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! In our research into Sales/Marketing alignment, we’ve noted two things: first, salespeople reject 80% of the tools Marketing creates for them. Two segments of our recently-launched Marketer’s Playbook address this divide head-on: Sales support tools. Cornerstones B2B Marketing Marketing Communications Sales SupportWhat’s going on?” Collateral development. 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 >>

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of moderating a great panel conversation on the use of social media in B2B sales and marketing.  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. Integrating social media into the sales pipe.  The panelists included Anne Plese from Cisco, Tom Vaughn from Microsoft, and Ari Newman from Jive Software. And so much of it!  MORE >>

claim to want to be engaged, but the proof is in the pudding: in the consumer space, brand loyalty and purchase stickiness is negatively correlated with high-information “engagement” strategies , and business customers are eschewing Sales contact until nearly 60% of the purchase process is complete. 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! MORE >>

Integrate Sales Force Knowledge: This might sound basic, but many companies are yet to fully utilize the benefits of using the knowledge their sales force has about their customers. Cornerstones B2B Marketing Customer Understanding Sales SupportHow 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. MORE >>