By:
John Pickett

Tech Industry's Trusted Teammates

Achieving success in your organization is like managing a fantasy league team. In tech, assembling the right team for projects is crucial, and contractors play a key role. Contractors act as on-demand specialists, ready to contribute for the duration needed, matching specialized skills strategically. They offer flexibility in the unpredictable world of tech projects, scaling up or down hassle-free. Unlike full-time employees, contractors are budget-friendly, handling their own expenses and leaving extra cash for tech companies. With a diverse talent pool, contractors add a local touch to global projects. Clear communication through well-drafted contracts ensures smooth collaboration between tech companies and contractors. In the tech industry, contractors are the utility players, bringing professionalism, humor, and flexibility. With the right contractor, every tech project can be a success story in the making!

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By:
Brad Porter

Why Hire a Consultant, Not an Employee

With the post-pandemic workplace resembling a consulting environment, shorter-term engagements are preferred for specific project needs. Companies can evaluate consultants' work, potentially hire them as permanent employees, or continue working with them on different projects, making this approach advantageous in the transient employment landscape. In this article we explore the shift in high-tech companies towards hiring consultants over full-time employees, and the benefits of doing so.

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By:
John Pickett

Top 3 Marketing Trends for 2023… And How AI Plays a Role

The marketing landscape is ever changing, especially now with the introduction of AI technology. As we look towards 2023, it’s important to stay on top of the trends to maximize your marketing efforts and assess the advantages of utilizing AI technology in your marketing strategy.

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By:
John Pickett

Navigating the Technology Hype Cycle

Navigating the technology hype cycle can be challenging, especially for individuals or organizations looking to launch new technologies. With these tips, you can make informed decisions about when and how to position new technologies you bring to market.

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By:
John Pickett

Advancing Your Marketing During Uncertain Times

As the economic waters become more turbulent, job #1 should be to recession proof yourself now. This ensures you stay in the boat. It will still be a rocky ride, but at least you are still in the game. Second, you should consider getting help to push your current and future projects across the finish line. There will be choppy waters ahead and you still need to drive marketing projects, so consider trusted independent contractors to flexibly scale up your business.

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By:
Maddie Profilet

Events in the New Norm: Changes to Know and Reminders for Success

Live, in-person events are back! Must admit, I have a love/hate relationship with them. On one hand, events are great for meeting customers (and your remote colleagues!!) in person, hosting specialized field opportunities, and closing deals. On the other hand, no one besides an event professional actually knows how much work goes into each one, which is how it should be. 

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By:
Leslie Gillette

Content Marketing: There’s More Than One Way to Tell a Story

This blog series kicked off with Going Back to the Basics. So many marketing trends, so little time. We touched on four key focus areas: Branding and messaging, developing collateral and content, knowing your audience, and positioning sales for success...

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By:
Kim Glover

Unleashing the Full Power of your Customer References

The right references, at the right time, can help your sales teams advance their conversations with prospects. Are you successfully optimizing your portfolio of reference assets to maximize their value to sales, effectively targeting the purchasing stage your prospect is in...

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By:
Leslie Gillette

How B2Bs Can Embrace the Shift to Digital Buying

Gartner’s Future of Sales research report predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur via digital channels, with 72% of marketing budget currently going to purely digital channels. What does this mean? Your targets are spending more time...

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By:
Kim Glover

Q&A with David Sroka from Point of Reference

Kim Glover, customer reference marketing professional and consultant with Porter Consulting sat down with David Sroka, CEO of Point of Reference to discuss some best practices for implementing and working with customer reference databases. David shares some great...

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By:
Janelle Glover

Selecting a Customer Reference Database

Are you a Reference Manager in need of a software tool to help you track and report on reference candidates, projects, and assets? While there are many different tools available to choose from, they all fall under three main categories, and each come with their own pros and cons...

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By:
Brad Porter

Scared of 2022 Marketing Trends? It’s Ok to Go Back to the Basics

2022 is here – and with it comes the bombardment of blogs and emails telling you about marketing and sales trends. I promise you this isn’t one of them. This is about getting back to basics, setting yourself up for success, and using marketing to drive sales and revenue...

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By:
Brad Porter

6 Best Practices for Rebranding Customer References

You’ve spent a ton of time putting together marketing collateral for your company, which includes a healthy supply of customer references. Now your company is going through a rebrand. Maybe this just involves a company name change. Perhaps your company is being...

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By:
Leslie Gillette

Available Now: CyberArk and Red Hat OpenShift Secrets Management Roadmap

Is enhancing security in your containerized environment high on your priority list for 2022? If not, it should be, because containers are becoming a primary target of attacks due to the powerful credentialing used to run their applications. Having a way to pass secrets...

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By:
Kirsten Mortensen

Customer Reference Programs: What’s In It For The Customer?

Participating in customer reference programs delivers value to your customers as well as your company. Here’s how—and why it matters.Whether you are building a new customer reference program or running one that is well-established, there’s a question that may...

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By:
Kirsten Mortensen

Launching A Customer Reference Program? Fuel Your Take-Off With These Powerful Tips

Best practices drawn from decades of combined experience will help your customer reference program quickly reach orbit—and deliver results.Customer references establish credibility, bring your company’s value proposition to life, and help your sales and marketing teams engage with...

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By:
Alexie Glover

Supercharging Sales with Innovative Collateral

Your company probably already has a bustling customer reference program, keeping you familiar with the traditional collateral options: slide decks, case studies, solution snapshots, and technical papers. These options get the job done. But, we believe there is...

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By:
Kirsten Mortensen

Yes! You Need Customer References, and Here Are the Top 4 Reasons Why

Marketing managers use several tools for converting prospects into buyers. If your business is not using customers to tell compelling stories about your services, you are missing out on one of the best tools you have.Here are four reasons why customer references are...

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