Book profile

Stop Random Acts of Marketing

Mid-market CEOs stuck on a revenue plateau must replace 'random acts of marketing' with a customer-driven strategy that aligns marketing and sales for sustainable growth.

Drawing on two decades inside Xerox and years as a CMO-for-hire at Chief Outsiders, Karen Hayward shows mid-market CEOs why running a company and growing a company require different perspectives. The book argues that growth begins with strategy grounded in market insight and the voice of the customer—not with frantic, disconnected activities. It walks readers from gathering insight (SWOT, NPS, buyer personas, win-loss analysis) through marketing execution (segmentation, messaging, omni-channel, metrics) and into disciplined sales execution (process, methodology, enablement, large accounts, proposals, objection handling, and executive programs). The result is a systematic roadmap that lets resource-constrained leaders spend money where it matters, measure ROI, and accelerate revenue in a digital age where buyers self-educate before ever talking to a salesperson.

The model

A causal model in which customer insight and strategic design levers drive psychological and behavioral states in buyers and sales/marketing alignment, producing measurable growth outcomes. Insight informs strategy, strategy drives execution, execution is measured and iterated.

Frameworks you can use

Insight informs strategy; strategy drives execution.
Above all, prioritize the voice of the customer.
Look outside the four walls, not just inside operations.
Sell to the buyer's cycle, not the sales cycle.
Be interested, not interesting—find the most important question.
If you can't measure it, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

Key terms

Voice of the Customer Insight: The body of validated knowledge about what customers value, need, and how they buy, gathered and prioritized to guide strategy.
Market and Strategic Insight: Externally focused understanding of competition, positioning, and opportunities used to set growth strategy.
Marketing Execution Quality: The deliberateness, consistency, and customer-alignment of marketing activities across segmentation, messaging, and channels.
Sales Execution Discipline: The consistency and rigor with which a defined sales process, methodology, and enablement practices are applied.
Sales and Marketing Alignment: The degree of shared insight, goals, and funnel between marketing and sales functions.
Measurement and Iteration Capability: The organization's capacity to track meaningful metrics across the funnel and act on them to improve.
Buyer Trust and Perceived Relevance: The prospect's perception that the offering is relevant, trustworthy, and low-risk relative to their priorities.
Customer Retention and Loyalty: The persistence, expansion, and advocacy of existing customers over time.