Advice for CEOs

The cost of customer acquisition (CAC) is one of the most important (and misunderstood) metrics that new companies track. Convincing consumers or businesses to change their buying habits and take a chance on you can take a tremendous amount of time and effort.

As we begin the new year, the U.S. economy continues to exhibit resilience--despite the many economic and political challenges that threatened to derail the economy in 2013.

Imagine a ten person rowing shell racing on a river against tough competition. Imagine that three members of the crew are rowing their hearts out. But five are rowing listlessly, basically enjoying the scenery. And two are actively trying to sink the boat. That’s the picture of employee engagement in the United States painted by Gallup’s 2013 State of the Global Workplace – Employee Engagement Insights for Business Leaders Worldwide.

Rely on yourself. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. This is good, old-fashioned advice. But it doesn’t always apply to the need that all middle market companies share to finance their growth. Very few companies can finance expansion by internally generated profits alone.

Small and medium-sized businesses across the United States are increasingly relying on new technology solutions to strengthen their product development, marketing, and customer engagement activities. Technology adoption is often the best way to drive relative advantage over competitors, even among small businesses. This is especially true with regard to computer and Internet technologies. Your business might be basically “technology enabled” but you may be missing out on new, fast-evolving technologies that could supercharge your business, regardless of its size.