What’s New in NorthStar — Q2’2019 Although our team is constantly working hard to improve NorthStar and make it the best growth hacking management tool in the market, we have not been up to date communicating all that progress with companies and users who are not NorthStar customers yet. I’m making a public commitment to change that…

Well, the most obvious change is the new name! NorthStar reflects a shift to help companies bring a company-wide focus to sustainable growth. Sean Ellis, our CEO, talks about the direction of the product in his post. The software now supports teams in monitoring a single North Star Metric representing customer value, creating and tracking objectives…

cdd20 / Pixabay When you write a story, what is the first thing you should think about? Your audience. The same holds true for your Net Promoter Score survey. Really, writing a survey question is just another type of storytelling. You can use your creative writing skills to make your NPS question more effective and…

ElisaRiva / Pixabay Prospective clients and new hires are not only scanning your company’s website, but your LinkedIn company page and employees’ pages too, from the C-suite to interns alike. There’s a demand for a holistic and comprehensive digital view of your firm—and this includes your employees. Many discussions on ways to bring a human…

There’s no way around it. Cold calling is a challenge. That doesn’t mean you should stop making the calls. Instead, get smarter about your cold calling strategy, which is possible with today’s data tools. They can help you be smarter about your contacts and provide insight into their buying plans that gives you the competitive…

Lead generation cannot just depend on one singular lead acquisition channel. We live in a time where all your potential customers are lurking on different platforms waiting to be tapped. It would be a shame not to create multiple channels of lead acquisition channels. In this short article, we discuss the multiple channels that you…

Regardless of the size of your growth team or the goals that they have, the two aspects in common of any growth meeting are (1) Analyze what you have learned over your previous sprints and (2) Reiterate your findings while planning your next steps. The frequency in which you run your growth meetings may vary based…

Twitter can be an excellent platform for entrepreneurs to catch up on industry trends, as well as connect with customers and professionals in their field. But using the platform also can be challenging: It is easy to lose track of time while reading comments and posting your own, rather than working on other tasks. Members…

Like the first time, the second time was a charm with this 2019 Altima. Like other manufacturers, Nissan has a full stable of utility vehicles in its portfolio. This automaker offers five crossovers, ranging from the small Kicks to the three-row Pathfinder. Add in the bigly Armada SUV and you’ll find a half-dozen vehicles for…

Most businesses launch their operations on a shoestring budget and manage the business on readily available technology. If your business starts in your home, as many do, you probably already have a basic computer, internet connection, and phone service. All you need to do is register a domain name for your website and email, set…

PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay Instagram is an extremely popular social media network that over ⅛ of the world, or 7.7 billion people, is currently enjoying! It allows users to share their photos and videos, follow others and search for content based on keywords. While Instagram is not intended specifically for business use, such as LinkedIn, all…

I was sitting in my hotel room in the Dominican Republic, looking out at the beautiful view of the resort’s swimming pools and the ocean in the distance, and I was working. I was at the resort for my daughter’s senior trip. Granted, she was off with dozens of her friends, so I wasn’t really…

Free-Photos / Pixabay Tom Armenti, founder of Fat Shack, found his entrepreneurial spirit in college. While playing online poker, Tom funded his idea of starting a restaurant that would serve everyone’s favorite fattening foods together in one sandwich. Using $5,000 of his winnings and working with his college friend Kevin Gabauer, Tom was able to…

Consider for a moment these self-contradictory innovations: The solar-powered torch (flashlight) The inflatable dartboard The underwater hairdryer The waterproof teabag The concrete liferaft At first sight they look silly but each contains the germ of an interesting idea. You can charge up a solar-powered torch in daylight and then take it into a cave. The…

Maybe it’s growth. Maybe it’s change. Maybe it’s a new chapter in some way. Whatever the reason for needing a marketing manager (or similar position), if your business is looking for the right person to manage your message, keep an eye on the transition. The early time that a marketing manager comes into your business…

If you’ve been providing paid marketing services to clients for any extended period of time, you know that every person you work with has a different level of online marketing knowledge. Some people might be experienced account managers, others might know basics, while others still might not know the industry at all. It can be…

You’ve been in business for awhile and things are going well. But you’ve realized something: you want to start talking to a new audience. You want to learn how to pivot your business message to a new audience, and you’re not sure where to start. This is common for businesses. When we first start out…

If you’re working to improve your SEO, one of the things you need to do is a backlink audit. The number of links you have to your website plays a role in your rank, but beyond the number of links, it’s the quality of links that matters to the search engines. Because you can’t control…

Having difficulties generating leads for your telecom company even after following everything in the book to a T? You’ve exhausted all your options and still can’t see any significant results? Maybe it’s time to embrace utilizing your social media platforms to its full potential. How you may ask? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We…

Forget the financial perils, the worst part about getting laid off is that it wasn’t even your fault. You were doing your part right and yet, one fine day, you’re unemployed. First off, know that you’re not the only victim of this impromptu injustice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 19.9 million workers…

Back in January 2011, $100 could buy 333.33 bitcoins. But that same investment as of April 2019 would be worth nearly $1.7 million, accounted for inflation. There are far more ways to capitalize on blockchain than just buying bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Though you can’t invest directly into blockchain, you can invest in companies that…

Email is a daily activity for most sales reps. But did you know that only 9 percent of sales emails are even opened? Your potential customers are receiving a flood of generic emails every day. Your emails need to stand out among the crowd. From prospecting to closing, we’ve created a sales email template for…

Customer Experience is About Value and Values Customer experience is not the new battleground anymore. It’s THE battleground. And it all centers around the word value. How can we provide value in what we offer to customers? How can we define and promote our values in our customer experience, so customers can align their values…

Disney has very strategic reasons for cross-training its employees, but the practice could apply to any organization looking to improve its workplace culture. Cross-training at the Disney company is more than a discipline—it’s a mandate. Cast members, as Disney’s employees are called, are regularly moved around the company. They shift teams, units, divisions, parks, and…

A Robo Advisor is a digital application that offers clients financial advice created by algorithms, artificial intelligence, or mathematical formulas. The term Robo Advisor is short for robot advisor. However, the phrase Robo Advisor is inaccurate. To explain, a Robo Advisor is a digital construct, usually an algorithm or artificial intelligence (AI) rather than an…