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A Dose of Watertight Wisdom

We have a back catalogue of over a decade of posts, almost all of which are still relevant and useful today.

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Getting your FD onboard and loving marketing

A marketer’s relationship with the FD is key. They can test your plan, help develop a metrics dashboard and facilitate budget conversations. However, it’s not a given that your FD will be on-board with marketing. So how can you gain their buy-in and enthusiastic support

Getting your FD to love marketing

How close are you with your FD? Having a good relationship with finance is important. Getting them on-board and enthusiastically supporting your strategy and plan is often a key piece to get right. But all too often, finance think that marketing is solely there to spend money and view sales more warmly because they can see direct income from the fruit of their endeavours

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The latest posts…

Developing a journey brain

Developing a journey brain

Marketers are familiar with the customer journey. It’s the starting point for our thinking, strategies and plans. But what of the other ‘journeys’ in the business – employees, other stakeholders, growth? How can marketing contribute to and support these? In this blog, we look at how to map these journeys out and – importantly – how to ensure that all your people play their part.

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Getting your FD onboard and loving marketing

Getting your FD onboard and loving marketing

A marketer’s relationship with the FD is key. They can test your plan, help develop a metrics dashboard and facilitate budget conversations. However, it’s not a given that your FD will be on-board with marketing. So how can you gain their buy-in and enthusiastic support

read more

#WatertightWednesday Write-ups

What does a business leader need to know about marketing?

< Back to the Blog “Why is it that the same marketer can thrive in one organisation and shrivel in another? It has a lot to do with what the leaders and other key players think about marketing: their perception of it, the level of support and encouragement – and...

How marketing supports sales: volume, margin and lifetime value

< Back to the Blog “Marketers are often asked to generate more leads in response to a business growth goal. This is volume growth, but it’s not always the kind of growth you need or want. In fact, marketing (working closely with customer service and sales) can...

Creating seamless marketing, sales and service teams

< Back to the Blog “10 years ago the Chartered Institute of Marketing predicted that there would be no separation between sales and marketing. Clearly that hasn’t happened, but why is that? And why does service get left out?” ~ Rachael Wheatley, Managing Director |...

Find all of the write-ups here

Building a Marketing Team

Recruiting & Resourcing a Stellar Marketing Team

< Back to the Blog “Whatever your size of business, recruiting and resourcing can be a tricky. What makes for a brilliant marketing team? What factors do you need to consider? In our roundtable this month we discussed the topic through three lenses - skills, roles...

Getting your FD onboard and loving marketing

< Back to the Blog “A marketer’s relationship with the FD is key. They can test your plan, help develop a metrics dashboard and facilitate budget conversations. However, it’s not a given that your FD will be on-board with marketing. So how can you gain their buy-in...

What does a business leader need to know about marketing?

< Back to the Blog “Why is it that the same marketer can thrive in one organisation and shrivel in another? It has a lot to do with what the leaders and other key players think about marketing: their perception of it, the level of support and encouragement – and...

Posts by Framework

Flow Foundations

Shining a light on your vision, values and milestones

< Back to the Blog “Agreeing vision, values, goals and milestones is a shared responsibility across the leadership team. Marketing’s role is to turn these into something that engages and inspires employees, suppliers, clients and prospects alike. To do that, you...

Do you have a compelling narrative for your numbers?

< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogWhen I ask the leadership team of a growing business about their vision for the next 3-5 years, I will almost always be given a revenue number they want to reach. For me, this is like talking to...

Creating an organisational marketing capability

< Back to the Blog Effective marketing is as much a matter of organisational context as it is individual competence. For marketing to work, two key ingredients are: good marketers and a well-organised, productive marketing team. However, for the whole business to...

Touchpoint Leaks™ 

What to insource and what to outsource

< Back to the Blog As any in-house marketer will tell you, there will come a time when you might need to use external specialists. There are all sorts of factors involved in deciding what to keep in-house and what might need outsourcing. It might be that you don’t...

Using Metrics to get Buy-in From Your Colleagues

< Back to the Blog For any marketing role I’ve been in and with any marketer I talk to, metrics and measuring marketing success is a key issue. We’re often asked about the number of leads we’re going to generate or how many people we’ll get to an event. These are...

How do you get buy-in to your marketing budget?

< Back to the Blog Many people not in the marketing team have a view that marketing budgets are not always well justified. They can come across as more of a cost rather than being activities from which the business can derive real – even long-term – value. So how...

Logic Sandwich

The storage company that made room for new marketing ideas

← Back to Case Studies George Spence took a Practitioner Guided approach to working through the Chapter Companion Courses on the Watertight Webschool, and then retained the services of a Certified Practitioner to maintain the momentum. Client: George...

You can’t logic someone out of love

< Back to the Blog How many people do you think will be getting a Valentine card this year, who don't really deserve it? Looking beyond a person's failings could be said to be the very definition of love. And, this is one of the reasons why – as a business – having...

Does your content deserve a visual?

One my favourite books is ‘Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless. He powerfully demonstrates how the way you present information has a direct correlation to how much people engage with it. Whilst this isn’t a new idea, the content...

The Time Triangle

Get luckier… do more marketing

Have you ever noticed how when you ask people how they landed a big client, they’ll often say it was just luck that they were in the right place, at the right time. Ok, so sometimes luck plays a part… but you can be a whole lot luckier if you know where...

Why marketing is a load of old twaddle

Ok, that's the polite version of the headline. Feel free to make an internal translation on that last word. Because that's what people do all the time. What you say isn't always what people hear. They interpret your words with their own...

Why you should treat your customers like adult cats

I do love to take the opportunity to get a photo of my cat, Dylan, into a presentation.  But, there is a serious point to make. A point that any cat 'owner' can relate to. <~ And, there's the thing, you never really 'own' a cat. Now, if...

Influencer Icecream

Should you be saying ‘No’ to new business?

< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogDoing the wrong kind of work is so damaging, I've included it as one of the Four Foundation Foundations in Watertight Marketing. Which means that learning when, and how, to say no to a potential new...

Is their team on your team?

This is the fourth in a series of posts looking at The Watertight Marketing Framework. Today, we’re looking at your audiences, i.e. who do you need to talk to. Buying decisions, particularly high-value or complex ones, are not made in...

What is Watertight Marketing?

All this week I'll be introducing the Watertight Marketing Framework - giving you the headlines on the key concepts explored in Part Two of the the book. Understanding how real people really buy things is central to getting your business onto...

Profit Purpose Matrix

Why your direct competitors are often the least important

< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogIf I say 'competitors' to you, I'm willing to bet that you think of people that offer similar things to you. So, Burger King would be a competitor to McDonalds, and Pepsi a competitor to Coke......

Will this new client energise your business?

< Back to the Blog Saying no to new clients is one of the most important things you need to do to grow a healthy business. There's a lot written about creating a profile for your 'ideal customer'. We think it's as important to truly understand, and have the...

Posts by Touchpoint Leak™ 

The Touchpoint Leaks™  framework is introduced in Chapter 2 of the Watertight Marketing book. You can use this to create a Touchpoint Leak™  Traffic Light Report to find your focus Leak. Then please use Part Three of the book, and these posts to #tweakyourleaks

"Watertight has made a massive difference to me and our business... I’m a sales person but knew we needed the support of marketing to further our growth. We’ve achieved 500% growth in 4 years; I attribute a lot of that success to working with Watertight."

Kevin Mashford

Sales Director, Paramount

Leak 1: Forgotten Customers

Leak 2: Poor On-Boarding

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Leak 3: No Emotional Connection

What do your visuals say about you?

I've just come off a coaching call with a client, we're working on stemming Leak #3: No emotional connection and we got to talking about their visuals. There are two areas I ask clients to look at when considering their company's visual identity - the concept and the...

How to bring some personality to your blog

This is the third in a series of five blogs on blogging this week. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen Touchpoint Leaks. It acts as invitation information and a stepping stone between...

Leak 4: No Gateway

Three ways to pay (not what you think!)

< Back to the Blog I'm not talking about PayPal or invoices here, I'm talking about what people exchange with you in return for value at different stages of a buying decision. If you can crack this, your marketing will almost always deliver for you. As someone goes...

The only 5 things you should be doing in social media

< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...

Leak 5: No Critical Approval

How to proactively generate word-of-mouth for your business

Many businesses will say that they generate most of their new business through word-of-mouth. However, dig a bit deeper and you often find that they are not doing anything to specifically support this... it's more a case of being a by-product...

How to overcome the third party veto in a complex sale

< Back to the Blog Following a strategy workshop that I ran with Watertight Marketing Certified Practitioner, Joshua Morse, there was some disagreement. Going through the Touchpoint Leak™ Assessment, Joshua rated – Leak 5: No Critical Approval – as Red, whilst the...

How many people have an opinion?

I blogged on Monday about how your business builds up its Commercial Karma through the way it conducts itself with every person it encounters. I often use this phrase, and people seem to like it, but perhaps don't take it as seriously as they could. I'd...

Leak 6: No Proof

Why do you need to use evidence in your marketing?

Lots of the growing businesses that we work with are the new kids on the block. They're up against established competition and can struggle to gain trust from people who feel they may be taking a risk with a less established organisation. So,...

Why are referred customers worth more?

You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again... referrals are the very best way to win new customers. Referred customers are cheaper to win. They convert more quickly. And, they spend more. In my book, Watertight Marketing, referrals comes...

Leak 7: Information Overload

How to bring some personality to your blog

This is the third in a series of five blogs on blogging this week. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen Touchpoint Leaks. It acts as invitation information and a stepping stone between...

Business blogs – the good, the great and the gratuitous

All this week, I’ll be blogging about blogging – sharing tips, hints and musings on how to make a blog the hub of your new business operation. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen...

Six internal business benefits of blogging

All this week, I'll be blogging about blogging - sharing tips, hints and musings on how to make a blog the hub of your new business operation. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen...

Leak 8: How (format)

Does your content deserve a visual?

One my favourite books is ‘Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless. He powerfully demonstrates how the way you present information has a direct correlation to how much people engage with it. Whilst this isn’t a new idea, the content...

Leak 9: Where (channel)

The only 5 things you should be doing in social media

< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...

Understanding the Awareness Equation

I’m often found telling businesses that they’ll never find a marketing silver bullet, or a magic formula to sales success. But, there’s one exception, and that’s The Awareness Equation. Applying it to your marketing is extremely powerful. It is the secret...

Leak 10: When (timing)

Three ways to pay (not what you think!)

< Back to the Blog I'm not talking about PayPal or invoices here, I'm talking about what people exchange with you in return for value at different stages of a buying decision. If you can crack this, your marketing will almost always deliver for you. As someone goes...

The only 5 things you should be doing in social media

< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...

Leak 11: Who (Influencers)

How to proactively generate word-of-mouth for your business

Many businesses will say that they generate most of their new business through word-of-mouth. However, dig a bit deeper and you often find that they are not doing anything to specifically support this... it's more a case of being a by-product...

How to overcome the third party veto in a complex sale

< Back to the Blog Following a strategy workshop that I ran with Watertight Marketing Certified Practitioner, Joshua Morse, there was some disagreement. Going through the Touchpoint Leak™ Assessment, Joshua rated – Leak 5: No Critical Approval – as Red, whilst the...

How many people have an opinion?

I blogged on Monday about how your business builds up its Commercial Karma through the way it conducts itself with every person it encounters. I often use this phrase, and people seem to like it, but perhaps don't take it as seriously as they could. I'd...

Leak 12: What

The effect of marketing on staff morale

< Back to the Blog Lots of our clients are fast-growing businesses for whom finding and keeping good people can be as much of a challenge as finding and keeping profitable customers. So, I asked Peter Baynes to look at the effect of implementing Watertight...

The 3 Cs of What you do – clarity, consistency and context

At a recent client workshop we worked on a key issue that people knew of them, but for something they now only do a little of. The mental filing in the collective minds of the market was out of date. Certified Practitioner, Peter Baynes, joined...

Leak 13: No Emotional Impact

What are the real triggers in a sales process?

< Back to the Blog As buyers we are exposed to more and more messages that fight for our time. As marketers, it’s often tempting to emphasise the unique features and logical prowess of an offering. But, the mind doesn’t work like that. There’s more to engaging the...

Three ways to pay (not what you think!)

< Back to the Blog I'm not talking about PayPal or invoices here, I'm talking about what people exchange with you in return for value at different stages of a buying decision. If you can crack this, your marketing will almost always deliver for you. As someone goes...