B2B Marketing - Hit Home Runs, Not Pop-ups
October 9th, 2007 posted by Joe SchubertYou’ve heard the 50 year old quote “Half of our advertising is working. We just don’t know which half.” Yet, it’s astonishing how many CEOs at B2B companies still accept vague marketing performance as a fact of life.
Batting 500 may be great in baseball, but not in marketing or sales. CEOs have to demand that every marketing activity has a measurable ROI. No more strikeouts. No more pop ups. Marketing objectives like branding and positioning are simply a means to an end. The true measure of marketing success has to be sales success.
In today’s Internet-enabled world marketing has to be held accountable. Why? Because B2B buyers have changed. They no longer wait for sales people to inform them about products. They are more independent. According a July 2007 survey of buyers in the chemical industry, less than 28% said they rely on sales people for information on new products. Buyers are out there on the web beginning the buying process long before your sales people call. Without marketing, you will be left on the bench. So be aware. Be demanding. Be a winner.