The sale of a lower priced product without a
focus on building trust defines your brand at a level that can prove to be unrecoverable.
Consequently, the sale of a lower priced product, coupled with
trust, sets you up for an impactful future.
Our cover story, “Back in the Saddle,” examines why it’s important to embrace the lessons learned from the
missteps that happen along the way and what future disciplines they can help you make.
Our second feature, “Impact,” takes a hard look at the art of going deeper than data and exploring the benefits
of a more intimate engagement with your market.
We hope that some of the lessons inside can help you strengthen the relationships and commitments you are
building with your customers.
Enjoy this issue,
We are not saying that
you throw the baby out
with the bathwater
and disregard the
pricing within a market.
We believe that over
the long term,
sustainability is rooted in
your brand’s relationship
to your clients.
CONTENTS
03 04 06
Publisher’s Letter
Bathwater
The Inbox
Back in the Saddle
Tolerating failure and
winning against all odds
10 14 15
Impact
Going deeper than data
Trending with...
Sales thought leader
Ray Makela
The social media
conundrum
ROI: The biggest challenge
for marketers
Publisher
David Bennett
Managing Editor
Michael J. Pallerino
Art Direction
Brent Cashman
Editorial and Creative Direction:
Conduit Inc. - www.Conduit-Inc.com
connect is published bimonthly by Bennett
Graphics, copyright 2015. All rights reserved
For more information contact
connect@bennettgraphics.com
www.bennettgraphics.com
Bennett Graphics – connect • September/October 2015
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