Marketing’s a complicated business, and, as such, it’s easy to tell ourselves lies – whether we know it or not. We talk to marketers every day, and here are some of the biggest, most persuasive whoppers in the bunch. Got more? Let us know in comments! 1) Our customers want to be engaged, and we want to engage them. Customers (and consumers!) What’s the message that purchasers across the economy are sending? They don’t want to talk to you – at least, not until they’re ready. Here, we recommend an approach based on bridge metrics , not strict ROI. MORE >>

How would you feel if you were served a dish which you never ordered, instead of the one that you really wanted? can imagine feelings of shock and disappointment. Switch gears to marketing. Many B2B customers today find themselves unpleasantly surprised, when companies design offerings for them that they never asked for. Customers complain that companies claim to design products “just like they wanted”, except that they never wanted it! Which brings up the question – how can B2B companies better understand and serve their customers? Customers have a desired outcome for each job. MORE >>

The past few years tested the mettle of many B2B marketers.  Economic woes brought buying to a grinding halt.  While we no longer seem to be in a “No Buy Zone,” customers have not fully returned to their pre-recession selves.  They have held onto the savvy buying behavior they acquired out of necessity when times were tough.  Due diligence requirements are still extremely high but, thanks to the democratization of the information channels suppliers used to control, figuring out what customers are up to is increasingly tough. So what are Marketers to do?  They have to own the mid-funnel.  MORE >>

(the following is a guest post from Nick Toman, head of the Sales Executive Council, our sister program for heads of sales. It originally appeared on their blog, T he Sales Challenger.). We hope you’ll read and share this. It’s a unique occasion when we get to step back from the day-to-day of supporting our members’ decisions and reflect on where we believe the world of sales is headed. Given this, we’d like to share the fundamental shifts we expect to play out in increasingly significant ways in 2012. It’s meant to be a reflective, but fun list. We look forward to your input! MORE >>

As you may have heard, there was a little dust-up today on the East Coast. MLC headquarters, located in lovely Arlington, VA, was the scene of several overturned trash cans and a mildly anxious evacuation (yes, West Coast folks, we know it wasn’t that bad – but we don’t gloat when you complain about the humidity). After safely making it to the bottom floor of our building, the team, taking advantage of the resulting structural check, decamped to the nearest watering hole – where we found the scene to your right. At 2:00 PM. MORE >>