The research is now complete and is being packaged into a white paper which will be the second in our Channel Insights series. Over the next several weeks I will post various sections of the paper. Today I've posted the executive summary to give you a preview of what is to come.
Executives Summary
Business-to-Business organizations have often struggled to fully integrate sales and marketing; whether it is merely speaking the same language or adequately aligning against common goals, the two groups have often operated independently of each other despite the fact that success, more often than not, is predicated on their collaboration.
Two recent events have heightened the need to align these two groups. First, the recession has caused organizations to be more precise with their investments, making it more difficult for marketers to procure and defend their budgets, and for sales, to find buyers.
Second, the adoption and utilization of social media platforms is providing marketers with a low cost opportunity to interact directly with customers and track their success. For sales, this means a new vehicle for gaining insight into customer buying behavior and understanding the influencer network. For marketing, this has elevated their role in helping convert identified leads to customers and provided the opportunity to manage ‘back-end’ customer relationships.
The imminent question is: How should corporations respond to these recent economic and technology trends and use new competitive advantages that increase sales, build brand equity and customers’ loyalty, and reduce costs?
The key lesson? Despite social media offering the potential to deliver an insightful customer experience with meaningful business impact, failure to properly integrate sales and marketing leaves organizations at risk of being more disconnected than ever before.
