Articles: 581 and counting...

Summary: Do the members of your marketing team know what success means for their roles? For most marketers, having a clear understanding of roles, responsibilities, and a formal channel for advancement are critical to success in their jobs.

We asked more than 1,600 marketers about their organizations' practices regarding job descriptions and advancement procedures. See this week’s chart for their answers. continue...

Summary: Nearly 95% of marketers report that SEO has become more important as an inbound marketing lead source. In the recently released MarketingSherpa 2012 Inbound Marketing Handbook, we asked more than 1,500 search marketers about the importance of their top inbound lead sources. Look at this week’s chart for more results. continue...

Summary: We asked more than 1,500 search marketers about the effectiveness of their top SEO tactics. More than half of CMOs report that content creation is a very effective tactic to improve their SEO rankings. Keyword research was close behind, with 43% finding this strategy very effective. View this week’s chart for more results. continue...

Summary: Every marketer must "bring something to the table." Each marketing position requires certain competencies that do not always show up on a résumé. Most often, these mental capacities can be key determinants for success. Marketers must be able to integrate themselves into a team to achieve success.

This week’s chart analyzes the importance our 1,600 survey respondents placed on each of the four aptitudes necessary for personal and professional success. continue...

Summary: Our research finds that 69% of B2B firms have established value propositions, which clearly communicate what your company does, and the unique benefits you have over the competition.

In this week’s chart, see what 1,745 B2B marketers said were the most successful tactics for developing effective value propositions that resonate and convert. continue...

Summary: We asked more than 2,700 organizations whether they have a method for quantifying the ROI from email marketing programs.

Surprisingly, only one-third could answer in the affirmative. In this week’s chart discussion, we look at who has succeeded in quantifying email marketing ROI. continue...

Summary: The current data deluge, courtesy of technology innovation and proliferation, has created new demands on marketing professionals. If nothing else, one takeaway for marketers is clear – they have unprecedented access to behavioral user data. Ongoing measurement is instrumental for determining what to optimize and test.

This week we look at the top metrics marketers monitor to evaluate and improve their webpages and processes. continue...

Summary: MarketingSherpa's B2B Summit 2012 is coming to Orlando. If you are interested in presenting at Summit, the deadline for speaker submissions is April 9. Don't miss this opportunity to share your stories of success with your peers. continue...

Summary: Marketers must wear many hats, provide expertise in multiple areas, cater to many whims, and deliver answers to questions no one else can. However, we also know that marketers will either be praised or held responsible for the overall well-being of the organization’s position in the marketplace.

This leads us to ask, “What marketing competencies does a marketer need to be successful?” This week’s chart reveals the answer to this question, from a survey of more than 1,600 marketers. continue...

Summary: The all-new MarketingSherpa 2012 Executive Guide to Marketing Personnel conducted research with 1,646 marketers to help CMOs and marketing managers understand the challenges around building an effective marketing team.

Download your 7-page excerpt of that research. The free excerpt covers these key discoveries from the research:
o People issues dominate marketing department challenges
o Most organizations lack people strategies
o Marketers wear multiple hats but have few guidelines
o Marketers depend on assessment accuracy … to a point continue...