What's actually going on in your industry, market, company, etc.? Eloqua hired Jessie Noyes  as a corporate reporter a few months ago to "cover" the marketing industry; I'd love to see more companies take a similar step.  . B2B marketers in great numbers have jumped on the content marketing bandwagon and embraced the idea that marketing needs to be more like media. We have to focus on providing "readers" and "viewers" (i.e., Despite the onslaught of "four simple ways" for this and "12 surefire tips" for that, it's just not that easy! What's New (otherwise known as… News!). MORE >>

Along the way, I've been able to review a number other programs with companies widely acknowledged as reference management leaders while also review industry data and talking with a batch of vendors, consultants, and program managers. Strategic Alignment: The best programs are tightly wired into the company's growth strategy and priorities to make sure they focus on developing the references and success story content that matter most to the rest of marketing and sales. B2B marketers focused on high value solutions know that customer evidence is like gold. Benchmarking the Best. MORE >>

For example, technology and consulting companies pushing Green IT need to worry about the larger debate about the value of going green. The company defined a new way of thinking about the role of technology in a whole host of social and economic issues. The brand promise is helping clients become high performing companies; Accenture's thought leadership research and publications flesh out the story with data and case studies of how this actually happens. Politicians understand this the best. It's critical with B2B marketing, too. Accenture does this with "High Performance. MORE >>

Although few companies have committed to thought leadership investment at anywhere near the level of IBM and Deloitte, the basic lessons from their winning initiatives are totally applicable to any B2B firm that needs thought leadership.  The Risk Intelligent Enterprise Deloitte's Risk Intelligent Enterprise  program also addresses some meaty concerns: how companies should think about risk at the most strategic level. B2B marketers know they need to invest in thought leadership, and many have indeed invested more during the last few years. How should we promote it? Stick with It. MORE >>

Michael Shrage’s recent Harvard Business Review post, Great Customers Inspire Great Innovations , got me thinking: Why, amid so much evidence of the power of customer-centric business, are so many companies still mired in inside-out operations? Busicom, a scientific calculator company, for example, commissioned Intel [in 1969] to design a chipset for its new programmable calculators. In B2B technology, where I spend most of my time, a number of companies are putting some real money where their mouths are. Why do we hear so much talk but see so little action? MORE >>