Why do some products and companies fail, where others succeed? Based on surveys spanning 3,000 companies, 45,000 individuals and one-on-one interviews with 30 technology CEOs, we found seven consistent success factors related to company culture, management style, and product & marketing strategies that propelled the winners. And also the seven fatal flaws that derail market laggards.

1. Phil Myers President, Pragmatic Marketing

4. What is going on here?

5. Unit Sales Growth Customer Satisfaction

9. Work as a trusted advisor

11. Believe your own BS

12. Build from the outside-in

14. Building things you could

15. Simple is smart

17. Dead chicken parts

18. Leadership is distributed

20. Puzzle palace decision making

21. Stop being a vendor

25. Missionary selling

26. Marketing with a Big “M”

29. Seduced by branding

30. Measure only what matters

32. Scoreboard watching

33. How do you know where you fit?

34. Do you meet your product delivery schedules? Are your product requirements defined by the market? Is the focus of your research and innovation on addressing an understood and well-defined market and buyer? Do you first look outside for new technologies before building them yourself?

35. Are product positioning and messages based on the specific quantified problems of a well-defined market and buyer? Is the positioning statement done before development begins? Can a customer or prospect understand the “value to them” of a product or feature by reading the first few lines of any of your marketing deliverables (data sheets, brochures, fact sheets, etc.)?

36. Does your website focus more on market problems, market segments, buyer personas, and solutions than on your products, technology and your company? Do you have a marketing programs strategy? When you have a meeting with a customer, do you spend the largest percentage of the time listening or talking?

37. Does someone other than Sales routinely visit non-customers? Do you have someone who is your chief prospect advocate? Can an average salesperson quickly locate the right tools to present your product strategy or to close a deal?

38. Is part of your marketing programs budget and sales goals allocated to customer satisfaction and customer retention? Do you measure product profitability including estimating fixed costs on a pro-rated basis? Do you retire non-performing products

39. www.TunedInBook.com