Author: ai7pz

  • Research Demonstrates the Financial Impact of Trust

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    Astute business leaders have long recognized that trust is a vital element of competitive success. But traditionally, trust has been viewed as a “soft” issue – one of those things we know is important, but find difficult to measure. New research by Accenture Strategy quantifies the impact of trust on both revenue and earnings. So…

  • The Unfinished Business of Sales-Marketing Alignment

    Since launching this blog in 2010, I’ve written about various aspects of sales-marketing alignment 26 times. And I certainly wasn’t the first person to address this topic. For more than a decade, most B2B marketing and sales professionals have recognized the need to forge a more productive relationship between marketing and sales, and many B2B…

  • The Most Critical Skill for Tomorrow’s CMO

    A recent article at the Harvard Business Review website argues that many chief marketing officers are at a career crossroads and face four possible futures, some more attractive than others. The authors contend that customer expectations have risen to exceptionally high levels, and that meeting those expectations requires companies to achieve an unprecedented level of…

  • What Distinguishes Top-Performing Marketing Organizations

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    A recent survey by B2B Marketing and The Mx Group identified several differences between top-performing and poorly-performing B2B marketers. Not surprisingly, the research revealed that the best-performing marketing organizations excel at maintaining accurate data and integrating data systems, fully leveraging technology, and closely aligning with sales. This survey included respondents working in a range of…

  • Why Buying Scenarios Should Be Part of Your Planning for 2019

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    The stereotypical image we have of B2B buying is that it involves expensive and/or complex products or services, large buying groups, and long buying cycles. But in reality, many B2B companies derive substantial revenue and profit from other types of sales. That’s why defining relevant buying scenarios should be an integral part of your go-to-market…

  • Focus on Impact – Not ROI – for Better Marketing Measurement

    Demand Gen Report’s 2018 Marketing Measurement and Attribution Benchmark Survey makes one point abundantly clear:  Measuring marketing performance is both a top priority and an ongoing challenge for most B2B marketers. Eighty-seven percent of the respondents said that measuring marketing performance is a growing priority for their company, but more than half (54%) also said…

  • Do Marketers Have a Clear Picture of Buyer Trust?

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    Earlier this month, the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs published the findings of their latest B2B content marketing survey. The B2B Content Marketing 2019:  Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends-North America report presents findings from 771 North American respondents who indicated their company primarily sells to other businesses. CMI and MarketingProfs made a fairly significant change to…