Politics*

SUMMARY: Marketing/Sales alignment receives a lot of attention because when these teams work closely together, the entire process becomes more holistic. When the two are operating in individual silos, the relationship becomes more adversarial.

Taking a deeper look at this hot topic, this case study involves a B2B software company where these two functions reside in one person, and covers the tactics used to move a prospective customer down the pipeline from marketing-ready to sales-ready. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: With the first of two MarketingSherpa B2B Summits taking place in San Francisco next week, we felt the time was right to address one of the biggest challenges facing B2B marketers – alignment with sales.

In the conclusion of this extensive excerpt from our B2B Lead Generation Handbook, we explore ways to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with sales – focusing on how strong communications can help you build your database and better understand the sales team's strategies, challenges and insights. read the complete article

SUMMARY: "53% expect their advertising budgets to be reduced in the next 6 months as a result of the tough economic climate, and 87% of those polled are already being challenged with identifying cost savings or reductions with current marketing and advertising efforts." "Of those who are already identifying cost savings, over half (53%) believed that their overall marketing budgets would be reduced between 1 to 10%." "27% thought their budgets would be reduced between 11 to 20%,... view the complete research record

SUMMARY: The traditional marketing funnel is broken, says Joseph Jaffe, marketing consultant and author. Its emphasis on customer acquisition means marketers spend most of their time looking for new customers rather than nurturing the ones they already have.

Changing this marketing paradigm is the call-to-arms of Jaffe’s latest marketing book, “Flip the Funnel,” which officially launched with a keynote presentation at MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit in Miami last week. We sat down with him for an interview following his speech to learn more, and to outline five key strategies for changing your company’s marketing focus. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: The relationship between sales and marketing is one of give and take. But how is an ideal partnership achieved? To help you prepare for the MarketingSherpa B2B Summits in San Francisco and Boston this October, we searched our library and found in-depth information to address one of the biggest challenges facing B2B marketers – alignment with sales.

In Part 1 of an extensive two-part excerpt from our B2B Lead Generation Handbook, we begin to explore five objectives to help you research, build and nurture strong relationships with your sales team. read the complete article

By Anne Holland, Content Director

Whether we're entering an official recession or just an economic lull, it's clear that most US marketers are in for at least a slightly rough ride for the next 24 months. That's OK, when the going gets tough, it gets my blood up. I hope you are the same way!

Over the next few weeks I'll discuss tactics you can use to ride out the storm. First up: establish two current... read the complete blog post