Latest news with #Crisp
Forbes
10-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How To Align Marketing With Real Business Objectives
Christine Pilkington is the CEO and founder of Crisp, a fractional CMO and contract marketing services firm based in Vancouver, Canada. Using data to track progress is an essential aspect of marketing. But nowadays, with the wealth of numbers available to report on just about any channel or digital behavior, measuring and optimizing for the wrong things can cost you time, effort and budget. A rise in vanity metrics (those stats that look good on the surface but might not hold up to analytical scrutiny), such as likes, followers and impressions, might make us believe we're impacting customer behavior. However, this is often a distraction from more meaningful data points. The good news is that there's a simple solution to the noisy reporting problem. To avoid misdirecting marketing efforts and obfuscating progress, focus on tracking and reporting the metrics that align with business goals, rather than treating metrics as an end in themselves. In other words: Collecting more data doesn't necessarily lead to generating more insights, and just because you're capturing attention, it doesn't mean you're driving the right business outcomes. There's a common adage in the business world: 'What gets measured, gets managed.' It's often cited in pithy praise of analytics, but I believe it should also serve as a warning to those who tend to overfocus on data without the context to anchor it. What happens when you try to micromanage too many things at once? You mistake tactics for strategy and end up missing the forest for the trees. So what should you be measuring? The specifics will differ from business to business and industry to industry, but your north star for determining key metrics should be your business goals themselves, and what is likely to indicate meaningful impact or progress toward them. For example, a B2B company looking to grow revenue might focus on: • Pipeline growth • Customer acquisition cost (CAC) • Customer lifetime value (LTV) • Percentage of revenue attributable to marketing activities, like conferences or webinars Meanwhile, a B2C company aiming to expand its market share would likely keep an eye on: • Branded versus non-branded search volume • Return on ad spend (ROAS) • Number of orders driven by different channels and activities This is not to recommend that you should only be monitoring three to four metrics as a business, but rather, to illustrate what kinds of things meaningfully ladder up to broader marketing and business impact. It is also useful to track additional metrics as at-a-glance pulse checks or early warning indicators. The trick is not to get too caught up in optimizing them, nor individually overemphasizing them without understanding their part in the broader story you're telling. Although this seems relatively simple, there's another common pitfall that many companies (especially smaller ones) stumble into: not letting marketing in on business goals in the first place. Unfortunately, marketing has developed a bit of a reputation as a cost center, rather than a revenue-generating department. This is typically because marketing isn't given a seat at the senior leadership table or privy to larger conversations about broader business vision and direction. But when marketing is empowered to operate with a clear strategic vision in line with business goals, it's able to drive business success rather than act as a disconnected department struggling to articulate its value. Assuming your marketing team has a solid understanding of business priorities and is measuring the right things to track their progress toward them, the last piece of the puzzle is creating a well-structured reporting system to communicate the relevant metrics and put them in context. Every dashboard should help marketing leaders answer three key questions: • Are marketing activities impacting revenue? • Are we operating efficiently? • Are these activities driving meaningful customer actions? Reporting systems should also measure leading indicators (like web traffic, engagement or pipeline growth) as well as lagging indicators (like revenue, LTV and customer retention) to provide a full, connected picture of the marketing funnel. Perhaps most importantly, every report should help the team guide action, not just summarize past activity. A savvy marketer should be able to read the data and translate it into next steps, whether it's adjusting the overall strategy, optimizing campaign spending or pulling the plug on an underperforming activity. Evaluating which marketing numbers matter to the business can go a long way in transforming marketing's role and impact, but it also takes a shift in mindset to drive results. A strategic marketing department will be proactive and growth-oriented, rather than caught up in individual channels and activities. So, before you dive into dashboards looking to weed out vanity metrics, ask yourself if the marketing department is equipped with the right information to prioritize what they need to measure—and most importantly, why. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lufkin Fire Department crew deployed to Smith County ahead of severe weather
LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) – The Lufkin Fire Department has dispatched a crew to Smith County in order to assist the area during potential severe weather on Sunday night. Interactive Radar Lufkin Fire Department battalion chief Jarman, drive-operator Crisp and firefighters Linam and Faulk have been assigned to Smith County with a type 1 fire engine by the request the Texas Division of Emergency Management's TIFMAS program. The Lufkin crew be prepositioned in Smith County in order to respond to any severe weather damage along with other crews from Marble Falls, Travis County, San Antonio and Wilson County. 'These crews will be assisting to protect the citizens of Texas,' The Lufkin Fire Department said. 'Please keep these men and the others in your thoughts and prayers along with the citizens they will be serving.' Check out KETK's Interactive Radar to keep track of any severe weather moving through East Texas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Woman says she and husband paid off $200K debt in 5 years: Here's how
Tinsley Crisp knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed by debt. At 31, the stylist and writer is now proudly debt-free -- but just a few years ago, she and her husband, Ben, were staring down a mountain of $200,000 instudent loan debt. "It felt like I would never accomplish this goal," she told "Good Morning America" in an interview aired that aired Friday. "I would be paying this off until the day that I died." The couple initially started with around $30,000 in student loan debt, but when Ben decided to go back to school to become a physician assistant, their total ballooned to $200,000. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt in the U.S. has reached a staggering $1.63 trillion as of the first quarter of 2025. For many borrowers, the weight of repayment can feel crushing. How this couple paid off $52K debt in 18 months But Crisp and her husband, who now works full-time as a physician assistant, decided to take control of their financial future. With the help of a financial planner, the couple created a five-year plan and stuck to it. "We said, 'This is how much we're making. This is how much debt there is. These are our goals.' And we really laid it all out there," Crisp said. From there, Crisp and her husband -- who did not disclose their total income to "GMA" -- built a detailed monthly budget and a debt-payoff timeline. Crisp said the financial planner helped them determine how much they needed to pay each month to stay on track. After five years of what they called disciplined budgeting, intentional sacrifices and unwavering commitment, the couple made their final payment and rewarded themselves earlier this year with a dream trip to Greece. "To get to that moment and to enjoy that vacation really felt like our dream becoming a reality," Crisp said. Now, Crisp and her husband are sharing their three tips for paying off debt. One of the biggest changes they made was learning to budget down to the dollar. "We really wanted to account for everything," she said. "And I mean, like everything. It came down to, we were planning out when I bought my shampoo and my conditioner. Even if it was $5 a month, just to know that in three months, when I'm probably going to run out again, we would have the money there." Sticking to their budget meant letting go of a lot of extras, especially travel. "Whenever we chose to miss friends' weddings, family vacations, maybe even extra trips to visit family just for the holidays, it was tough," she admitted. "And now looking back, I don't regret it at all, because now we're able to do so much more." Another key decision she said was to resist lifestyle inflation. "I was driving a car for over 10 years and I was embarrassed to show up to work with that car," she said. "However, I knew that I would also be embarrassed 10 years later if I was in a similar financial situation because I wasn't responsible with my money at a young age." Woman says she and husband paid off $200K debt in 5 years: Here's how originally appeared on
30-05-2025
- Business
Woman says she and husband paid off $200K debt in 5 years: Here's how
Tinsley Crisp knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed by debt. At 31, the stylist and writer is now proudly debt-free -- but just a few years ago, she and her husband, Ben, were staring down a mountain of $200,000 in student loan debt. "It felt like I would never accomplish this goal," she told " Good Morning America" in an interview aired that aired Friday. "I would be paying this off until the day that I died." The couple initially started with around $30,000 in student loan debt, but when Ben decided to go back to school to become a physician assistant, their total ballooned to $200,000. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt in the U.S. has reached a staggering $1.63 trillion as of the first quarter of 2025. For many borrowers, the weight of repayment can feel crushing. But Crisp and her husband, who now works full-time as a physician assistant, decided to take control of their financial future. With the help of a financial planner, the couple created a five-year plan and stuck to it. "We said, 'This is how much we're making. This is how much debt there is. These are our goals.' And we really laid it all out there," Crisp said. From there, Crisp and her husband -- who did not disclose their total income to "GMA" -- built a detailed monthly budget and a debt-payoff timeline. Crisp said the financial planner helped them determine how much they needed to pay each month to stay on track. After five years of what they called disciplined budgeting, intentional sacrifices and unwavering commitment, the couple made their final payment and rewarded themselves earlier this year with a dream trip to Greece. "To get to that moment and to enjoy that vacation really felt like our dream becoming a reality," she recalled. Now, Crisp and her husband are sharing their three tips for paying off debt. 1. Get ultra-specific with your budget One of the biggest changes they made was learning to budget down to the dollar. "We really wanted to account for everything," she said. "And I mean, like everything. It came down to, we were planning out when I bought my shampoo and my conditioner. Even if it was $5 a month, just to know that in three months, when I'm probably going to run out again, we would have the money there." 2. Sacrifice now for freedom later Sticking to their budget meant letting go of a lot of extras, especially travel. "Whenever we chose to miss friends' weddings, family vacations, maybe even extra trips to visit family just for the holidays, it was tough," she admitted. "And now looking back, I don't regret it at all, because now we're able to do so much more." 3. Ignore the pressure to 'upgrade' Another key decision she said was to resist lifestyle inflation. "I was driving a car for over 10 years and I was embarrassed to show up to work with that car," she said. "However, I knew that I would also be embarrassed 10 years later if I was in a similar financial situation because I wasn't responsible with my money at a young age."
West Australian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out Live! touring to The Regal Theatre starring West Leederville WAAPA graduate Zoe Crisp
Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out Live! director and writer Richard Lewis likens the stage show's titular character as the Taylor Swift for children. West Leederville-raised, WA Academy of Performing Arts musical theatre graduate Zoe Crisp absolutely agrees, having taken on the role in the Australian production currently touring the nation. 'She truly is a celebrity for kids,' the 25-year-old, Melbourne-based performer says. 'It's such a joy playing Peppa. She's outspoken and she's got a bit of attitude on her, which I think is quite reflective of that age of being four years old and finding your voice. It's quite fun being able to play a four-year-old to an audience full of four-year-olds.' Having grown up watching Peppa Pig herself with her surf-loving twin brother Harry, Crisp says they easily connected with Peppa and George's sibling relationship. 'My brother was quite a shy child, and I was very outspoken,' Crisp, who attended John Curtin College of the Arts, explains. 'I think it's just so relatable for everyone. It focuses on everyday family life, and I think parents can relate to it, children can relate to it, it doesn't matter where you're from. It's very simple, lovely storytelling.' While the production does not include the youngest member joining the TV series' Peppa Pig family this year, which has been on our screens since 2004, it does feature exactly what it states in the show's title — a fun day out. 'We go to the zoo, we go to the beach, we see all sorts of animals, there's a dancing scarecrow and we jump in some puddles,' Crisp says. 'It's very interactive and essentially like watching an episode of the TV show where the kids go and do an activity, and then we bring the audience along with us.' The beloved characters are brought to life on stage through the art of puppetry, where the Pig family are moved around on wheels in front of their hidden puppeteers, including Crisp as Peppa. A great amount of physicality and technique is required as the puppeteers control their mouths while talking, Crisp spending a lot of time perfecting Peppa's voice. 'It's very high pitched because she's four years old, so there's lots of warming up, and we're essentially speak singing the whole show, because kids do kind of sing while they're speaking,' she says. 'It's a very singsongy voice. I recorded myself a lot leading up to the production, just to double-check I was sounding like the TV show.' Crisp landed the role after working on her first puppetry job last year, puppeteering baby dinosaurs in Universal Studios' Jurassic World: The Exhibition, before jumping into the less family-friendly musical, Avenue Q. 'It was all hand puppets, and the show ran for about a month, so I got a pretty good sense of puppeteering by the end,' she adds. Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out Live! is at The Regal Theatre, May 23 to 25. Tickets at
