The discussion was all in keeping with MLC’s B2B research this year, Influencing the Newly Empowered Customer , in which we suggest marketers need to build conversation muscle in the mid-funnel, as customers engage sales forces later and later in the purchase cycle. On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of moderating a great panel conversation on the use of social media in B2B sales and marketing.  The panelists included Anne Plese from Cisco, Tom Vaughn from Microsoft, and Ari Newman from Jive Software. Huge thanks to Anne, Tom and Ari for sharing their wisdom.  And so much of it!  MORE >>

Throughout our current research on marketing automation and marketing analytics, we’ve heard one thing consistently from members: a pervasive belief that data and automation is capable of transforming marketing into a Taylorist function – one that merely processes inputs and spits out outputs in the form of automated campaigns, insights, and innovations. Marketing’s a complicated business, and, as such, it’s easy to tell ourselves lies – whether we know it or not. Got more? Let us know in comments! Customers (and consumers!) But the reality is different. MORE >>

“Social selling” is the buzzword du jour in the Sales world, where reps are beginning to go out of their way to launch Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn presences that help drive key marketing messages and influence the research buyers are doing on their own. Can you believe it’s September already? Here in the US, Labor Day has come and gone, kids are back in school, the pools are closed, traffic is (very abruptly) much worse, and there’s a tiny hint of chill in the air at night. What are you keeping an eye on? Let us know in the comments section. Digital backlash.  MORE >>

That statistic comes from comprehensive research on B2B buying and content marketing that we here at CEB have just completed.  In my next post, I’ll focus on what our research has revealed about what comprises truly high quality content.  Your customers live in a noisy environment.  They are constantly bombarded with messages.  You’re trying to break through and it’s tough. At best, a typical B2B supplier can expect to get 12% of a customer’s total share of attention across the purchase process. Enter: content marketing.  This promise can drive leads and consideration.  MORE >>

In our research into Sales/Marketing alignment, we’ve noted two things: first, salespeople reject 80% of the tools Marketing creates for them. It’s a perennial complaint we hear from B2B marketers: “We did all this work to put together a great sales tool/piece of collateral/campaign, but Sales refuses to use it! What’s going on?” Others get frustrated and quit. So what seems to be the problem? Two segments of our recently-launched Marketer’s Playbook address this divide head-on: Sales support tools. Collateral development. MORE >>