Starbucks recently shifted from a global to a regional marketing structure. Kieran and I believe this is the worst thing you can do to your marketing strategy, resulting in significant, long-term business consequences.

Starbucks’ new CEO, Brady Brewer, recently announced a shift from a global marketing approach to a regional, decentralized model. As part of the change, Brewer is eliminating the role of a global CMO and will instead have regionally divided marketing teams with regional CMOs.

While this may seem like a strategic move to tailor marketing efforts to local nuances — Brewer was previously Starbucks’ CMO, after all — we believe this is the single biggest mistake a marketing leader can make.

As discussed in the latest Marketing Against the Grain Podcast, we dive into the biggest challenges that regional marketing models create for global businesses.

We also touch on the lessons learned by companies like Uber and HubSpot, which have tried this structural change, and steps to build your own global marketing strategy.

Regional Marketing Model Challenges

1. Inefficiency and Misaligned Competition

One of the core challenges of a regional marketing model is that it generates significant inefficiency and counterproductive competition.

For example, when teams operate independently, they often (unknowingly) duplicate efforts, creating similar campaigns from scratch instead of optimizing and scaling successful strategies globally. This not only wastes valuable resources but also leads to inconsistent execution.

Additionally, having multiple CMOs can incentivize teams to compete over the same resources, goals, and budgets. Each CMO wants to make their region seem ‘special’ and ‘different,’ resulting in what Kieran describes as “kingdom making.”

This phenomenon shifts the team’s focus from collaboration and unified strategy to internal rivalry, ultimately diminishing the overall impact of marketing initiatives and reducing efficiency across the organization.

2. Inconsistent Brand Messaging

A second challenge with regional marketing approaches is that it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a consistent global brand experience.

Why? Because regional CMOs will all try to put their personal spin on it.

While regional teams might be better equipped to understand local nuances, the lack of a centralized strategy leads to conflicting and often confusing brand messaging across different markets.

Overall, we believe that a good idea is a good idea everywhere. What we mean by this is that the world is much more the same than you think — and is becoming increasingly so.

“In nearly all of my experience,” says Kieran, “more than 80% of a marketing strategy can be copied across most regions with a couple of exceptions. Plus, technology will continue to make the world smaller and smaller, highlighting the need for a unified approach.”

3. Fragmented Knowledge & Expertise

A third challenge that regional marketing models create is the fragmentation of technical knowledge and expertise.

Today’s marketing requires a deep and thorough understanding of algorithms, storytelling techniques, and emerging technology like artificial intelligence (AI).

By decentralizing marketing teams, however, businesses dilute this information-sharing across regions and create rigid knowledge silos that impede learning and innovation.

This also leads to inefficient capital allocation, as different regions may not have the same access to talent and resources, resulting in uneven performance and a mismatch of knowledge and skills across the organization.

Uber experienced this first-hand a few years ago, finding that regional teams struggled to efficiently leverage the full potential of the company’s centralized knowledge. As a result, they laid off over 400 marketers and had to completely rethink their marketing strategy.

Step-by-Step: How to Build a Global Marketing Strategy

Building a global marketing strategy can feel like a huge, overwhelming task — but with the right approach, it can lead to significant growth and success.

To get started on creating your own Global Marketing Strategy, download our Global Marketing Playbook and follow the steps below.

1. Prepare to go global.

Start by determining if your company has the mindset and resources — personnel, tools, language education, and budget — to approach an international expansion effectively.

For example, conduct a readiness assessment to gauge if your team is equipped for global challenges. As we discussed on the podcast, “If your product or service is highly niche, there might not be a reason to go global.”

2. Map out your international strategy.

Create a global marketing strategy that aligns with your business priorities. This involves developing relevant content, aligning global initiatives, and engaging executive champions to support your efforts. For instance, use analytics to define your target markets and set clear KPIs for each region.

3. Plan, plan, plan.

Efficient planning is critical to the success of your global strategy. This includes mapping out objectives, identifying stakeholders, and setting up processes for content creation and distribution. You might create content calendars and workflows tailored to each market.

4. Assemble a dedicated team.

Build a global marketing team that understands the nuances of each target market. This includes hiring local talent and partnering with local agencies and experts. For example, consider engaging local contractors and translation providers to support your regional campaigns.

5. Establish scalable processes.

Create scalable processes for content creation, translation, and localization — and then regularly check in with these processes to ensure efficiency and consistency. You may also organize a formal content audit to streamline content management and make sure all teams follow standardized procedures.

6. Prioritize localization.

Understand the difference between translation, localization, and transcreation.

Also, make sure to tailor your content to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of each target market.

As examined in the guide: expanding your business is far more than just finding a few people to hire that speak a different language. Try using real-time analytics to refine your localization strategy and choose high-quality vendors for accurate translations and a thorough understanding of your audience.

7. Choose the right technologies.

Select technologies that support your global marketing efforts, including tools for project management, content creation, analytics, and communication. Perform a global technology audit to identify necessary tools and ensure your team is trained to use them effectively.

For an in-depth analysis on global and regional marketing, check out the full episode of Marketing Against the Grain below:

This blog series is in partnership with Marketing Against the Grain, the video podcast. It digs deeper into ideas shared by marketing leaders Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP, Marketing at HubSpot) as they unpack growth strategies and learn from standout founders and peers.

The post The Top 3 Challenges Regional Marketing Models Create for Global Businesses appeared first on ProdSens.live.

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

This piece is in collaboration with Breaking the Blueprint, a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs.

I’ve been an inclusive marketing strategist and consultant for the last seven years. I’m also a consumer with several identities that are part of underrepresented and underserved communities.

And I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been on brand websites and social channels exploring whether or not I should buy something, only to decide “this brand isn’t for me” based upon something I saw or didn’t see.

Once, I was sitting with my credit card in hand while clicking through to a brand’s Instagram account from a sponsored post, only to quickly put my card away because I didn’t see anyone in the imagery that looked like me.

Unfortunately, experiences like that aren’t unique to me.

Most brands don’t know how much they could improve their conversions by optimizing their website and social media to also work for consumers from underrepresented and underserved communities.

Conducting a website and social media audit can highlight opportunities to deliver better experiences for all the customers you want to serve while improving your conversions.

The Starting Point for An Inclusive Marketing Audit

Get clear about the customers you want to serve.

Over the years, as I’ve chatted with and trained marketers about inclusive marketing, one thing that has popped up repeatedly is the notion of feeling like you have to serve everyone.

However, that’s a myth.

Inclusive marketing isn’t about serving everyone. While that would be fantastic, most brands lack the resources to do so effectively.

Inclusive marketing starts with acknowledging the many ways consumers are different and intentionally choosing which identities of your ideal customers you want to feel like they belong with your brand.

In this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I discussed the concept of not feeling obligated to serve everyone in great detail.

You should only assess the experiences you deliver for the specific audiences you’ve decided to reach.

But herein lies the crux of the issue. One of the most common areas where brands get thrown off with their inclusive marketing efforts is by not having a sufficient degree of specificity regarding the ideal customer they are trying to reach.

So, if you’ve defined your audience as “working moms with an active lifestyle,” it’s essential to be precise. Does that include:

• Asian moms
• Single moms
• Muslim moms
• Moms with disabilities
• Queer moms
• Moms with kinky hair
• Older moms

If you haven’t been clear about the specific identities you want to include, it becomes very easy to exclude moms from underrepresented and underserved communities from your planning for various elements of your marketing.

As a result, your ideal consumers from these groups won’t convert to customers if they feel you haven’t considered them with the products, services, and experiences you deliver on your website and social channels.

Where To Focus Your Inclusive Website & Social Media Audits

There are plenty of areas throughout your brand’s customer experience that you can evaluate through an inclusive lens. Focus on these core areas as a starting point to improve your conversions.

1. Representation

Representation matters. We know this. One research study I conducted showed that 74% of consumers say representation in marketing is important to them. That same study showed that three out of four consumers say they buy from and engage with brands that have adequately represented them.

When I educate on this topic, I like to remind marketers that people need to see themselves and who they aspire to be reflected in their brand’s visual imagery.

Seeing themselves represented is like a permission slip to take the next step forward with you, which increases your conversions. When they don’t see themselves, it causes unnecessary friction that often causes them to disengage with a brand.

When I’m conducting inclusive website and social media audits, representation is one of the key areas where many brands fall short.

I landed on Audible’s Instagram account recently due to some influencer promos they did, and I was super impressed with the representation. The nature of their product offering naturally speaks to a broad diversity of people. When you look at the brand’s grid, the people featured reflect a range of identities.

Audible even found a way to represent different identities in their Instagram Stories.

Here are some critical areas to evaluate to ensure you have adequate representation of the people you’ve chosen to serve on your website and social media:

• Customer testimonials
• Featured experts
• Your team
• Influencers
• Power dynamics
• Photography (both custom and stock)

This video explains more in detail what you need to be on the lookout for with power dynamics.

In this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I covered key considerations when searching for inclusive stock photography.

2. Accessibility

I’ve included accessibility on this list as something to check — whether or not your brand has intentionally chosen to serve people with disabilities.

Some government entities have mandated certain accessibility requirements for brands on their websites. One case in the U.S. landed on the Supreme Court’s desk after a visually impaired man tried to order a pizza on Domino’s website and app but couldn’t because they weren’t compatible with screen readers.

Ultimately, the courts ruled Domino’s needed to make its website accessible.

Inclusive marketing drives business results, and there are plenty of great reasons to represent people with disabilities in your marketing (besides mandates).

The good news is that there are plenty of resources, including HubSpot’s website accessibility checklist, to help you ensure your website is accessible.

When it comes to social media, here are a few things to check from an accessibility perspective:

• Captions on videos
• Alt text usage
• Use Camel Case or Pascal Case in your hashtags
• Image descriptions
• Usage of emojis

I’m super thankful someone on LinkedIn slid into my DMs to educate me on my inaccessible use of hashtags. Once I learned how to do it correctly, I made this quick video to share the knowledge with others.

3. Brand Values

Many research studies reveal that consumers want to buy from brands that share or reflect their values. The HubSpot Consumer Trends Study showed that 82% of consumers feel this way.

Since consumers increasingly care about brand values, it is more important than ever for brands to evaluate how well they are doing at both communicating and living their values.

Many brands struggle with this. A while back, I audited several websites for eCommerce brands, and my feedback for all of them was that they needed to find a way to highlight their values.

While most brands don’t mention their values on their websites or social media, I’ve also found that the small percentage of brands that do often have them buried somewhere in the footer or under some vague name, making them difficult for consumers to find.

Both ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s and retailer Patagonia do a stellar job of communicating their values on their website and social media channels.

Ben & Jerry’s brand values are also featured prominently on its website.

As you’re doing your inclusive marketing audits, review these key areas related to your values:

• Communication on website and social media
• Ease of finding values-based content
• Examples of living your brand values integrated into your content

4. Language

The words we use matter.

That’s why, in 2021, Unilever decided to remove the word “normal” from packaging and advertisements for its personal care products. After conducting a global study of more than 10,000 people, they found that 7 out of 10 people felt the word had a negative impact on consumers.

It is important to take great care with the words you use to ensure they draw the people you want to serve closer to you rather than pushing them away.

When auditing your website and social media, I recommend evaluating the words you’re using for:

• Appropriation
• Harmful meaning and connotation
• The reach, context, and meaning of pop culture references
• Gendered language
• Ableist language
• Stereotypes

This video explains more of the details about what to be on the lookout for with pop culture references.

This episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast discusses how to ensure that the language you use in your brand’s messaging is inclusive.

It’s Time To Improve Your Conversions

When working towards a goal, it’s useful to assess how you’re performing today so you can identify areas of opportunity to improve your results.

It’s no different when marketing to an increasingly diverse customer base.

Evaluate how the customer experience you’re currently delivering on your website and social media channels measures up to attract and convert more of the customers you want to serve.

As you start implementing changes that make more of the people you want to serve feel like they belong with your brand, you’ll be poised to increase your conversions.

The post How to Do an Inclusive Website and Social Media Audit to Improve Conversions appeared first on ProdSens.live.

What is Python?
Python is a computer programming language often used to build websites and software, automate tasks and conduct data analysis.

It is a general-purpose language, meaning it can be used to create a variety of different programs and isn’t specialized for any specific problems.

How it is useful for DevOps?
Python is one of the best programming languages for Automation in DevOps.
DevOps teams use Python for automating repetitive tasks, infrastructure provisioning, and API-driven deployments. CI/CD workflows and much more.

Installation:
You can install Python in your System whether it is Windows, MacOS, ubuntu, centos etc. Below are the links for the installation:

Windows installation

Ubuntu: apt-get install python3.6

Task1:

1. Install Python in your respective OS, and check the version.

I have installed it on Windows.

Read about different Data Types in Python.

Variables can store data of different types, and different types can do different things.

Python has the following data types built-in by default, in these categories:

1. Numeric Types:int, float, complex,
2. Sequence Types: list, tuple, range.
3. Mapping Type:dict
4. Set Types: set, frozenset
5. Boolean Type:bool
6. Binary Types:bytes, bytearray, memoryview.

1. Python Numeric Data Type:
Python numeric data type is used to hold numeric values like;

int -holds signed integers of non-limited length.

float- holds floating precision numbers and it’s accurate up to 15 decimal places.

complex- holds complex numbers.

2. Python String Data Type:

The string is a sequence of characters. Python supports Unicode characters. Generally, strings are represented by either single or double quotes.

a = "Hello everyone"
b= 'I am NamG'
print(a)
print(b)

Python List Data Type:
Lists are just like arrays, declared in other languages which is an ordered collection of data. It is very flexible as the items in a list do not need to be of the same type. Lists are mutable.

Lists in Python can be created by just placing the sequence inside the square brackets[ ].

list of having only integers:

a= [1,2,3,4,5,6]
print(a)

list of having only strings:

b=["hii","hello","good"]
print(b)

list of having both integers and strings

c= ["hello","name",1,2,3]
print(c)

4. Python Tuple:

The tuple is another data type which is a sequence of data similar to a list but it is immutable. That means data in a tuple is write-protected. Data in a tuple is written using parenthesis ( ) and commas.

#tuple having multiple type of data.

b=("hello", 1,2,3,"namg")
print(b)

5. Python Dictionary:

Python Dictionary is an unordered sequence of data of key-value pair form. It is similar to the hash table type. Dictionaries are written within curly braces in the form key: value. It is very useful to retrieve data in an optimized way among a large amount of data.

a = {"firstname":"sayali","last name":"shewale", "age":25}

print value having key=1

print(a[1])

print value having key=2

print(a[2])

print value having key=3

print(a[3])

The post Python for DevOps: #Day13 of 90DaysofDevops appeared first on ProdSens.live.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps to create a responsive lightbox gallery with thumbnails using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. A lightbox gallery allows users to view images in a larger size without leaving the current page, enhancing the user experience.

1. HTML Structure

First, let’s set up the basic HTML structure for our gallery:

html











  

    
  
  

    ×
    
  

2. CSS Styling (styles.css)

Next, let’s add the CSS styles to style our gallery and lightbox:

css

/* styles.css */

.gallery {
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
}

.thumbnails {
  flex: 1;
  display: flex;
  flex-wrap: wrap;
}

.thumbnail {
  width: 100px;
  height: 100px;
  margin: 5px;
  cursor: pointer;
}

.lightbox {
  display: none;
  position: fixed;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

.lightbox-img {
  max-width: 80%;
  max-height: 80%;
}

.close-btn {
  position: absolute;
  top: 15px;
  right: 15px;
  font-size: 30px;
  color: #fff;
  cursor: pointer;
}

3. JavaScript (script.js)

Finally, let’s add the JavaScript code to handle the gallery functionality:

javascript

// script.js

const thumbnailsContainer = document.querySelector('.thumbnails');
const lightbox = document.querySelector('.lightbox');
const lightboxImg = document.querySelector('.lightbox-img');
const closeBtn = document.querySelector('.close-btn');

// Array of image URLs
const images = [
  'image1.jpg',
  'image2.jpg',
  'image3.jpg',
  // Add more image URLs as needed
];

// Generate thumbnails
images.forEach((image, index) => {
  const thumbnail = document.createElement('img');
  thumbnail.src = image;
  thumbnail.classList.add('thumbnail');
  thumbnail.setAttribute('data-index', index);
  thumbnail.addEventListener('click', () => openLightbox(index));
  thumbnailsContainer.appendChild(thumbnail);
});

// Open lightbox
function openLightbox(index) {
  lightboxImg.src = images[index];
  lightbox.style.display = 'flex';
}

// Close lightbox
closeBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
  lightbox.style.display = 'none';
});

Summary

In this tutorial, we’ve created a responsive lightbox gallery with thumbnails using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Users can click on thumbnails to view larger images in a lightbox without leaving the page, enhancing the overall user experience of the gallery.

The post How to Create a Responsive Lightbox Gallery with Thumbnails using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript appeared first on ProdSens.live.

Since B2B buyers have completed up to 70% of their buyer journey before they reach out to a sales professional, how do you deliver differentiated value when you’re not there?

This article explains how to do it when you or your team can’t be present.

The key is to take advantage of the most important factors necessary to claim and maintain a strong market position. These include: a clear position expressing a benefit that solves a pressing problem for your target audience, differentiation from competitors, and consistent execution across all marketing communications and touchpoints – repeated until it’s ingrained.

It sounds straightforward, yet lack of differentiation plagues many B2B software and technology markets. For instance, in a recent Business Intelligence market assessment by the Eckerson Group, 10 BI vendors claimed to enable better, faster, more informed, and more confident decisions – exhibiting little meaningful differentiation.

• Problems that stop buyers from buying
• How to differentiate
• Why differentiation is so important
• What does consistency and repetition involve?
• The difference between consistency and repetition

Problems that stop buyers from buying

There are several problems caused by lack of differentiation including buyer confusion, no decision, or the dreaded price war. These will be explored in more detail below.

Failure to tap into the power of consistency and repetition is an even bigger problem. Too many B2B technology companies use their position effectively on their homepage and never mention it again.

“One-and-done” is no way to claim a position. To get your position to stick in the target audience’s mind, you need to use it as much as possible. 

A book I highly recommend for effective communication is “Neuromarketing: Understanding the ‘Buy Buttons’ in Your Customer’s Brain“. It explains that when the decision-making part of the brain encounters key words repeatedly, it recognizes the message as important and commits it to memory.

The key idea is that repetition of the core positioning statements help solidify it in the mind of your target audience. By consistently reinforcing the unique benefits you offer to solve their pressing problems, you can stand out from competitors and remain top-of-mind.

How to differentiate

It’s pretty easy to know how your competitors are positioned because they do it in public. Figure out how they are positioned so you don’t come up with a position that is exactly like a competitor’s.

First during your positioning process, check potential positioning statements to make sure they differentiate. You do this by analyzing your competitors’ websites, especially the home page. Look for a claim that stands out – that’s probably their position.

Once you have determined how your competitors are positioned, create a competitive map that makes it easy to see how they are positioned relative to each other. 

When brainstorming potential positioning statements, reference the competitive map to make sure they differentiate. Eliminate those that don’t.

I use an application developed in Excel to automatically create competitive maps. See example of the Business Intelligence & Analytics market in April 2023.

Why is differentiation so important?

According to Neuromarketing, differentiation helps buyers make decisions faster throughout their buyer journey. 

That’s because the decision-making portion of the brain is looking for a reason to justify a fast decision. Importantly, unique claims attract buyers because they highlight the difference, gap, or disruption the brain is seeking to justify a quick decision.

Your differentiated value needs to be expressed in all potential buyer touch points because every buyer journey is different.

Once you have converged on a position that differentiates, you can finish the rest of your messaging strategy.

Now that you have converged on a benefit-oriented position that differentiates, you’re one step closer to delivering differentiated value no matter what content or touch point a buyer might explore.

Then you can get ready to put the power of consistency and repetition to work in all marketing communications and buyer touch points. They are the keys to claiming a position (which needs to be important to the target audience and unique) and giving it staying power. 

What does consistency and repetition involve?

Being consistent means delivering your position accurately in all marketing communications and buyer touch points. Consistency will improve the effectiveness of your overall marketing program in the short term and create a leadership position in the long term.

Repetition means communicating your position over and over and over and over. Keep in mind your prospects know nothing about your offering, and they really don’t care. You’re competing with thousands of other messages. Put yours out there – and often.

Many B2B software and technology marketers seem unaware of the critical role that consistency and repetition play in claiming a position.

Your position won’t stick in your target audience’s mind unless you use the power of consistency and repetition. Research found it takes at least 7 impressions before an advertisement is noticed.  

If it takes 7 impressions to be noticed, think of how many are needed to get your prospects to take action. Yet failure to consistently execute a position and repeat it often is such a big problem it’s hard to find a B2B company doing it right.

Most treat their position like a well-kept secret, hiding it from public view. For example, a CEO recently touted his company’s new website, which looked good, and had a clear position on its home page. That position was never used again on the website.

The difference between consistency and repetition

Which is more important – consistency or repetition? Although repetition and consistent execution go hand in hand, repetition is the stronger partner. 

One of the authors of Neuromarketing: Understanding the ‘Buy Buttons’ in Your Customer’s Brain, Patrick S. Renvoise, explains why your position is more memorable by repeating it over and over:

“Repetition – that is, repeatedly exposing your target audience to executions of your same position over an extended time – sends a strong signal to the brain, prompting it to note, ‘I should remember that.’ 

“Repeat your claims so that the brain will bookmark them as important and remember them.

“The most solid and logical message, though it may interest your prospect, will not trigger a buying decision unless the brain understands and remembers it.”

Now you know how to deliver differentiated value when you’re not there

An effective position helps your target buyers associate a benefit with your product or service and entices them to make fast decisions throughout their buyer journey. But an effective position won’t get you very far unless you tap into the power of consistency and repetition. 

Without consistency and repetition, it’s not possible to claim a position or deliver differentiated value at any potential buyer touch point. The solution is so simple, it’s ridiculous that there’s a problem in the first place. Just use your differentiated position in all your marketing communications and potential buyer touch points!

So, in summary, you deliver differentiated value when you’re not there by creating a position that is important to the target audience, differentiating, and then putting the power of consistency and repetition to work.

The post How to deliver differentiated value when you’re not there appeared first on ProdSens.live.