IN THIS ISSUE
This week's Driven brings you something new.
It's an experiment to offer you more flexibility and efficiency in finding useful information.
Meet Driven mind maps
If you're interested in a topic, a link within each article takes you to a mind map published to the web.
Mind maps are tools for organizing ideas and information.
They can help you solve one of your biggest challenges of your job: How to find good ideas and resources fast, when you need them.
Driven's mind maps offer you a way to get more value with less reading.
You can expand and contract topics by clicking on the (+) and (-) symbols where you see them in a mind map.
This structure enables you to skim and scan. You can drill down to as much detail as you want. Or you can easily skip over as much as you like.
You don't have to buy mind-mapping software to take advantage of the links in this issue.
Look for more value to come
Use of mind maps opens added ways to deliver more value in the coming months.
If you and other subscribers tell me you like them, you can expect these innovations and more:
- Comprehensive resource lists: blogs, articles, podcasts, books, videos, groups, and more
- Concise summaries of books, articles, videos, webinars, and podcasts.
- Guides to making important decisions.
- Templates for business processes and project plans.
You may soon be able to download Driven's published mind maps. If you license the MindManager software, you'll even be able to customize your maps.
I may keep Driven's published maps updated so they become more complete and valuable over time.
Have you ever wanted to find something that appeared in a prior issue? I may offer a master index to all published maps so you can find the information you want fast.
All that will depend on how you respond to this and future experiments.
For some, mind maps may take a little getting used to. You'll find they're easier to read on devices with bigger screens than the one on your smartphone.
Please let me know what you think.
Here are your topics for this week:
- In executing your to-to-market plans this year, you'll sometimes have to commit money to initiatives months in advance. But that can be risky because of the uncertainties of reopening after Covid-19. How can you make decisions that help mitigate your risks?
- Third-party cookies are going away over the next 2 years. If you need a plan to adapt, better get started now. If you don't care about cookies, you at least need to keep your eyes on the growing importance of personal data privacy for users of your systems.
- Recent high-profile ransomware attacks have raised broad public awareness of cyber risks. The attacks have also prompted governments to protect critical infrastructure. SaaS vendors can expect more regulation, at least in some countries and sectors. And all software vendors are likely to face more scrutiny of system security and resilience. How can you prepare?
REVENUE OPS | MARKETING | TRADE EVENTS
Tough decisions: Should you commit $20,000 now to exhibit at a September trade event?
Challenge
One Driven reader faces a dilemma. He's CEO of a young SaaS company. They are not well known in their target market. And they're bootstrapped, without a lot of cash to burn.
Should he commit now to participate in a trade show scheduled for September? What if the people he wants to reach don't show up?
He has to make a nonrefundable payment to the organizers soon. If he waits, he may not get the exhibit space he wants.
He figures his total cost will be about $30,000, all in. Nonrefundable costs are about $20,000.
The organizers estimate show attendance will be about 4,000. But they won't guarantee it.
The CEO wonders if he should commit to this show.
Why it matters now
As the world reopens after Covid-19, many companies face similar dilemmas.
Revenue leaders struggle to make good investment decisions that will deliver growth months in the future. Although the outlook is brightening, many uncertainties remain.
Ideas to consider
- No one can predict with confidence how fast the world or any individual country will recover from Covid-19. It's anyone's guess how many people will show up at a trade event 3 months out.
- As an entrepreneur and revenue leader, you're probably an optimist. That's a great trait, but it's also a source of bias and risk. It means you're inclined to minimize risks you should take seriously. You may overlook alternatives you should consider.
- Information regarding Covid-19 is likely to remain incomplete. The virus will continue to mutate. You're not likely to reduce uncertainty by following the opinions of public health experts. Attendance at trade events will depend on factors other than health and safety. Will your prospects have budgets for travel?
- In making this kind of decision, it's risky to commit to one future or another. It's better to weigh divergent possibilities. Create plausible scenarios. Get help from a diverse team balanced with optimists and skeptics. Think through the implications of each scenario before making your decision.
- Use a mental framework to guide you in asking the right questions.
More
Use the decision-support mind map I've created. It contains more than 20 questions to consider before you commit to a risky investment.
mindmanager.com
MARKETING | PRODUCT | PRIVACY | ADS
As third-party cookies crumble, what will your company do with whatever remains?
Challenge
Third-party cookies drive much of online marketing today. They're everywhere in business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing.
Although their effects are less visible in the business-to-business (B2B) world, they're still important to many B2B marketers. They can increase conversion rates by 100% or more for B2B websites that use them.
Cookies have begun disappearing online. And the pace of their decline will accelerate in 2022.
Why it matters now
Among the several things cookies enable, the ones you likely know best are retargeted ads. Those are the annoying display reminders that follow you around on your web browser after you've visited a vendor's web page.
Cookies also make it possible for vendors to target other forms of online display advertising. They're an important support pillar for some tactics often used in account-based marketing (ABM).
If you use cookies in your marketing—or if you sell SaaS products that rely on use of cookies—your world is about to change. You need a plan to adapt.
Ideas to consider
- Many tech vendors insist the disappearance of cookies won't affect the performance of their products or services. If you use such products, how well do you trust their vendors to have found a viable way around cookies?
- Many marketing experts say the disappearance of cookies will reward companies that do marketing well. It will mostly harm companies that market poorly. What might the changes mean for your company?
- Does the pending retirement of third-party cookies seem like much ado about nothing? Even so, you may still want to have an informed opinion to share with customers, prospects, and peers.
- If your SaaS products rely on use of third-party cookies, your prospects and customers are likely to wonder how their disappearance may affect them. This is a good time to tell them your strategy—especially if they're close to contract renewal time. Your competitors may already be sowing FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
- Even if your SaaS products don't rely on use of third-party cookies, this topic is another in the growing trend toward protecting the privacy of technology users. It's good to stay on top of this issue, because it's only getting bigger.
More
Check a mind map I prepared with 3 good resources on the future of third-party cookies and their alternatives.
mindmanager.com
SAAS INDUSTRY TRENDS | CYBERSECURITY
Ransomware alarm: How will your systems stand up to even more scrutiny from the wonks?
Challenge
As governments wake up to the huge and pervasive risks of cyber attacks, they're likely to impose more regulation.
And as more of the general public experiences the effects of such attacks, companies of all sizes are likely to look harder at the security of any software they evaluate.
Even if you're sure your products are bulletproof, be prepared to spend more time and effort explaining how and why customers should trust them.
More
For a more in-depth look at these issues and a list of resources for further evaluation, see this mind map.
mindmanager.com
WRAP UP
That's it for this issue.
For next time, sellers can expect a mind map with resources for running effective discovery processes.
Marketers and sellers can expect a mind map that helps navigate a prospect's complex buying decision. It's better than the lame customer journey maps you're starting to see everywhere.
Driven continues to evolve through experimentation and your feedback.
If you don't share your feedback, I'm left to guess what you want.
If you've enjoyed this issue, please share it with a friend or colleague.
See you next on June 19.
Best,
Dave Vranicar
Dave Vranicar at Driven
ABOUT DRIVEN
Driven is a fortnightly digest for busy revenue leaders in business-to-business (B2B) SaaS.
It's likely to be most useful if your company sells higher-ticket products that require moderate to heavy involvement of professional sellers.
Driven is here to help you:
- Achieve your revenue goals
- Overcome your obstacles and challenges
- Fix expensive problems
- Be the best version of yourself.
You'll find an online archive of back issues 12 through 43 at this link.
About links, commissions, and endorsements
When I provide links to articles from vendors, does it imply an endorsement?
Only of their content. Not of their products or services.
If I recommend a service or a book, it’s because I think it’s likely to help you. Period.
I get nothing from providing links to any commercial service, including the books for which I provide a link to Amazon.
That may change. I’ll tell you when it does.
Dave Vranicar at Driven