Dave Loomis
Photo Cred: Dave Loomis
Name: Dave Loomis
Current Job: President of Loomis Marketing, LLC, a marketing consulting firm
Favorite restaurant in town? I love Fire at Shaker Square and all of Doug Katz’ restaurants. The food and service are always fantastic. For the past few months, my daughter was home from Chicago and cooked for us every night, so recently, my favorite place to eat has been my own dining room table!
Favorite thing about Cleveland? Cleveland has a little of everything, from a thriving downtown, pro sports teams, amazing cultural institutions and parks unlike anywhere in the country. Rounding it out are smart, friendly people. I grew up in Cleveland, lived in Chicago for 17 years and then moved back. All in all, it’s a wonderful place to live.
Q: How has the pandemic affected your business? I’ve been incredibly fortunate. I had a few projects pushed out, but also picked up new projects and should be busy through the end of the year. I already worked primarily from home, so that’s not much of a change. Probably the biggest shift is that I’m an active networker. I typically have several breakfasts, lunches or evening events set up every week. I might have had 100 meetings since mid-March under normal conditions, but have only had a few. I’ve pulled off a couple virtually, but find it’s very different than meeting someone in person.
Q: Dave, you left your role at Dix & Eaton in 2017 to go full-time into marketing & innovation consulting. Why did you decide to go on your own? I first went out on my own in 2012, forming my LLC after 15 years in an internal consulting role at NACCO Industries. So, at the beginning of 2018 I was really going back out on my own. Dix & Eaton is still doing the excellent work it’s always been known for, but since my expertise is so specialized, I find it’s easier to offer my services solo than to fit it into most firm’s offerings. Being on my own also enables me to become closer to clients, becoming an extension of their team. This client immersion is very rewarding and very effective. Most people assume consultants have more freedom on their own. It is more flexible, but to be successful, you have to work much more, not less.
Q: What is so specialized about what you do? Well, I focus on helping larger B2B firms connect with their customers. As a result, I find I’m at a fascinating intersection of technology, communication and branding. I help companies explore new products and markets as well as reach their stakeholders more effectively. More often than not, solutions involve technology platforms that require assessment, implementation and optimization. I know lots of people who do parts of what I do, but not many who have the niche experience of it all.
Q: You are a world-renowned expert on Voice of Customer. Can you tell the readers about what that is and why it's at the core of many of your consulting engagements? Sure. Voice of Customer, or VOC, has become very popular over the last decade. If I could, I’d rename the process to Customer Outcome Discovery, or COD. The reason it’s core to so many of my engagements is that in order for companies to be successful, they first have to understand better what their customers need and want. Especially in B2B, a company’s customers use the products and services they buy as tools to help complete a task. We can always do a better job of understanding exactly what customers are trying to accomplish. There are specialized approaches to gaining that insight. I know how to do it myself and I’ve trained some of top global companies how to do it. Doing VOC to check a box won’t get you far, but doing true COD will give you a real competitive advantage.
Q: What are some of the digital transformation trends you are seeing from your clients? One of my clients has 90+ digital marketing projects on their long-term roadmap. If a company has 5 good software options for each of those projects, that’s 450 products to consider. But once we navigate the sea of choices, we can finally see true interconnection across platforms, which is fueling ever-promised efficiency. Personalized lead generation is becoming a reality in B2B as website visitors can be recognized, communicated with and nurtured through the buyer journey. Handoffs to marketing automation, CRM and dealer networks work more seamlessly now. Sales people have user-friendly application assessment tools that can link to configuration and quoting engines. If you sprinkle in AI, 3D visualization and e-commerce, you’ve got real transformation. None of this is fast or inexpensive, but it can really drive improved sales and margins when designed as a linked continuum.
Q: On June 15th you wrote a blog post titled, "What We Need Now is Love and Leadership" about systemic racism. For companies that didn't have a brand activism strategy previously, Why is it important and how can they adopt one? When I mentioned checking the box on VOC above, I’d say to be careful about doing the same thing when it comes to statements on company belief systems. It’s important that what you say is authentic and grounded in action, not just words you say because everyone else is saying them. The digital marketing systems we just mentioned are ideal tools to reach stakeholders, but ideally, a brand activism strategy cuts across every aspect of your business. It should be in your DNA. It’s important because all your stakeholders care about these issues. They are the people who work for you, supply you, fund you and buy from you. If you’re outwardly focused you’ll be sensitive to others’ beliefs. If you stay inwardly focused, it’s easy to sustain the status quo. Better to practice what I call Servant Innovation. All the marketing technology in the world won’t help your brand unless your collective corporate heart is in the right place. That’s where love and leadership come in. Like a magnifying glass in the sunlight, our energy directed in the right place can change the world. We can do it one person at a time and one company at a time, starting right here in Northeast Ohio.
Email Dave at dave@loomismarketing.com