понедельник, 28 сентября 2015 г.

The 50 most powerful companies in America

Power comes in many forms, but it boils down to having influence: over people, resources, and the global conversation.
Major corporations often wield more power than individuals, so we decided to break down which ones command the most. 
To determine how powerful each company is, we factored together fiscal 2014 revenue, number of employees, press mentions on Google News over the past year, and social media influence, as ranked on a scale of 1 to 100 by Klout, a site that analyzes social-media influence of companies and individuals across all platforms.
You can read our full methodology here.
Walmart, with its army of workers and massive sales, ranks as the most powerful company in America. It's followed by competitor Target (No. 2) and General Electric (No. 3).
Scroll down to see the full list.

50. Prudential

50. Prudential
Chris Hondros/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $54.1 billion
Number of employees: 48,000
More than just providing life insurance, Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential helps clients save for retirement and manage their money at every stage of life. Fortune predicts that good things are ahead for the insurance company, noting that "the aging of the wealthy world will increase demand for insurance products."
Despite its 63,000 Twitter followers and 338,706 likes on Facebook, no Klout score is available for Prudential.

49. Procter and Gamble

2014 revenue: $83 billion
Number of employees: 118,000
P&G dropped nearly 100 of its brands in 2014 to streamline the company and focus on its biggest profit-makers.
According to Fortune, which ranks the Cincinnati-based company as the 17th most admired company in the world, P&G is the global leader in consumer goods with an unparalleled production scale and international reach.
With a slimmer brand portfolio, P&G reported 5% lower sales in fiscal 2015. The company isn't engaging on social media, earning it a low Klout score of 68 out of 100.

48. Uber

48. Uber
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: N/A
Number of employees: ~2,000
Uber is changing the way we think about transportation, and despite numerous controversies and setbacks, it continues to grow.
Even though Uber doesn't release revenue data, the Silicon Valley-based ride-hailing service raised close to $1 billion in July, valuing it at $50 billion. Not to mention, it has a Klout score of 85.
Plus, with phrases like "it's the Uber of [insert activity here]" permeating our vernacular, it's impossible to deny the company's influence.

47. Yahoo

47. Yahoo
Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $4.98 billion
Number of employees: 12,500
California-based Yahoo generated more than $1 billion in new revenue in 2014 through its mobile, video, native, and social channels (aka Mavens). Yahoo now reaches 575 million mobile users, one of the largest mobile audiences globally.
Furthering its scope, Yahoo entered a partnership with Mozilla in late 2014 to use Yahoo.com as the default browser for Firefox in the US. According to analytics site Alexa.com, Yahoo is the fifth most popular site in the world, and has a Klout score of 98 — unsurprising for an internet giant.

46. Time Warner

46. Time Warner
Flickr/Consumerist Dot Com
2014 revenue: $27.4 billion
Number of employees: 25,600
Time Warner, which operates out of New York City, controls a significant portion of the media and entertainment industry, withseveral major television networks, including HBO, CNN, and TNT, under its command. It's also the second-largest cable provider in the US, operating in 29 states.
As far as social media influence, Time Warner lags behind other big companies, clocking in with a 73 Klout score.

45. Cisco Systems

45. Cisco Systems
Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Kairos Society
2014 revenue: $47.1 billion
Number of employees: 74,042
After a difficult fiscal 2014, Cisco Systems isexpected to come back strong with a new CEO at the helm who's already fixing some costly mistakes. The worldwide leader in IT is expected to continue growing its emerging cloud services and security business.
The Silicon Valley company has a Klout score of 92, expectedly high considering much of the world's internet traffic runs through Cisco Systems.

44. Lockheed Martin

44. Lockheed Martin
AP
2014 revenue: $45.6 billion
Number of employees: 112,000
Security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin builds everything from military aircraft and radar to cybersecurity systems and missiles.
In short, the Owego, New York-based company supplies our defenses and keeps them strong. And since it doesn't look like the military is going defunct anytime soon, the defense industry will remain in high supply.
The company also has a respectable Klout score of 89, with 200,000 Twitter followers to boot.

43. JPMorgan Chase

43. JPMorgan Chase
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $94.2 billion
Number of employees: 240,000
The nation's largest bank announced that it will close 300 bank branches by 2017 as more customers rely on mobile and online banking. The closures are part of a $1.4 billion cost-cutting plan put in place earlier this year by the Midtown Manhattan-based finance giant.
With the lowest social media influence among the Big Four banks, JPMorgan Chase has a Klout score of 68 out of 100, although the bank does command over 171,000 followers on Twitter.

42. CVS Health

42. CVS Health
Getty Images / Justin Sullivan
2014 revenue: $139.38 billion
Number of employees: 200,000
More people than ever pick CVS as their go-to spot for filling prescriptions, making it thebiggest retailer of prescription drugs in the US.
And that number is only growing — CVS, located in Rhode Island, will purchase Target's pharmacy and clinics businesses for about $1.9 billion, adding almost 2,000 pharmacies to its fleet. CVS's focus on health also opens it up to partnerships with other powerful companies, including a new plan to work with IBM's supercomputer Watson to find solutions for customers with chronic health issues.
Social media isn't CVS's strong suit, however. It has a low Klout score of 64, and only a little over a million fans on Facebook — small potatoes compared to corporations that pull in tens of millions of Facebook likes.

41. eBay

41. eBay
Wikicommons
2014 revenue: $17.9 billion
Number of employees: 34,600
In 2014, the California-based e-commerce giant announced it would be splitting eBay and PayPal into two companies. EBay still runs Skype and StubHub, but PayPal has been its principal source of growth since the company was bought by eBay in 2002.
Still, eBay, now in its 20th year of operation, has a huge command over online shoppers spanning 203 markets worldwide. It's powerful online, as well: The company has a Klout score of 94.

40. Goldman Sachs

40. Goldman Sachs
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
2014 revenue: $34.53 billion
Number of employees: 34,000
On Wall Street, few names inspire as much respect as Goldman Sachs. And the investment banking firm is on the rise — itgrew profits 5% last year and recently garnered attention for backing Symphony, a secure internal chat system that has beencalled a "Bloomberg killer."
Goldman also proves its social media influence with over 400,000 followers on Twitter and more than 30,000 likes on Facebook, earning the New York-based bank a Klout score of 89.

39. Facebook

39. Facebook
Glassdoor
2014 revenue: $12.7 billion
Number of employees: 10,955
The pioneer of social media is now the top social commerce platform, driving more than two-thirds of mobile e-commerce traffic. Thanks to ads on the site, revenue was up 58% in 2014 for the Silicon Valley company.
This summer, Facebook’s market value topped $250 billion, making it the fastest company to reach that high so quickly.
Ultimately, Facebook has incredible influence. In August, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that 1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook in a single day. Unsurprisingly, the social media giant has a high Klout score of 98.

38. Chevron

38. Chevron
Facebook/Chevron
2014 revenue: $200.5 billion
Number of employees: 61,546
The second-largest oil company in the US, Chevron continued to grow its reach last year, with successful explorations in Australia, the Gulf of Mexico, and Canada.
But despite slipping oil prices and revenue loss, Chevron hasn't lost its footing yet, and is cutting spending through 2017 so it can dive headfirst into growth. The San Ramon, California-based company has a modest influence online, earning a mid-range Klout score of 87.

37. Morgan Stanley

37. Morgan Stanley
REUTERS/Carlos Barria
2014 revenue: $34.3 billion
Number of employees: 55,795
Morgan Stanley's strong investment relationships with tech companies has given it a foothold in Silicon Valley. In fact, the Manhattan-based bank has worked with Netflix since 2011.
Morgan Stanley "helped write the financial script" for the streaming service, offering notes totaling nearly $2 billion between 2014 and 2015.
When it comes to social media influence, Morgan Stanley lands in the middle of the road with a Klout score of 87.

36. Costco

36. Costco
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $110.2 billion
Number of employees: 195,000
Wholesale-discount-superstore Costcoconsistently outperforms competitors Walmart and Target due to its concentration on driving sales.
While other stores split their focus between marketing, sales, and more, Costco keeps its eye on the prize — to the tune of more than $100 billion in revenue last year.
And more than just home goods and food, Costco is also a growing force in car sales, likely due to its fixed prices.
But despite its over 1.2 million Facebook fans, no Klout score is available for the Issaquah, Washington-based company.

35. Starbucks

35. Starbucks
Luis Galdamez/Reuters
2014 revenue: $16.4 billion
Number of employees: 191,000
Starbucks, the fifth most admired brand in the world, according to Fortune, is more pervasive than ever. With 22,000 retail stores in 66 countries, the Seattle-based coffee retailer spent most of 2014 dedicated to going green and launching plans to send its employees to college and hire more ofAmerica's military families and veterans.
Some of its stores are also rolling out beer, wine, and gourmet food options. Starbucks has a Klout score of 84 and nearly 10 million followers on Twitter.

34. United Technologies

34. United Technologies
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $65.1 billion
Number of employees: 211,000
You might not immediately recognize the name United Technologies, but the Hartford, Connecticut-based corporation is responsible for building several things you use daily, including Otis elevators and Carrier air conditioning.
The company also manufactures planes and helicopters, and was named one of the most respected companies in the world by Barron's.
But it isn't as social-media-forward as some of our other list contenders, with a Klout score of 59. Considering that the brand only has about 20,000 followers on Twitter, however, this is expected.

33. Bank of America

33. Bank of America
Getty Images / Justin Sullivan
2014 revenue: $85.1 billion
Number of employees: 220,000
One of America's Big Four banks, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America has carved out its place not only in commercial banking, but in wealth management.
In 2008, Bank of America merged with Merrill Lynch, forming the world's largest wealth-management company by assets. Bank of America launched its Preferred Rewards program in 2014 in an aim to improve customer satisfaction.
The bank has a Klout score of 90, higher than any of its competitors.

32. Nike

32. Nike
Mike Lawrie/Nike
2014 revenue: $27.7 billion
Number of employees: 56,500
Athletic gear is becoming a mainstream clothing staple — whether you actually work out or not — and no one does it better than Nike. The apparel company, headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, is predicted to outperform the industry for the next five years, Business Insider reported earlier this year.
Nike's also popular with millennials and scores a 92 on Klout, proving its social media know-how. The brand boasts over 5 million Twitter followers and more than 22 million Facebook fans.

31. Anthem

31. Anthem
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $73.9 billion
Number of employees: 51,500
Formerly known as WellPoint Inc., the company changed its corporate name to Anthem last year.
Despite a late 2014 data breach, the largest for-profit health insurance company in the nation has continued to grow, evenpurchasing Cigna in a $54 billion deal, in a wave of consolidation in the healthcare industry.
The deal will make Anthem, which operates out of Indianapolis, Indiana, the nation's largest health insurer by enrollment as early as next year. A Klout score is unavailable for Anthem.

30. Citigroup

30. Citigroup
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
2014 revenue: $76.9 billion
Number of employees: 237,000
Citigroup, best known for its consumer banking services, continues to grow its physical and digital presences.
In fact, the New York City-based bank reported a 50% increase in mobile users last year, and reaches worldwide with banksacross the globe in North America, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Citigroup's not quite as prominent on social media as some of our other companies, but it still holds strong with a 79 on Klout.

29. FedEx

29. FedEx
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $45.6 billion
Number of employees: 246,000
Along with a rise in e-commerce comes a rise in demand for delivery services. This year,FedEx spent nearly $10 billion to purchase 50 Boeing airliners to accommodate its freight delivery expansion in Europe.
Despite FedEx's low Klout score of 72, the Memphis-based mailer appears at No. 12 on Fortune’s most admired companies list.

28. American Express

28. American Express
Angela Pham/BFAnyc.com
2014 revenue: $34.3 billion
Number of employees: 53,500
Between slowing sales and the expiration of its exclusive deal with Costco, it was a tough year for American Express. But the credit-card company still remains profitable, proving that powerful companies can take a hit and still bounce back.
On the social media front, New York City-based Amex still commands a strong presence with over 5 million Facebook fans, 841,000 Twitter followers, and a Klout score of 89.

27. Kroger

27. Kroger
Associated Press
2014 revenue: $108.56 billion
Number of employees: 400,000
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain by revenue in America. It also operates under nearly two dozen banners, including jewelry stores and convenience stores.
While the Cincinnati-based retailer has low social-media influence with a Klout score of 80, Kroger is beloved around the country for its top-notch customer service and loyalty program.
Now that Kroger is offering natural and organic food options, it's set to surpass its high-end rivals.

26. Exxon Mobil

26. Exxon Mobil
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $411.9 billion
Number of employees: 75,300
Even with the steady downturn in the price of oil recently, Irving, Texas-based Exxon remains a major player in the industry, pulling in a whopping $400 billion in revenue last year alone. Despite recent controversies including acid leaks andcontamination from industrial sites, Exxon undoubtedly has the money and influence to power through.
The company is fairly compelling on social media as well, earning a Klout score of 87, despite commanding fewer than 200,000 followers.

25. Wells Fargo

25. Wells Fargo
RyanWalshPhotography via Flickr
2014 revenue: $84.34 billion
Number of employees: 265,800
The largest bank in America by market capitalization was also named the most valuable bank brand in the world three years in a row by Brand Finance.
Wells Fargo, unlike its competitors, has focused on traditional lending rather than investments, which has led to more rising profits since the financial crisis. Big investors have taken notice of the San Francisco-based bank — as of May 2015, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owned 470 million shares of Wells Fargo.
It's also somewhat influential online with a Klout score of 88, commanding 172,000 Twitter followers and over 800,000 Facebook likes.

24. Coca-Cola

24. Coca-Cola
Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $45.99 billion
Number of employees: 129,200
Chances are, you've consumed at least one of the 657 billion Coca-Cola products purchased annually. The beverage company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is impossible to ignore. Whether you're at the grocery store or the movies or grabbing concessions during halftime, Coke — or Sprite, or Fanta— is on tap.
The brand is savvy on social media as well, commanding 375,000 Twitter followers, 782,000 Facebook likes, and a Klout score of 92.

23. Oracle

23. Oracle
Oracle/Glassdoor
2014 revenue: $38.23 billion
Number of employees: 132,000
Last year, Oracle impressively surpassed IBM to become the world's second-largest software vendor by sales. As the premier cloud provider, Oracle serves 400,000 clients, including every Fortune 100 company.
Oracle is determined to simplify IT and lead industry innovation. The California-based company shows some influence on social media with a Klout score of 87.

22. Hewlett-Packard

22. Hewlett-Packard
Business Insider
2014 revenue: $111.5 billion
Number of employees: 302,000
Hewlett-Packard isn't looking great after announcing that it will cut another 25,000 to 30,000 jobs, part of a huge multiyear layoff plan.
But being powerful isn't always about being well-liked, and the Palo Alto-based company remains a dominant corporation, especially considering that press mentions — both positive and negative — factored into our rankings. The company also rakes in a huge amount of revenue: over $100 billion last year alone.
HP fares much better in terms of social media, however, with almost a million followers on Twitter and a Klout score of 92.

21. Boeing

21. Boeing
Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $90.8 billion
Number of employees: 165,500
The Chicago-based jet maker is the world's largest with 723 planes delivered in 2014. Roughly 48% of the world's commercial fleet is Boeing and 90% of the world's cargo is carried on Boeing freights.
What's more, the company produces the family of aircraft used by the US defense and security teams. Boeing is also exploring drones and laser cannons and working on churning out more Dreamliner planes, the most fuel-efficient jetliner to date.
The airline manufacturer doesn't pull much influence online, however, as it has a low Klout score of 70.

20. Berkshire Hathaway

20. Berkshire Hathaway
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
2014 revenue: $194 billion
Number of employees: 316,000
Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company in Omaha, Nebraska, helmed by the distinguished Warren Buffett, not only rakes in billions in revenue, but owns several other prominent companies, including Geico, Heinz, and Helzberg Diamonds. Buffett himself is also the world's third richest man, commanding a personal fortune over $70 billion.
Though Berkshire Hathaway doesn't have an official Klout score, Buffett himself commands an 86 from the platform, despite only tweeting seven times so far.

19. Comcast

19. Comcast
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $68.78 billion
Number of employees: 139,000
The largest broadcasting and cable company in the world by revenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Comcast owns Comcast Cable (under Xfinity) and NBCUniversal. Under both brands, the company operates Universal Pictures, Universal Parks and Resorts, a host of popular television channels including E! and Bravo, and Hulu, one of the top movie and TV streaming apps.
Comcast was set to merge with Time Warner earlier this year, but the deal was cut short in April. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal has been investing heavily in new media brands Vox Media and BuzzFeed. Comcast has a Klout score of 90.

18. Ford Motor Company

18. Ford Motor Company
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $135.8 billion
Number of employees: 187,000
Sales were down for Ford last year, but it's not a sign of defeat. Fortune notes that the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker intentionally — and strategically — took a "rebuilding" year to refocus before pushing back full force.
It worked: The company saw profits jump a whopping 44% in the second quarter, far surpassing predictions.
Ford also engages with customers on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and has an impressive Klout score of 94.

17. Intel

17. Intel
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $55.25 billion
Number of employees: 106,700
Intel, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is the world’s leading semiconductor chipmaker with a market cap of $140 billion. Apple has been using Intel chips for its computers since Steve Jobs announced the switch from IBM in 2005.
Last year, Intel lost billions of dollars going after its flailing mobile phone business, but now it's probable that Apple will replenish Intel’s losses by allowing it to capture half of its modem business with this year's iPhone release.
Intel's undoubtedly doing well on social media, though, and commands a high Klout score of 96. It has 4.26 million Twitter followers and over 25 million fans on Facebook.

16. Disney

16. Disney
Jesse Grant/Getty
2014 revenue: $48.8 billion
Number of employees: 180,000
The Disney name is everywhere: toys, movies, television, apparel, and even theme parks. Its last major movie release, "Inside Out," brought in $7.4 billion worldwide at the box office, and the much-anticipated "Star Wars" sequel debuts in December.
With 4.53 million Twitter followers and over 50 million Facebook likes, the Burbank, California-based company's Klout score sits at a solid 83.

15. McDonald's

15. McDonald's
Reuters
2014 revenue: $27.4 billion
Number of employees: 420,000
With consumer trends moving toward fast-casual and away from fast food, Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's is doing all it can to stay relevant. The company's turnaround plan includes rolling out all-day breakfastand revamping some of its stores to launch the "create your own" gourmet burgeroption.
McDonald's lists eight countries, including China and Russia, as high-growth markets — aka locations with high expansion and franchising potential, which is important since a large majority of McDonald's restaurants (about 80% by the end of 2014) operate as franchises.
And with nearly 3 million followers on Twitter, the fast-food giant earns a Klout score of 93.

14. Verizon

14. Verizon
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $127.1 billion
Number of employees: 178,500
In a $4.4 billion deal announced in May,Verizon acquired AOL, also taking on its subsidiary brands The Huffington Post and TechCrunch. The largest telecommunications company in the US, Verizon, headquartered in New York City, continues to innovate and is currently building an even faster wireless network — supposedly fast enough to download a movie in 15 seconds.
Verizon's 1.6 million Twitter followers and more than 7 million likes on Facebook gives it a definite presence online, bringing its Klout score to 86.

13. PepsiCo

13. PepsiCo
Safari Sundays
2014 revenue: $66.7 billion
Number of employees: 271,000
Despite a major slump in soda sales, America's leading beverage producer found ways to remain profitable. PepsiCo, which operates out of Purchase, New York, owns 22 of the most well-known food and drink brands in the world, including Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Tropicana, which all earned more than $1 billion in sales in 2014.
With a Klout score of 89, PepsiCo came up just behind its competitor, Coca-Cola, in terms of social-media influence.

12. Johnson and Johnson

12. Johnson and Johnson
AP
2014 revenue: $74.33 billion
Number of employees: 126,500
Though Johnson and Johnson, a healthcare company that manufactures medical devices and consumer products, saw a slump in sales earlier this year, it's on its way back up.
Barron's reports that the New Jersey-based company is "positioned for solid growth," and Business Insider noted that despite the lower sales, it beat expectations on the top and bottom lines in the second quarter.
Despite having over 55,000 Twitter followers, the company’s Klout score is unavailable.

11. Google

11. Google
Paul Sakuma/AP
2014 revenue: $66 billion
Number of employees: 53,600
The search giant will soon become the largest subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., a holding company Google executives announced this summer. The Silicon Valley company is consistently ranked one of the best companies to work for in America, with a startup culture that's envied by many.
Google also owns YouTube, the world's largest video-sharing website. Google's Klout score is 98, unsurprisingly high for one of the world's most innovative and engaging companies.

10. IBM

10. IBM
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $92.8 billion
Number of employees: 379,592
Though IBM struggled to remain relevant against falling profits last year, the technology and consulting company retains a strong base of loyal customers and powerful partners, including major corporations such as Apple and Citigroup.
IBM is also getting into the Internet of Things — a smart move, considering it'sexpected to become a $1.7 trillion marketwithin the next five years, which would only increase the Armonk, New York-based company's already-high revenue.
IBM falls behind on social media, though, with no Klout score available.

9. General Motors

9. General Motors
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
2014 revenue: $155.9 billion
Number of employees: 212,000
GM, one of the world's largest automakers, has been in business for over a century. Despite a year filled with legal battles thatrecently ended with a multimillion-dollar settlement deal, GM has increased sales on the popular Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac brands.
The Detroit-based motor company has 21,000 dealers spanning six continents and a Klout score of 91, putting it just behind its competitor, Ford Motor Company, in terms of social-media influence.

8. UPS

8. UPS
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $58.2 billion
Number of employees: 237,300
The world's largest package-delivery service, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, delivered 4.8 billion packages and documents in more than 220 countries and territories in 2014. After a rough holiday season in 2013,missing millions of promised delivery times, UPS bounced back by hiring more seasonal workers and opening new shipment centers.
With a Klout score of 80, UPS has a low social media influence, but still more than its direct competitor, FedEx, which clocks in at only 72 on Klout.

7. Apple

7. Apple
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
2014 revenue: $182.9 billion
Number of employees: 92,600
Easily one of most recognizable names in tech, Cupertino, California-based Apple continues to blow us away with new innovations. The big release of the year was the Apple Watch, but the company also announced more new features on the way, including additional Apple Watch styles as well as iPad and iPhone upgrades.
We used the Klout score for Apple Music in our ranking, a seemingly low 84 out of 100. But it's important to note that Apple's lack of a true score stems from the fact the the tech giantdoesn't have a central Twitter account.
But Apple Music commands 7.73 million Twitter followers and the App Store has 4.09 million — certainly nothing to sneeze at.

6. AT&T

6. AT&T
Mike Mozart/flickr
2014 revenue: $131.6 billion
Number of employees: 250,730
The Dallas, Texas-based mobile phone service provider is now also the largest pay-TV provider in the US thanks to a recent$48.5 billion merger with DirecTV. AT&T's 4G LTE network covers more than 300 million people.
AT&T has a Klout score of 91 — thanks to 691,000 Twitter followers and 5.7 million Facebook likes — and is the only telecommunications company to rank onFortune’s most admired companies list.

5. Microsoft

5. Microsoft
Thomson Reuters
2014 revenue: $86.83 billion
Number of employees: 118,000
Microsoft is on the upswing. Revenues are up 11% from last year, with tablet sales continuing to grow. In fact, the Surface brought in over $1 billion in sales in the fourth quarter last year, making it "respectably profitable," Business Insider reported.
It's no surprise that the Redmond, Washington-based technology company is also social media savvy, earning it a near-perfect Klout score of 99, tied with Amazon for the highest score on our list.

4. Amazon

4. Amazon
REUTERS/Phil Noble
2014 revenue: $88.99 billion
Number of employees: 154,100
As the largest e-commerce site in the country, Amazon recently surpassedWalmart as the most valuable retailer in America in terms of market capitalization.
The Seattle-based company currently owns over 40 subsidiaries, including Zappos, IMDb, and GoodReads, and refuses to be left behind in the consumer-electronics market.
Amazon debuted an e-reader and tablet to compete with Apple and launched Amazon Instant Video, which has produced an award-winning original television series. Amazon is tied with Microsoft for the highest Klout score on our list at 99 out of 100.

3. General Electric

3. General Electric
Mike Simons / Getty Images
2014 revenue: $72.61 billion
Number of employees: 347,000
With more than 16 divisions and hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide, General Electric has its hand in almost every aspect of daily life.
From the electricity that powers our homes to the appliances that cook our food to the engines that power our airplanes, the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company is constantly innovating.
The corporation also has a Klout score of 91, proving its prowess online as well.

2. Target

2. Target
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
2014 revenue: $72.61 billion
Number of employees: 347,000
Target has a Klout score of 90 and has been turning to its millions of social media followers to gauge customer satisfaction.
In response to a social-media storm, Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Target pleased many loyal customers when itannounced this summer that it would begin to phase out gender-specific signage from its stores.
The retailer hasn't been quiet about itssupport for equal rights and gay marriage, either. To date, Target has also given $1 billion to education through fundraising and global initiatives.

1. Walmart

1. Walmart
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
2014 revenue: $485.62 billion
Number of employees: 2.2 million
With 11,500 stores in 28 countries, Walmart's scope is undeniable. The family-owned, Arkansas-based retailer has a Klout score of 90 and is one of the world's most valuable retail brands behind online giants Alibaba and Amazon.
Walmart is also the single-largest employer in America and announced earlier this yearit's raising wages for 500,000 of its 1.4 million US workers. The company sits at No. 1 on the Fortune 500.

воскресенье, 27 сентября 2015 г.

5 Skills That Are the Foundation of Entrepreneurial Success

5 Skills That Are the Foundation of Entrepreneurial Success

Anna Johansson

Freelance writer
Entrepreneurship requires many skills, from financial planning to human resource management, and it’s at times both intimidating and frustrating. Fortunately, if you’ve got a good idea and the commitment to making it work, most of these skills can be picked up along the way. Throughout the course of your business ownership, you’ll make mistakes, learn valuable lessons, and gain experience that teaches you these skills over time.
Unfortunately, this style of learning can sometimes come too late. Some skills need to be learned early on, or else their absence could spell a tragic fate for your business.
If you’re planning on becoming an entrepreneur, or if you’ve just entered the world of business ownership, learn these five skills as early as possible:

1. Research.

Research is an important skill in the planning, launch and ongoing running a business. You’ll have to research the market, your competitors and problems as they come up. Even research your employees and clients to ensure they’re a good fit for your business. Researching is both an art and a science, as there are practical rules to follow but also an instinctual element to success. Proper research can solve -- or prevent -- almost any common problem in the earliest courses of your business development.

2. Focus.

Focus is as much a personality trait as it is a skill, but I list it as a skill because it can be initiated, developed and honed over time. Focus does come naturally to some people. If you’re one of those people, more power to you but for most of us, focus is difficult to achieve. Without focus you can’t prioritize or maximize your productivity, making it next-to-impossible to get any real work done in your new business. Learn which environments and habits maximize your focus, and work on refining that ability as quickly as possible.

3. Cash management.

Cash management is vital for the first few years of any startup. Profitability is important. Earning more than you’re spending in ongoing operations sets the groundwork for a successful company. However, even profitable companies can fall victim to poor cash management, and poor cash management almost always leads to bankruptcy.
As the entrepreneur, you’re responsible for ensuring that you have enough free cash to cover all your operating expenses, including payroll, utilities, rent, and other operational costs. To do that, you’ll have to cut unnecessary costs, watch carefully for due dates, and follow up on invoices diligently to ensure timely payment. It’s not something you can bluff your way through. This is a skill you can't afford to learn too late.

4. Communication.

Communication is a foundational skill that applies to every area of entrepreneurship. You’ll need to communicate with investors and partners to ensure the business is on the right track, with clients and customers to sell your idea and build relationships and with your employees to establish direction and delegate responsibilities. You’ll even need to establish cross-communication channels within your organization to ensure there aren’t any hiccups.
Without a stable framework of communication, any business is destined to fail. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to “teach” communication skills. The only way to get better is to practice, and the only way to practice is with other people. Attend networking events and hone on your interpersonal communication skills by working closely in a team setting.

5. Learning.

Learning itself is a skill, and it’s almost impossible to learn directly. Learning effectively takes practice to master the techniques that work best for you and to discern which resources are the most valuable in the acquisition of new information and skills.
Mentors are a major source of learning for new entrepreneurs, since they’ve done it all before. If you don’t have access to a mentor directly, there are hundreds of alternative resources where you can develop yourself as a business leader. Attend networking events and public seminars, webinars, and take free online courses whenever you can. Read widely, including the news and nonfiction books. Commit yourself to a constant, uninterrupted stream of learning. If you can learn effectively and consistently, you’ll have no problem building the other skills you’ll need as an entrepreneur.
Without these five skills, you’ll have a tough time succeeding as an entrepreneur. Try to learn them well in advance of beginning your entrepreneurial journey, but if you’re already in the thick of things, simply prioritize them to make up for lost time you have lost. The remaining skills you’ll need as an entrepreneur can develop naturally over time, so stay optimistic in the face of challenges and stay patient for your own growth.

четверг, 24 сентября 2015 г.

A Brief Introduction to Performance Management


Performance management is a system designed to identify the ways to achieve organizational goals through constant assessment and feedback leading to improvement of employee performance. Performance management, unlike the performance appraisal or annual evaluation process, is an ongoing assessment of employees in a manner geared to match their goals to the organizational goals. It also makes strong use of goal-setting and metrics to identify progress and areas of individual strengths.

History and Evolution of Performance Management and Appraisal

Performance management systems, in various forms, have been employed for nearly two millennia. In the third century AD, the Chinese were not only using performance appraisal systems but were critiquing each other’s biases in their evaluations of their employees (Murphy and Cleveland, 4; Evans, 3). During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, factory managers became aware of the importance of their employees’ performance on their production outputs (Grote and Grote, 3; Murphy and Cleveland, 4). The development of the philosophy of performance evaluation systems in America has been attributed to such researchers and philosophers as Peter Drucker and Douglas McGregor, who developed ideas of management by objectives (MBOs) and employee motivation (Evans, 4; Murphy and Cleveland, 3). Spreigel reported in 1962 that by the early 1960s more than 60% of American organizations had a performance appraisal system.The system’s popularlity stemmed from the Army’s implementation of a performance management system for its officers (Murphy and Cleveland, 3). Since then, researchers have continued to develop theories of how different performance evaluation methods can contribute to the success of the organization.

Differences between Performance Management and Performance Appraisal

Employees, as well as supervisors, are often confused by the differences between performance management systems and performance appraisals. Performance appraisals, also called performance evaluations, are tools used to measure the effectiveness of an employee; most organizations conduct performance appraisals once a year during an annual evaluation process. A performance management system, however, is much more dynamic. It can use the performance evaluation tool but also incorporates other elements into the performance management cycle.

Elements of Performance Management

Armstrong identifies the five elements of performance management as agreement (of employee, unit, and organizational goals), measurement, feedback, positive reinforcement and dialogue (3). These elements ensure that the performance management process is positive, successful and a spur to employee improvement. Key to the performance management process are continued feedback and assessment, depicted shown in the performance management cycle (Figure 1).


Figure 1. The performance management cycle (recreated from Armstrong)
There are four main elements of the planning portion of the performance management cycle: role creation and development, objective planning, assessment and development planning. The first step, role creation and development, is important because an employee must understand his or her role in the organization before the performance of that role can be fairly assessed. By first defining the employee’s goal, a supervisor can then align the employee’s objectives with the organizational goals.
In performance management, employers provide continuous appraisal through feedback and re-alignment of goals based on performance. Unlike the annual evaluation process, most performance management systems are designed to meet the changing needs of both the organization and the employee. Armstrong identifies that performance assessment can include the following:
  • discussing what the job holder has done and achieved;
  • identifying any shortfalls in achieving objectives or meeting standards;
  • establishing the reasons for any shortfalls, including changed circumstances;
  • agreeing to any changes required to objectives and work plans in response to changed circumstances;
  • agreeing to any actions required by the individual or the manager to improve performance (71-72).
The organizations that have chosen to use a performance management process have often done so because the annual evaluation process has failed to meet their appraisal needs. The constant communication loop of performance management enables organizations to meet both the goals of their organization and the development and feedback needs of their employees. In contrast, the annual evaluation process, which is retrospective in nature, provides no formal opportunity for employees to receive feedback about their performance, request development to increase their efficiency or ask for new goals during the year.

Role Creation and Development

In order for performance management to be effective, an employee must have a clear understanding of his or her organizational role and responsibilities. Armstrong says that the role profile “defines the role in terms of the key results expected, what role holders are expected to know and be able to do and how they are expected to behave in terms of behavioral competencies and upholding the organizations’ core values” (50). Defining the core competencies for each employee is one step in effective goal creation because it allows the supervisor to communicate personalized feedback.

Effective and “SMART” Goal Creation

There are many different kinds of objectives in an organization. Armstrong identifies that effective objective-setting “results in an agreement on what the role holder (employee) has to achieve” and “is an important part of the performance management processes of defining and managing expectations and forms the point of reference for performance reviews” (54). He also identifies the following types of objectives (54-56):
  1. ongoing role or work objectives: based on the job description (e.g. an outreach librarian would publish a newsletter for distribution to patrons)
  2. targets: quantifiable goals that should be met (e.g. provide support for 45 reference transactions each week)
  3. tasks/projects: specified results or product (e.g. a new subject guide to be developed in 2 weeks)
  4. behavioral expectations: outlines desirable and undesirable behaviors (e.g. excellent customer service to be provided at the circulation desk at all times)
  5. values: outlines the values of the organization
  6. performance improvement: areas that need improvement (e.g. improvement needed in database management)
  7. developmental/learning: provide specific areas to meet improvement needs
Luecke notes that effective goals are recognized as important; clear; written in specific terms; measurable and framed in time; aligned with organizational strategy; achievable but challenging; and supported by appropriate rewards (7). Armstrong provides the “SMART” mnemonic: S = specific/stretching; M = measurable; A = achievable; R = relevant; T = time framed (57). The creation of appropriate, measurable goals is key to the performance management process; they provide a framework for assessment and, without them, the performance management system would fail.

Assessment of Goal Achievement

After defining roles and setting goals, the manager and the employee must determine whether the employee had been successful during the assessment period. If the goals are “SMART,” then assessing the employee’s performance will be simple: if the employee met the specific goal within the time frame designated, then the assessment would be a positive one. The most important aspect of the assessment is the performance review.
There are many ways to conduct performance reviews. Some organizations conduct reviews at certain intervals throughout the year; others create a timeline based on the goals developed (e.g. develop a new subject guide in April; meet May 1 to discuss results). Many organizations have employees conduct a self-evaluation prior to the evaluation meeting; Aguinis identifies that “self-appraisals can reduce employees’ defensiveness during an appraisal meeting and increase employee satisfaction with the performance management system, as well as enhance perceptions of accuracy and fairness and therefore acceptance of the system” (39).
Both employees and employers have historically disliked the performance review process. Armstrong reports that most appraisals have existed in a vacuum, with little or no relation to the workplace: “employees have resented the superficial nature with which appraisals have been conducted by managers who lack the skills required, tend to be biased and are simply going through the motions” (9). In order to have a productive, positive performance review, Aguinis identifies six recommended steps (41):
  1. Identify what the employee has done well and poorly by citing specific positive and negative behaviors.
  2. Solicit feedback from your employee about these behaviors. Listen for reactions and explanations.
  3. Discuss the implications of changing, or not changing, the behaviors. Positive feedback is best, but an employee must be made aware of what will happen if any poor performance continues.
  4. Explain to the employee how skills used in past achievements can help him overcome any current performance problems.
  5. Agree on an action plan. Encourage the employee to invest in improving his performance by asking questions such as “What ideas do you have for _____?” and “What suggestions do you have for _____?”
  6. Set up a meeting to follow up and agree on the behaviors, actions, and attitudes to be evaluated.

Development Planning

After creating goals and assessing progress, the employee and employer have identified areas that can be improved; the action plan for this improvement is called development planning. This development plan ensures that employees will continue to meet the needs of the organization through the identification of their weaknesses and the opportunity to address them through workshops, classes, and other educational channels.

Benefits of Performance Management

Performance management has many benefits that the traditional annual evaluation does not. Luecke identifies three reasons “why performance management matters:”
  1. Shareholders (those with a vested interest in the organization) observe better results, because the human assets of the organization are top-notch and working in unison toward key goals.
  2. Managers are more successful, because their subordinates are doing the right things correctly.
  3. Employees experience greater job security, career advancement, and fatter paychecks, thanks to outstanding performance (xiii).

Problems with Performance Management

The performance management system is designed to benefit the organization, but like any system it may meet with resistance or be unconstructively applied. Many supervisors resist the change from a simple annual performance evaluation process or no process at all to the performance management system for many reasons: a dislike of criticizing employees; lack of skill in the appraisal process; dislike of new procedures; and mistrust of the validity of the appraisal instrument (67). Other reasons the performance management system may fail because of lack of support from the supervisors and the employees, unclear goals or lack of support for professional development.
If performed incorrectly, an unsuccessful performance management system can have negative consequences on the organization. Aguinis identifies the following dangers of a poorly executed system (9):
  1. Increased turnover
  2. Use of misleading information (if performed improperly, an employee’s performance appraisal can be incorrect)
  3. Lowered self-esteem
  4. Wasted time and money
  5. Damaged relationships
  6. Decreased motivation to perform
  7. Employee burnout and job dissatisfaction
  8. Increased risk of litigation
  9. Unjustified demands on managers’ resources
  10. Varying and unfair standards and ratings
  11. Emerging biases
  12. Unclear ratings systems
Because of these incredibly negative effects that an improperly conducted performance management system can have on an organization, the system must be implemented thoughtfully and executed consistently.

Conclusion

Performance management, unlike traditional annual evaluation, provides employees with feedback throughout the year. The system allows constant re-evaluation of goals, progress and performance. This process requires more interaction between the supervisor and supervisee and encourages the professional development of the employee to meet the organization’s changing needs. While this more dynamic evaluation process is time-consuming, the increased productivity levels resulting from performance management have proven to be valuable to many organizations.

Works Cited

  • Aguinis, Herman. Performance Management. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2007.
  • Armstrong, Michael. Performance Management: Key Strategies and Practical Guidelines. London: Kogan and Page, 2006.
  • Evans, G. Edward. Performance Management and Appraisal: a How-to-Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2004.
  • Grote, Dick and Richard C. Grote. The Complete Guide to Performance Appraisal. New York: AMACOM Publishing, 1996.
  • Luecke, Richard. Performance Management: Measure and Improve the Effectiveness of Your Employees. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2006.
  • McGregor, Douglas. “Uneasy Look at Performance Appraisal.” Training and Development Journal. June 1972: 41-47.
  • Murphy, Kevin and Jeanette N. Cleveland. Understanding Performance Appraisal: Social, Organizational, and Goal-Based Perspectives.: New York: Sage Publications, 1995.
https://ala-apa.org/

How Employee Performance Reviews Affect Customer Service and Satisfaction




 

70% of employees say their employer should understand them to the same degree they are expected to understand customers. (Towers Watson)
Once a year employees across the working spectrum all become subjected to the dreaded performance review. The performance review is a long established tool that is used by management as a way to justify an employee’s position, determine if they are deserving of a raise or bonus and, essentially, separate the wheat from the chaff. As many advocates as there are in support of the performance review, there are as many detractors calling for the demise of this measurement of employee value and worth.
Despite the calls for the end to the performance review, you should understand its value and why it is important. Here is a history of the performance review and the role that it plays as a measuring tool. Additionally, you should understand how you should approach the review process to provide for greater input from outside influencers (i.e. customers) and allow for some flexibility and agility when judging the performance of your employees.
What We Don’t Know About Performance Reviews
Performance reviews have been a tool that has been with us as long as two millennia. The process for evaluating the work performed by workers is believed to have originated in China at around the third century AD. The advent of the Industrial Revolution in the United States during the 18th century saw a correlation between employee performance reviews and productivity. Systems used to appraise the performance of an employee were prevalent in more than 60% of businesses in America in the 1960s.
The Importance of the Performance Review Process
An effective performance review is comprised of the following five elements: agreement, measurement, feedback, positive reinforcement and dialogue. The reason for conducting the review process utilizing these elements is because it aids in creating a positive interaction between you the employer and your employees. Implementation of an employee review goal-setting process that also employs what is known as the SMART system (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time framed) helps you track employee progress, but also gives the employee targets in which to shoot for and ultimately achieve.
Making Performance Reviews Work for Your Customer Service Team
Despite what the naysayers may think about the performance review process, they are important for assessing how employees are doing relative to meeting their goals and providing excellent customer service. There are many discernible benefits that come from the performance review process. These include better results from those vested in the review process as goals are communicated clearly. Employee retention, and thus satisfaction, is decreased by 2x. Stated another way, employees who see performance reviews as inaccurate are 2x more likely to look for another job.
Employees should come to realize that the performance review process is an essential tool in improving their productivity, value and worth to your company. The trick however is to use the performance review process as an opportunity to praise good works and find ways to challenge your employees to stretch beyond their capabilities. If your employees come to dread the performance review process or view it as a draconian method used to judge and diminish their value, it may be time for you to redefine the process and make it meaningful to your business.

12 Failure Modes in Agile Transformation

Posted by Jean Tabaka in Agile

 


 
You may have heard me talk about “12 Agile Adoption Failure Modes” that concentrated on agile failure in the context of IT teams. Given the expanded adoption of Agile practices in organizations beyond the IT group, the threat of failure is now farther-reaching, with bigger impact.
Now it’s imperative that we look not just at Agile adoption, but at Agile transformation — where organizations move beyond Agile principles within their IT groups to business agility. To accomplish this, we transform from just doing Agile to being Agile.
Over the next few weeks I’ll share with you the top 12 failure modes of an Agile transformation that I’m witnessing in my work with organizations around the globe. The first three center around LEADERSHIP.

1. Lack of Executive Sponsorship


David SpinksThe Leader


 photo via Flickr CC




This failure mode evidences itself in several different ways and ultimately, it warrants its spot as the number one failure mode and drives all the other failure modes. Also known as “buzzword buy-in,” a lack of executive sponsorship can come at you from two directions
Imagine a small group of techies eager to adopt Agile in their team. With no executive sponsorship, they perform in a stealth environment — sort of a “skunkworks” adoption — under the radar of the existing organizational structure. Why? Because they’re hiding from the hierarchy of management (see the second failure mode, below) which could shut down their effort, and evading the current gate-driven approach to product delivery. While the project may gain some momentum, deliver value faster, and stir the souls of those involved, its sustainability is improbable. Lack of executive sponsorship will limit visibility into the team’s success and provide insufficient support for adoption across subsequent teams. Agile adopted this way will likely die.
 
In our second scenario, an executive decrees a switch to Agile delivery across the entire IT organization, but there’s no real follow-through: it’s simply a “checkbook commitment.” The executive demands immediate results, yet doesn’t change the metrics by which success is measured. Unengaged, the executive proclamation for an Agile adoption will never move to a true business transformation. At best, without the executive’s continued engagement, the organization will only have pockets of Agile success, typically limited to the team level. The organization will probably grow to blame Agile (and each other) for decreased quality and productivity. And the executive’s resignation letter will conveniently not include the word “Agile” in its summary of successes.
 
How do we prevent this failure? Leaders must accept that a successful transformation is a journey. Along this journey, leaders seek guidance for a transformation with a broad, sustainable impact. As part of the transformation they make a personal commitment to their teams, and in turn they recognize the personal commitment they are asking of their employees. Executives commit to measuring success differently from before, because the work is different from before. Success now favors value delivery, and time for learning is built into the transformation. Ultimately, success is celebrated across the organization and setbacks are seen not as failures or cause for blame, but as opportunities for learning and growth.

2. Failure to Transform Leader Behaviors

Isn’t it great to have managers who just get things done? They know the right actions to achieve success; they direct their teams to perform these actions; and they have the power to control all aspects of the work and do whatever it takes to get it done.

Huh?

Let’s pull this apart a little. When a manager tells the team what to do, there’s a false sense of success via control. When a manager powers through difficult circumstances regardless of the impact on the team, they leave the wisdom and the morale of the team behind.
Royce Bair.  

Telephone Switchboard Operators - a vintage circa 1914 photo

 photo via Flickr Commons


Such a management style is a classic Agile transformation failure mode. All the team-level Agile practices in the world mean nothing if the manager doesn’t embrace a behavior that is more in service to the team than control of the team. Robert Greenleaf’s work identifies the characteristics of what he calls a “servant leader”: one who serves by leading, and leads by serving. An Agile transformation success story hinges on the ability of the leaders in the organization to take on these characteristics:
  • Systematic neglect: knows the limits of how much focus can be allocated to issues; learns what to focus on and what to let go of in order to support the team and achieve goals effectively
  • Acceptance: knows when to let go and trust the instincts of the team; accepts the wisdom of the team and is prepared to support it
  • Listening: facilitates useful and necessary communication, pays attention to what remains unspoken, and is motivated to actively hear what others are saying
  • Language: speaks effectively and non-destructively; clearly and consistently articulates the vision and goals for the team
  • Values: is responsible for building a personal sense of values that are clearly exhibited through consistent actions; supports team behaviors that build their sense of values
  • Tolerance of imperfection: modulates his or her own sense of perfection and offers to each team member an understanding of their strengths and challenges; cares more about “How can I help the team grow?”
  • Goal setting: owns the vision; doesn’t advocate for a personal belief in what is right but rather maintains the goal for a higher purpose, inviting others to align with the vision for the overall good
  • Personal growth: recognizes the value of continually finding diverse disciplines that invite new ways of acting in service to the team, and models this growth behavior to inspire others
  • Withdrawal: knows when to step back and allow the team to figure out its course, versus inflicting a personal sense of what is right for the team; carefully decides what to bring forward and when

3. No Change to the Organizational Infrastructure

What is your current organizational structure? How many layers of management exist around each Agile team? How is governance perceived, and who is ready to break down walls to make sure that value flows through your organization?
Sean BonnerEuropean Bike Lane FAIL

 photo via Flickr CC

 
Failed Agile transformations suffer from an inability to change the existing organizational structure. What do I mean by this? Typical organizations have been set up for sub-optimization: that is, they measure success by departmental performance, versus overall value delivery. Here’s what that looks like: In the book This Is Lean, authors Niklas Modig and Par Ahlstrom depict a soccer field scattered with teams, each one in its own tent. Success is defined as any one team getting the ball out of its tent. But is that really success overall? In this scenario, as in our traditional organizations, we create accidental adversaries. We limit visibility of the organization’s overall effectiveness, and focus on our team’s success at the expense of success for the organization.

True Agile transformations push the boundaries of these existing organizational hierarchies. In the soccer field metaphor, we remove the tents. Now everyone can see where the ball is, where everyone else is, where the goal is positioned, what the referee is indicating, what the coach is saying, and what the scoreboard says. In your effective Agile transformation, you know what the true value is, you know who needs to be involved in order for the value to be delivered, and everyone associated with the value delivery has visibility into the current state of the value stream, including its blocks. They see the goal as successful delivery of value to the customer, and they coordinate as a whole to deliver that value.
 
Here’s another symptom that your organizational infrastructure is crippling your Agile transformation: Does your organization cling to a notion of efficiency based on resource usage — believing that loading people to 100% capacity is the best way to get work done, and then measuring people annually by how well they deliver in this fully-loaded mode?
To incent greater collaboration and communication, you need to revisit how you appraise work. Instead of annually, by individual, 100% utilized, with MBOs set 12 months earlier, you should invite frequent feedback; focus more on team effectiveness; and bias performance appraisal toward efficiency of value flow versus efficiency of workers.
 
If you’re not feeling the discomfort change brings, you aren’t truly transforming. If your transformation isn’t requiring you to invest in the technology and culture to support a new mode of visibility and collaboration, you aren’t truly transforming. If you’re adopting some Agile practices at the project level without looking at the bigger picture, your Agile transformation is poised for failure. And Agile, not the failure to transform the organization, will get the blame.











https://bit.ly/3S88GmY

How to Audit Your B2B Content Marketing Strategy

It’s time to face the facts: the B2B buyer’s journey is anything but a solo act.
In fact, nearly half (43%) of B2B buyers said that the number of people involved in purchase decisions has grown. Because of this rising trend, B2B organizations must target many different stakeholders involved in the purchase. But, this becomes a complicated dance when separate teams within a single organization own different pieces of the process.
Every role within your organization—even roles within marketing—have their own tools, content types, and channels to manage. From sales to customer success to marketing, each function has a stake in the buying process. But lack of communication, or a clearly defined integrated strategy to execute upon, causes ad hoc content creation, off-brand messaging, and a disparate customer experience. To address the needs of every buyer in the purchasing process, B2B organizations need a closed-loop marketing strategy approach—meaning every team within the organization should be clued in, and have a stake in its success.
To get your internal teams on a “one-team, same-team mentality,” start by conducting an audit of your current B2B marketing strategy. This will help you assess current processes and establish company-wide goals. Here is your step-by-step guide:

1. Assess Your Internal Stakeholders

The first step to auditing your B2B marketing strategy is to assess each of your internal stakeholders, their roles, and the channels they manage. In order to serve a consistent story to all of the players involved in a B2B purchase, you and your teams need to be able to collaborate and work cross-functionally so each department within your organization is aligned around the same goals.
When assessing your internal stakeholders, start by listing out all of your internal teams. These teams could include the following: demand gen, digital, field marketing, marketing and sales operations, product marketing, and social/PR. Determine which channels each team currently manages, and the type of content they serve. Once you identify current roles and responsibilities, you can then identify gaps in the process, and address any areas where communication between teams is lacking and how to improve it.

2. Define and Map Content to Your Buyer’s Journey

B2B organizations often struggle to be in agreement across the company about the various stages in the buyer’s journey. When sales teams define the stages differently from marketing teams, the result is miscommunication, convoluted tracking and reporting, and poor visibility into the health of your pipeline.
To get your internal teams on the same page, start by outlining each stage in a buyer’s journey, from awareness to purchase to repeat customer. Identify what buyer activity looks like at that every stage, how you’re defining each stage, and which team is responsible. It should look something like this:

b2b content marketing audit

Once you’ve outlined each stage of your buyer’s journey, determine what content is used by which team at each stage, the goals associated, and the metrics you need to track.

b2b content marketing audit

Once you’ve defined your buyer’s journey—including agreed upon sales and marketing definitions—you can create a closed-loop, marketing-sales funnel. This ensures that all of your internal teams are aligned on the specific pain-points you need to address as well as the content served at each stage.

3. Audit Your Personas

Addressing multiple players in a single sale is not easy. Each person you target has a unique perspective on their company’s challenges, and they have different pain-points and concerns related to the purchase. B2B marketers are responsible for creating content that addresses these specific and unique challenges, but when the pain-point marketing addresses doesn’t match sales’ approach, there’s a disconnect that becomes detrimental to the buying process.
To conduct an audit of your current personas, survey your internal stakeholders on how they define your personas and their associated pain-points. This will help you to quickly identify where teams are in alignment, and where there is confusion. The key here is to get perspective from all your internal teams and mine them for information and insight. Your sales, customer success, and marketing teams have different interactions with each of your personas at different buyer stages. By leveraging information across these teams, you can build out better, more well-rounded buyer-personas.
Just as B2B buyer’s don’t make purchases alone, B2B marketers don’t propel leads through the pipeline alone. Gather your stakeholders, audit your current marketing activities, and get ready to build a winning B2B marketing strategy.

By Erica Lindberg • Business2Community