Top 2 Tech Marketer Challenges (and Solutions)

If you’re a tech marketer, you’re already aware of the particularly difficult challenges you face. Sure, all marketers have difficult challenges, but the ever-changing tech world introduces new complexity to the marketing mix. After all, the technology industry is growing and changing so fast that no one can possibly keep up. No one, of course, except for the tech marketer, who is not only charged with keeping up, but also staying one step ahead of the marketplace.LinkedIn recently published an article discussing some of the top challenges experienced by tech marketers today. Here are two of those challenges, along with actionable information you can use to start overcoming them now.Challenge #1: Identifying the decision maker?All marketers know how important it is to identify and understand the decision maker. Without this knowledge, it’s difficult to build a successful marketing strategy to win them over.The difficulty with tech marketing, though, is that the decision maker isn’t a single person. Instead, it’s now a cross-functional group comprised of IT, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance and more.This complexity makes it all the more important to fully understand the needs, challenges and motivations of each group member and appeal to them directly.A recent LinkedIn study of groups that hold decision-making power over IT and technology purchases discovered that nurturing prospects with informative content is a vital part of the sales process. Why? Because members of these groups are typically not ready to talk to a sales rep until they have consumed at least five pieces of “relevant, unbranded, non-sales focused content”.Additionally, LinkedIn’s post highlights the importance of producing content for every role on this cross-functional buying committee… at every stage in the buying process. Because, as the post explains, the tech decision maker is a group, not an individual, marketers have a responsibility to reach out to and engage with every one of them. You never know who will make that first contact, who will lead the buying committee, or who will have the most influence over the other members.That’s why it’s critical to have a strategy for how to reach, engage and ultimately convert every member of the group at each stage in the buying process. It sounds like a lot of work, yes, but tech marketers have the opportunity to influence every member of the buying committee and begin to win them over through always-on education. What’s “always-on”? It’s content that provides valuable, educational information at every stage of the buying process – anytime the users may want it. When you consider that, according to the Content Marketing Institute, 63% of tech buyers are more likely to consider vendors that take an always-on approach, it’s worth the effort.Challenge #2: Creating Engaging ContentAccording to the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of tech marketers use content marketing. However, they also say that “creating engaging content” has been a top challenge for the last five years. What does this tells us? While tech marketers see value in content marketing, they also have limited time and resources, which keeps them from creating content that is as successful as it really could be.So how do you compete in the saturated tech marketplace? According to LinkedIn’s post, build a reliable toolbox. If you think about it, there are more content marketing tools and resources available today than ever before – many of which are free or very reasonably priced. Marketers have more options available now than ever before to design, create, write, build and develop on their own – free of any outside support. Just think about what has done for marketers!If you’re a tech marketer, you understand the pressure to stay ahead of the ridiculously fast-paced world of innovation. It’s our job to not only reach out to, but also engage some of the brightest, most forward-thinking minds in the industry. Thankfully, there are tools and resources to help make it possible.

SPDN: An Inexpensive Way To Profit When The S&P 500 Falls

Summary
SPDN is not the largest or oldest way to short the S&P 500, but it’s a solid choice.
This ETF uses a variety of financial instruments to target a return opposite that of the S&P 500 Index.
SPDN’s 0.49% Expense Ratio is nearly half that of the larger, longer-tenured -1x Inverse S&P 500 ETF.
Details aside, the potential continuation of the equity bear market makes single-inverse ETFs an investment segment investor should be familiar with.
We rate SPDN a Strong Buy because we believe the risks of a continued bear market greatly outweigh the possibility of a quick return to a bull market.
Put a gear stick into R position, (Reverse).
Birdlkportfolio

By Rob Isbitts

Summary
The S&P 500 is in a bear market, and we don’t see a quick-fix. Many investors assume the only way to navigate a potentially long-term bear market is to hide in cash, day-trade or “just hang in there” while the bear takes their retirement nest egg.

The Direxion Daily S&P 500® Bear 1X ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDN) is one of a class of single-inverse ETFs that allow investors to profit from down moves in the stock market.

SPDN is an unleveraged, liquid, low-cost way to either try to hedge an equity portfolio, profit from a decline in the S&P 500, or both. We rate it a Strong Buy, given our concern about the intermediate-term outlook for the global equity market.

Strategy
SPDN keeps it simple. If the S&P 500 goes up by X%, it should go down by X%. The opposite is also expected.

Proprietary ETF Grades
Offense/Defense: Defense

Segment: Inverse Equity

Sub-Segment: Inverse S&P 500

Correlation (vs. S&P 500): Very High (inverse)

Expected Volatility (vs. S&P 500): Similar (but opposite)

Holding Analysis
SPDN does not rely on shorting individual stocks in the S&P 500. Instead, the managers typically use a combination of futures, swaps and other derivative instruments to create a portfolio that consistently aims to deliver the opposite of what the S&P 500 does.

Strengths
SPDN is a fairly “no-frills” way to do what many investors probably wished they could do during the first 9 months of 2022 and in past bear markets: find something that goes up when the “market” goes down. After all, bonds are not the answer they used to be, commodities like gold have, shall we say, lost their luster. And moving to cash creates the issue of making two correct timing decisions, when to get in and when to get out. SPDN and its single-inverse ETF brethren offer a liquid tool to use in a variety of ways, depending on what a particular investor wants to achieve.

Weaknesses
The weakness of any inverse ETF is that it does the opposite of what the market does, when the market goes up. So, even in bear markets when the broader market trend is down, sharp bear market rallies (or any rallies for that matter) in the S&P 500 will cause SPDN to drop as much as the market goes up.

Opportunities
While inverse ETFs have a reputation in some circles as nothing more than day-trading vehicles, our own experience with them is, pardon the pun, exactly the opposite! We encourage investors to try to better-understand single inverse ETFs like SPDN. While traders tend to gravitate to leveraged inverse ETFs (which actually are day-trading tools), we believe that in an extended bear market, SPDN and its ilk could be a game-saver for many portfolios.

Threats
SPDN and most other single inverse ETFs are vulnerable to a sustained rise in the price of the index it aims to deliver the inverse of. But that threat of loss in a rising market means that when an investor considers SPDN, they should also have a game plan for how and when they will deploy this unique portfolio weapon.

Proprietary Technical Ratings
Short-Term Rating (next 3 months): Strong Buy

Long-Term Rating (next 12 months): Buy

Conclusions
ETF Quality Opinion
SPDN does what it aims to do, and has done so for over 6 years now. For a while, it was largely-ignored, given the existence of a similar ETF that has been around much longer. But the more tenured SPDN has become, the more attractive it looks as an alternative.

ETF Investment Opinion

SPDN is rated Strong Buy because the S&P 500 continues to look as vulnerable to further decline. And, while the market bottomed in mid-June, rallied, then waffled since that time, our proprietary macro market indicators all point to much greater risk of a major decline from this level than a fast return to bull market glory. Thus, SPDN is at best a way to exploit and attack the bear, and at worst a hedge on an otherwise equity-laden portfolio.

How To Avoid Mistakes On Your Credit Report

We have developed eight effective strategies for preventing mistakes on your credit report. We wish you much success.1) Beware Of Debts & Credit You Don’t UseJust as it is very easy to apply for a store credit card, it is also easy to forget you have it. It is important to remember that the account will remain on your report and affect your score as long as it is open. Don’t make the mistake of having credit lines and cards you don’t need. It makes you look more risky from a lenders point of view.Also, having many accounts you don’t use increases the odds that you will forget about an old account and stop making payments on it, resulting in a lowered credit score. Keep only the accounts you use regularly and consider closing your other accounts. Having fewer accounts will make it easier for you to keep track of your debts and will increase the chances of you having a good credit score.However, realize that when you close an account, the record of the closed account remains on your credit report and can affect your credit score for some time. In fact, closing unused credit accounts may actually cause your credit score to drop in the short-term, as you will have higher credit balances spread out over a smaller overall credit account base.For example, if your unused credit limits amount to $2,000, and your regularly used accounts also have a credit limit of $2,000, you have $4,000 of available credit. If you close your unused accounts and owe $1,000 on the accounts you use regularly, you have gone from using one-fourth of your credit ($1,000 owed on a possible $4,000) to using one-half of your credit ($1,000 from a possible $2,000). This will actually cause your credit risk rating to drop. In the long term, though, not having extra temptation to charge, and not having credit you don’t need will help you budget.2) Avoid Having Many Credit Report InquiriesAn inquiry is noted every time someone looks at your credit report. Don’t make the mistake of allowing too many inquiries on your credit report, as it may appear that you have been rejected by multiple lenders. This means that you should be careful about who looks at it. If you are shopping for a loan (finding the lowest interest rate based on your credit), shop around within a short period of time, as inquiries made within a few days of each other will generally be lumped together and counted as one inquiry.You can also cut down the number of inquiries on your account by approaching lenders you have already researched and are interested in doing business with. By researching first, and approaching second, you will likely have only a few lenders accessing your credit report at the same time, which can help save your credit score.3) Don’t Mistakenly Over-Use Online Loan Rate ComparisonsOnline loan rate quotes are easy to obtain. Just type in some personal information and within seconds you can receive a quote on your car loan, personal loan, student loan, or mortgage. This is free and convenient, leading many people to compare several companies at once in order to get the best possible loan rate. The problem is that since online quotes are a fairly recent phenomenon, credit bureaus count each quote as an inquiry. This means that if you compare too many companies online, your credit score will suffer.This does not mean you shouldn’t seek online quotes for loan. In fact, online loan quotes are a great resource that can help you get the very best rates on your next loan. It just means that you should carefully research companies and narrow down your choices to only a few lenders before making inquiries. This will help ensure that the number of inquires on your credit report is small, and your score will remain strong.4) Don’t Make The Mistake Of Thinking You Only Have One Credit ReportMost people mistakenly speak of having a “credit score” when in fact credit reports often include three or more credit scores. There are three major credit bureaus in the United States that develop credit reports and calculate credit scores, as well as a number of smaller credit bureau companies. In addition, some larger lenders calculate their own credit risk score based on information in your credit report. When improving your credit report, you should not focus on one number. You should contact the three major credit bureaus and work on improving all three credit scores.5) Don’t Close Multiple Credit AccountsMany people make the mistake of closing multiple credit accounts in an effort to improve their credit score. If you close an account you need (for example, if you close all your credit card accounts), then you may find yourself in the position where you need to reapply for credit. Not only is this inconvenient, but the inquiries from credit companies can actually hurt your credit report. Additionally, credit bureaus will actually look favorably upon your credit report if they can see that you have a (good) long-term credit history. For example, don’t make the mistake of closing a credit card account you have had for the past 10 years, as this may actually hurt your credit report.lf you have credit accounts that you don’t use, or if you have too many credit lines, then by all means pay off some and close them. Doing so may help your credit score, as long as you don’t close long-term accounts you need. In general, close your newest accounts first, and only when you are certain you will not need that credit in the near future.Closing your accounts is a bad idea if:A) You will be applying for a loan soon. The closing of your accounts will make your score drop in the short-term and will not allow you to qualify for good loan rates.B) Your debt to credit ratio increases. For example, you owe $10,000 now and have access to an extra $5,000. However, after closing some accounts you are only left with $1,000. This brings you closer to maxing out your credit and in turn hurts your report.6) Don’t Assume Only One Action Will Improve Your Credit ReportAn example of a common mistake that some debtors make is believing that paying off a credit card bill will boost their score by 50 points, while closing an unused credit account will result in 20 more points. Improving your credit report is certainly not this simple. How much any one action will affect your credit score is impossible to gauge. It will depend on multiple factors, including your current credit score, and which credit bureau is calculating it. In general, the higher your credit score, the more small factors – such as one unpaid bill – will affect you. When repairing the score on your credit report, you should not equate specific credit repair actions with numbers. The idea is to do as many things as you can to improve your credit report.7) Having No Loans & No Debt Will Not Improve Your Credit ReportSome people make the mistake of believing that owing no money, having no credit cards, and avoiding the whole world of credit will help improve the score on their credit report. In reality, the opposite is true. Lenders want to know about your past ability to handle credit, and the only way they can tell is by the score on your credit report. Having no credit at all can actually be worse for your credit score than having a few credit accounts that you pay off on time. If you currently have no credit accounts at all, opening a low balance credit card can actually boost your credit score.Think of your credit report like a basketball game. The player who scores many points in every game is considered to be a great player, and will receive higher financial rewards than those who only score a few points. Those who don’t even play basketball have no scores to “report” to the game officials. In the world of credit reports, the debtor who scores the most points is someone who pays off their credit accounts every month. They will receive financial rewards through easier access to loans and lower interest rates, while those who have no credit accounts have a very low credit score.8) Never Do Anything Illegal To Repair Your Credit ReportIt seems pretty obvious, but plenty of people make the mistake of lying about their credit score or even falsifying their loan applications because they are ashamed of a bad score. Not only is this illegal, but it is also completely ineffective at repairing your credit report. Your credit score is easy to check and, not only will you not fool lenders by lying on your credit report, but you may actually face legal action as a result of your dishonesty.