• Customer relationship is the most critical item in the 1:1 connection between brand (the promise delivered) and the customer.   For marketer, it’s about the inception of the idea, all the way through the delivery of customer satisfaction.
• What to look at to know you’re on track in terms of connecting with customers?  4 simple things.  Measure growth, ability to drive margin, ability to drive customer satisfaction, and brand value
• Take Risk, Take Risk. The guys that are always the best at what they do are the ones that take the swings.

“Why have customer relationships become so important to B2B marketers?”

It’s always been about that 1 to 1 relation and that’s what marketers are supposed to do: make that 1 to 1 connection between the brand and the customer.  And what I mean by the brand is the promise delivered.  For marketer, it’s always about the inception of the idea, all the way through the delivery of customer satisfaction and that’s what we do as marketers, that’s the whole market framework as a good friend of mine likes to talk about..  So customer relationship is the most critical portion of that.  By having that great relationship and delivering, I want to pay more, I want to do more, I want to be associated

How do folks in the C Suite begin to navigate where and when in the customer relationship you give back vs. making sure you’re putting the right product in front of them?

So it’s always about making choices and that’s what leaders have to do. You need to balance the risk vs. reward and based on that try to figure out what that is, and that’s not a science, it’s a gut.  Now there are some sciences involved in it, in terms of ROI, predictability, you can get into all these different things that you can do: access to your data, customer behavior, etc.  But, by in large, it’s about making choices

In terms of measuring your connection with customers and building that relationship over the long haul, what do you look at as a former CMO to say we are on track, we are off track, and how do you begin to digest this from a quantitative perspective?

4 simple things, Measuring:  growth, ability to drive margin, ability to drive customer satisfaction, and brand value.

How do you measure brand value?

Overall, the things that I did contribute to the value of the company and you know that the company is rising (it’s worth more than it was the year before).  Whether you look at that from a dollars and cents position or look at it from where your brand ranks against others in your area, industry, or category, those are the things you’d have to figure out, and whatever those conditions of satisfaction are, they’re different in every business.

If you were giving advice to directors in Digital Marketing in B2B organizations, over the next 12-24 months what would you say should be on their strategic roadmap that is not?

I think they should be putting something aside that says we are going to take a lot of risk and try something that is going to be a little different than the way we have done things in the past, whether it’s a new campaign, a new idea; something that will create a little distance, a little risk within the company or in terms of risking with the brand.  As I say on stage, “no pain, no gain.”

In terms of the customer buying, how has that changed over the past year or so and as it relates to how marketers need to adjust their program.

I think with today’s digital world, we go through the same buying decision or buying cycles, but faster.  I think the internet is a big part of it, access to information, social media, etc.  A woman used to go to the store with her friends and try on a dress and come out “what do you think? What do you think?”  Now she goes to the store by herself and takes a picture of herself  and sends it to more than the 4 friends.  She sends it to 8 or 10 asking what do you think, and she gets the feedback.  So the intensity of that, you’re still doing the same exact thing, but it has increased or exponentially gotten bigger or better, depending on how you look at it.

Any other advice for our digital marketers out there in the B2B world?

You know I keep telling everyone, take risk take risk.  The guys that are always the best at what they do are the ones that take the swings.

Jeffrey Hayzlett is a global business celebrity, business owner and former Fortune 100 c-suite executive. From small businesses to international corporations, he has put his creativity and extraordinary entrepreneurial skills into play, launching ventures blending his leadership perspectives, insights into professional development, mass marketing prowess and affinity for social media. He is a well traveled public speaker, the author of the bestselling business books, The Mirror Test and Running the Gauntlet, and one of the most compelling figures in global business.