CM Punk Will Come Back To WWE If Vince McMahon Thinks It’s Good Business Says John Cena

Could CM Punk ever return to WWE? John Cena says he would see it happening if Vince McMahon thinks it is good business. Recently, CM Punk had made his UFC debut after a less than cordial breakup with WWE a couple of years ago. In that debut, Punk lost so it would not be surprising if he were looking to return to his roots some day down the road. TMZ cameras caught up with John Cena and asked him about a Punk return.

CM Punk had many gripes with the company some of which included a misdiagnosis of a fatal staph infection by WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann. He was apparently burnt out after years of working in the ring and was frustrated with WWE creative. All these issues came to head when Punk walked out, the night after Royal Rumble in 2014. Punk was at the top of his game in WWE with a huge amount of fan support. Things turned sour when WWE fired Punk on his wedding day. The issue was badly handled by WWE and they burnt all bridges between both parties.

On If He’d Like the Co-Host Job on Live With Kelly:

“I’ve made a pretty fortunate path for myself just by taking advantage of every opportunity. Unfortunately I don’t make the — I don’t say ‘hey you go there, you go there.’ If they give me the chance I’ll do the best I can.”

On Working With The Today Show:

“I would love to. I love working with The Today Show crew, anytime they’ll have me on, I try to go on they make me feel like a family, they make me feel at home, so I love that atmosphere. Me and you just BS’ing back and forth, I love to do that stuff. I don’t mind wearing a suit so — and it’s really cool to be able to sit down in a suit and tie on Tuesday morning, and then fly to SmackDown Live and be a WWE Superstar. Internally I really like that hustle, so if they call I’ll answer the phone but I’m not going to sit by the phone.”

On Vince McMahon Possibly Bringing CM Punk Back:

“If I know one thing about my boss Vince McMahon, he always does what’s good for business, if it’s good for business it will work out. The name in the question doesn’t matter about that, if it’s good for business it’ll work out.”

Punk and Cena were the biggest names in the WWE roster, when the two won the SLAMMY awards for the best superstar of the year in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The put up some memorable matches together including a five star class at Money in the Bank 2011 in front of a packed Chicago crowd. However, behind the scenes politics kept it from reaching a level of status that would compare to feuds like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. The two crossed paths several times during Punk’s 434 day title reign. Their Night of Champions clash in 2012 is also a match worth watching with Paul Heyman on the side of a heel Punk.

Would you like to see Punk return to WWE? And, maybe finish his feud with Cena? Sound off below in the comments section.

Photo Credit: Source

Source: B2C

The Manufacturer-Distributor Dynamic: 4 Tips

The maintenance of a good manufacturer-distributor relationship has ramifications across all points of the supply chain. On a company-specific level, effectively nurturing a strong connection with suppliers and customers can equate to competitive pricing, higher availability, and the effective sharing of industry-sensitive information. On a wider basis, time and effort invested in fostering such relationships can translate into highly effective, streamlined processes that will positively impact all those companies involved, from manufacturers to consumers.

The key to fostering a mutually rewarding manufacturer-distributor relationship lies in understanding the differences between the two entities. Distributors can operate at many levels of the supply chain but usually function as an intermediary between manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers, on the other hand, usually work independently with limited input from companies further up the supply chain. Very often, the relationship manufacturers have with distributors is the primary source of direct information about the consumer market.

In this post we’re going to look at four key ways to maintain strong links with your own distributors or manufacturers.

4 Tips for Improving Your Manufacturer-Distributor Dynamic

1. Implement robust manufacturer-distributor information-sharing processes.

The free flow of information between manufacturers and suppliers is essential for maintaining effective and timely distribution processes. This fact applies as much to the manufacturer-distributor relationship as it does to other interacting elements in the supply chain. Now more than ever, the demand for information shapes how companies manage and share their data. At a consumer level, for example, the need for transparency regarding aspects of products such as provenance and ethical integrity is considered a given by retailers.

This principle also applies to sharing internal company goals and benchmarks. For example, manufacturers can benefit from having a clear idea of the predicted level of sales a distributor expects to meet, and this information likely comes from retailers. In a similar way, distributors can benefit from knowing about information regarding fluctuations affecting the flow of goods, which likely comes from manufacturers.

2. Maintain in-person contact with reps.

As the modern B2B landscape inevitably shifts towards greater automation, the need for in-person contact between companies has been highlighted. The rise of eCommerce has meant that processes that typically involved face-to-face negotiation are now executed digitally. While this has improved efficiency in many cases, it has also created a context in which manufacturer-distributor relationships are more likely to suffer the negative consequences of poor communication and lack of information.

For this reason, it’s important that clear lines of direct communication are established and maintained. All companies are subject to certain shifting circumstances and unforeseen problems that can only be remedied outside the bounds of automation.Both manufacturers and distributors should recognize this. In-person communication can also lead to opportunities that aren’t otherwise available in an automated setting. For distributors in particular, this can lead to key competitive advantages.

3. Use information from all parts of the supply chain.

Alongside implementing effective communication strategies, both manufacturers and distributors should also properly manage the information they have access to. Different manufacturers and distributors will have different needs regarding the data that they require, and the basis of any sharing infrastructure should recognize this fact. The key is that any such infrastructure needs to draw from information from all parts of the supply chain.

It’s also important to understand that both manufacturers and distributors will have access to different types and quantities of information because of their different roles in the supply chain. Because of this, a certain degree of assimilation and filtering will be necessary from a central standpoint. Finally, both manufacturers and distributors are likely supplying to competitors, which means there will be a degree of confidentiality regarding certain types of data.

4. Take advantage of new technology to speed up the supply process.

New technologies, especially “smart” factory automation and eCommerce, can significantly streamline traditional supply processes. As integration and automation become more mainstream and standardized, there is a requirement for both manufacturers and distributors to adapt. Failure to do so can place unnecessary strain on other elements of the supply chain.

Effective automation can also work to eradicate many of the problems that typically impact the relationship between manufacturers and distributors, such as late payments, vague data about stock levels, and poor delivery information. It’s also possible to use software to track customer behavior, such as timeliness with payments, with a view to creating appropriate rewards and incentives.

What are your thoughts about nurturing customer-distributor relationships? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: B2C

8 Reasons to Start a Full-Scale Digital Marketing Campaign

One of the main themes of this blog is B2B marketing and lead generation (as you may have noticed.) I know that many readers have already spent a lot of time developing their brand online and have become the masters of multichannel marketing. I know that other readers are still working on carving out their digital niche. And I know that some readers are hesitant about dipping their toes into the digital pool.

If your brand has spent a lot of time and money building up its traditional marketing strategy, it can be daunting to set that aside and try something new, especially something like digital marketing which can seem complicated in a lot of ways. I get it. But the truth is that the way in which we do business has changed dramatically, and modern customers expect more from brands. Digital marketing has become essential for many companies to stay afloat, and now is the time to take that leap. If you are looking for a good reason for your brand to make the switch to digital marketing, I can give you 8, courtesy of this infographic from CJG Digital Marketing. Let’s check it out and see if they can change your mind.

1. Online marketing will save you money. Traditional marketing requires paying for high-volume (and high-quality) printing, and you know how quickly those costs can add up, especially for items like catalogs or full-color brochures. Traditional marketing also requires paying to ship those materials and taking time for in-person appearances and phone calls. Digital marketing, on the other hand, uses online channels to deliver your messaging without having to pay for printing, storage, shipping, and manpower – and gives you access to a potentially much larger audience.


2. Digital marketing renders predictable results. It’s possible (and recommended) to use data and analytics to measure the reach and effectiveness of your marketing efforts, which can help you tweak your campaign or better plan for future campaigns based on the results.


3. Digital is pervasive. 40% of the world’s population are active internet users and 29% are active on social media. The digital revolution has drastically changed the way that we live. It’s not uncommon to order food, cars, clothing, or services online. Chances are, your competition is already connecting with your potential customers online.


4. Marketing digitally drives better sales and revenue. Having an effective digital marketing campaign can boost your revenue growth expectancy threefold and help you to expand your business.


5. A full-scale campaign taps into the mobile market. Mobile is king these days, with many users using their phones to access their social media, do their shopping, and conduct research for future purchases. There are over 3.5 billion mobile users worldwide, and that number is expected to grow. A mobile-friendly digital campaign will help you to reach this vast market.


6. Digital marketing delivers in-store sales. If you see customers in your shop checking their mobile phones, don’t assume that they are texting or playing PokemonGo – Deloitte has reported that 1 in 3 customers use their phone to research or compare products while in stores. Your digital campaign isn’t just a way to drive traffic to your location but can actually work to help sales once customers arrive.


7. Digital marketing shapes how a brand is perceived by customers. Today’s customers are more savvy, self-sufficient, and likely to conduct extensive online research before making a purchase. A brand’s online reputation can play a big role in whether or not they make the buy. Your goal should be to get positive reviews, work on your SEO, and practice good customer service and damage control.


8. Internet marketing creates meaningful customer engagement. Customers today expect brands to be where they are. Many people turn to Facebook or Twitter to interact with brands, whether they are asking questions, looking for product support, registering a complaint, or just reaching out to say hello. Digital leaders are 74% more likely to grab competitive advantage when it comes to customer engagement.

Hopefully, these reasons have made you consider a leap to digital marketing. If you’re new to it, every week I post new tips and tricks to help you optimize and accelerate your B2b lead generation. If you’re already a digital marketing master, can you think of a compelling reason to make the switch that wasn’t included on the list? Let us know in the comments!

Source: B2C

6 Ways To Grow Your Email List That Prove You Don’t Need A Website

Growing an email list isn’t just for those with visually captivating, multi-page websites. It’s for anyone who wants to use email to engage their audience and grow their business.

And considering that email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter, you definitely don’t want to put your list growth efforts on hold until your website is ready (or, if you don’t plan on building a website at all).

Thankfully, there are a number of simple approaches you can take in the next hour to help you get moving – and they don’t require a huge chunk of time or a team of design experts. To kick-start your email marketing efforts, let’s take a look at 6 quick ways you can promote your sign up form.

1. Set up a landing page.

Don’t have a website? Not a problem. Using a landing page platform, such as Unbounce, you can create a simple landing page that hosts your sign up form and provides basic information about your business.

One benefit of using a platform like Unbounce is that you get access to pre-designed templates, which means it shouldn’t take longer than an hour to set up a page. To give you an idea of what you’d have to work with, here’s an example of one of their templates:

As you can see from this template, you have a place to brand the page with your business name, inform visitors of your business value, feature a sign up form, and add additional relevant information as you see fit. And even though it’s not visible in the example, you’ll have access to an editor that allows you to change some of the visual elements, such as color scheme, to design it to fit your brand.

If you take this approach, you’ll want to make sure the page includes:

• Your business name


• A logo (if you have one)


• Brief description about what your business does


• Ways to contact you (phone number, email address)


• Sign up form


• Social media links (if applicable)

To optimize email sign ups, I’d also encourage you to include a description of your emails and the value they bring to subscribers. The more you highlight what subscribers will get out of it, the more likely they’ll want to sign up if it resonates with them.

If you have any incentives to offer (ebook, checklist, coupon), be sure to also mention that here as well.

How you can use this page: Since this page has additional information about your business, it’s ideal for individuals who may not be familiar with your brand. You can share the link with prospects at conferences, your social channels, paid ads and more.

2. Create a single-page website.

If you plan on creating a more robust website in the future, you don’t have to wait until it’s finished to start growing your email list. Instead, you can get started by publishing one simple page.

By doing so, you can begin earning organic traffic from people searching for services or products your business offers. You can also direct your existing customers to the page so they can learn more about you and get on your email list.

Using a website building platform like Wix or Weebly, you can select a template design and drag and drop different elements to create a super simple website (no coding required!). Some platforms allow you to publish or hide pages as you see fit, so you can have your homepage with your sign up form live as you continue developing the rest of your website.

Again, you’ll want to at least include your business name and logo (if you have one), information about what your business does, contact information and your sign up form.

How you can use this page: Since this page will have information about your business, you can use this link just as you would with the landing page we previously covered – you can share the link with customers at your store, on your business cards, in social channels and more.

3. Use a web hosted sign up form.

If a landing page or single page website has more bells and whistles than you need, you can take an even simpler approach by using a web hosted sign up form provided by your email service provider.

With AWeber, for example, customers have the option to share this type of form directly from their account. After creating a sign up form, they can publish their form in three different ways: 1) By copying and pasting the code onto their website, 2) Sending the code to their web designer to add it to the website, or 3) Sharing a link that directs to a page (hosted by AWeber) with their form.

The design you create using our sign up form generator will automatically carry over to the page, which means you can customize the content and design to your liking, like so:

Again, be sure to set clear expectations as to what your emails contain.

How you can use this page: This page is perfect if you’re looking for a no-frills web page to promote email sign ups. If you’re publishing social posts that encourage people to subscribe to your email list, for example, you can link to this page so they can easily sign up after they click through. If you have an email newsletter you want clients to subscribe to, you can also feature this link in your email signature.

4. Share your broadcast archive page.

Want to give future subscribers a sneak peek into the emails you send? Simply send a link to your broadcast archive page to show the value of being on your list.

AWeber users have the option to save the one-time emails they send to subscribers. When they do, the emails are stored on a page that can be shared with others:

In addition to being able to view every email you’ve ever sent, visitors to the page also have the option to subscribe to your email list:

So if you want to let your emails speak for themselves, the broadcast archive page is a great way to show that off.

How you can use this page: I recommend sharing this link just as you might share the link to your web hosted sign up form (via social posts, in an email, etc.). However, keep in mind that while you’re letting your emails speak for themselves, you’re limited as to the call-to-action and context you can provide to convince someone to sign up to your email list. As a result, this is ideal for those who already have some familiarity with your business, and wouldn’t need an additional explanation as to who you are.

5. Promote your email list on social media.

If you primarily interact with customers on social media platforms, there are plenty of ways you can promote your email list. While your strategy will depend on the social platform you use, you’ll at least be able to add a link to a web-hosted sign up form or landing page in your social profiles or posts.

You can also explore the unique lead generation opportunities different social platforms offer to help you cross-promote your email list.

If you have a large Facebook following, for example, you can run paid ads that direct people to subscribe to your list. You can also use their Call-to-Action feature on your business page cover photo and link to your hosted sign up form:

6. Leverage offline networking with mobile sign up form apps.

If you often interact with potential customers during conferences, networking events or meet ups, chances are you’ll need a simple way to get them to sign up to your email list.

With a mobile sign up form app, such as Atom, people can easily subscribe to your email list in less than a minute directly from your mobile device:

The benefit of an app like this is that it provides an easy user experience for someone who’s signing up to your list in person. And since it functions just like a sign up form you’d have on your web page, you can include information about your email list and customize the design. The best part of all? You don’t need access to the internet in order for people to subscribe.

How you can use this page: While any event where you’re face-to-face with customers and prospects is ideal for using a mobile sign up form app, you can also set this up at your brick and mortar store. It even comes in handy if you strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store!

Start growing your email list today!

When you get creative with how you think about building an engaged community of subscribers, it becomes easier to see how you can get started with just the basics. And hopefully now you have a few new tricks up your sleeve to make that happen.

Are you ready to start growing your list using one of this tips above? Or do you have a strategy of your own that wasn’t mentioned in this post? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Source: B2C

The Importance of Marketing Automation

When it comes to running a business, time is money. This is especially true for small business owners, where the responsibility of receptionist, director of sales, and human resources manager can fall squarely on your shoulders all before lunchtime. As a result, it’s natural for people to seek out help in trying to organize and manage the things that don’t directly need attention throughout the day. Well when it comes to the marketing side of your business, that very thing exists. It’s called marketing automation.

What is Marketing Automation?

Now when people hear automation used in a marketing sense, they usually think of it as something negative such as spam. This is not the case at all. For the jack of all trades business owners out there, marketing automation is the goose that laid the golden egg. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look!

Taking Care of the “Boring Stuff”

Let’s be honest, keeping up with things like email and social media with all of your clients can be tough (not to mention extremely tedious.) When you are trying to think of the next best idea for your business, the last thing you want to be doing is spending half your day responding to emails.

That’s where automation comes in. By creating a variety of templates and setting the perimeters in which they are sent out, you can create a highly efficient and effective process of contacting your clients with little to no effort throughout your day.

So What Exactly Can Be Automated?

There are a variety of different things that can be automated in a business. For simplicity of this article we are going to pay attention to the two major ones.

Email

Whether it be hyper focused messages or a standard drip campaign, having a highly optimized email automation strategy in place can do wonders in creating conversions. Did someone new just sign up for a newsletter? Automatically send them a thank you response. Did someone just make a purchase on your site? Send them an email with links to other items they may also enjoy. With an automated email platform in place, you can reach your consumers with the information they are looking for, exactly when they are looking for. Saving time and making money in the process.

Social Media

Don’t have time to sit on Twitter and Facebook all day engaging with your audience? Try automating your social media platforms. A program like Hootsuite is a great program for linking all of your social media accounts in one single location. Just log in once, schedule your posts for the week, and that’s it. Leaving you time to focus on what is really important, growing your business.

Optimization

Yeah it’s great being able to have emails sent out automatically, but where the real benefit automation lies is in the ability to highly specific parameters to decide who gets what kind of message when. Sounds complicated, but it’s not. Imagine being able to create segmented email campaigns that are separated according to:

Personal demographic (gender, age, education, income, life style, etc.)

Where they live (country, region, zip code, etc.)

Motivations

Personality

Purchasing habits (time, method, season, etc.)

Stage of the sales funnel

This is just the start. The more time you take to specifically segment your clients, the easier it will be to make sure they get exactly the kind of contact they are looking for at exactly the right time. This if done correctly, will help boost revenue for your business exponentially, all without you or anyone on your marketing team having to do a thing!

What do you think? What are some of your experiences with marketing automation? Leave your comments below and let’s get the conversation started!

Source: B2C

Advice I Would Give My 22-Year-Old Self Today

Who’s coming with me?

Do you remember that defining moment in “Jerry McGuire”? Jerry was quickly fired after distributing an emotion-packed mission statement that espoused a very simple, counter-culture philosophy:

“Fewer clients. Less money.” -Jerry McGuire

VIDEO: Jerry McGuire clip

Jerry was so close! He should have gone with:

“Fewer clients. Deeper relationship. More value.” -Ryan Estis

The “less but better” philosophy can actually be a catalyst to create profitable growth. It’s a perspective my previous employer couldn’t quite embrace.

When I had my own (albeit slightly less dramatic) “Jerry McGuire” moment, I was more calculating about who was coming with me. I followed the counsel of a fantastic mentor who suggested my first hire in my new venture should be the best salesperson I could find. Brilliant advice. I didn’t just hire the best one I could find. I hired the best one I had ever worked with.

Lynn Mandinec was my first friend at my first job out of college. We started our careers at the same time, when I was in entry-level sales and Lynn was an account manager. After a few years, I moved into management and she decided to take a shot on the outside, working with me again in her own sales territory. We crushed it together following my formula for sales success: The 30 Steps.

We still leverage The 30 Steps today. While our go-to-market strategy has evolved pretty dramatically, most of the foundational principles for success still ring true. It’s also why world-class sales organizations like the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons have taken to painting the 30 steps on walls inside their sales offices. They work!

At the time, those 30 steps were my own personal mission statement. I was a performance improvement junkie and would read or listen to every single book on personal growth or sales and leadership success that I could get my hands on. The training has never stopped, but I recognize how much the world has changed. I also have a little more time on my side and that has afforded me a little more perspective. Recently, Lynn and I got to work on a fun new project and during the down time, we paused to reflect on over twenty years of working together.

She asked me: “What advice would you give your 22 year old self today?”

VIDEO: Advice I Would Give My 22-Year-Old Self Today

Invest in you. Bet on you. This is your one trip around the sun!

Source: B2C

The Walking Dead Brings Its Craziest Stunt To Life With King Ezekiel And His Tiger

Who brings a tiger to a zombie fight? Apparently, in The Walking Dead, King Ezekiel will be joining the series along with his favorite pet, Shiva. Ezekiel is a friend of the Hilltop Colony and a close friend to Paul Monroe. He also has a strong hatred for Negan and the Saviors, which caused Paul to bring Rick Grimes to him in the hopes of collaborating to defeat them.

Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman admitted to EW that when he came up with the idea of the tiger he did so partly to see if and how the TV version could even adapt it.

On bringing Ezekiel and Shiva to the show:

“I’ll say I’m really excited about Ezekiel and Shiva getting into the show because that’s probably the wildest swing I took in the comics. You know, a guy who has a pet tiger [and] who speaks like some kind of weird medieval king is pretty strange, and I have to be honest, when I was writing the comic, I was like, “Hell yeah, let’s see how we handle this tiger in the show! This is going to be difficult!” So to actually get to this point where we are adapting it into the show and to see the show expand in this way that the comic did in the past is pretty cool.”

On creating a tiger:

“You really have to have this deadly, terrifying creature coexisting with these people, and it has been a Herculean task to make sure that we get it right. But between the mastery of Greg Nicotero, and all the practical effects that he’s able to accomplish, and our crack visual effects team, I’m very happy with how it’s turning out. You can see in the trailer, it absolutely looks amazing. You wouldn’t, you know, think we had a real tiger on set, but thankfully we don’t or else I would never go to set again.”

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, this gritty drama portrays life in the weeks and months following a zombie apocalypse. Led by police officer Rick Grimes, his family and a group of other survivors find themselves constantly on the move in search of a safe and secure home. But the pressure each day to stay alive sends many in the group to the deepest depths of human cruelty, and Rick discovers that the overwhelming fear of the survivors can be more deadly than the zombies walking among them.

The Walking Dead returns on AMC for season 7 on Oct. 23.

What do you think of the idea of the characters? Are you excited for the show’s return? Sound off below in the comments section.

Photo Credit: AMC

Source: B2C