This is a great post. Hopefully you will some more . . .

My first reaction to what you are describing is that corporate America is very stiff for the most part. Looking at recent job descriptions for marketing positions on Craigslist for instance, I was struck by the lack of imagination and the rigidity in the recruiting criteria. Traditional marketers tend to forget that they are dealing with a fluid entity, human nature. Marketing analysis, although essential, can only go so far. Creativity, play, experimentation, intuition, psychology, need to have a part also.

Thank you so much for that thoghtful, kind and provocative comment!! I can’t even begin to address all the issues you raise here – and in fact that’s what I’m thinking for my next few posts

I agree that sales and marketing need to work together – in fact the basis of what I think is that sales and marketing really are one thing, just different faces – it really comes down to how companies relate to their markets and communities, and sales and marketing are just different aspects of that relationship.

I think the key for marketers is to understand the whole community – not just those on a buying trajectory (leads, in common parlance), but the trend and direction of the participants in the market (buyers, not competitors in this context) – and ALL the participants.

Understanding that leads to influence (toward buying behavior) which leads to relationship (buying) is the goal. The metrics and dashboard you describe answer the all-important question: How do I know I’m getting there?

I did change my format slightly…I left the comments link (slightly reworded) at the top and added one at the end of the post. I think it accommodates without intrusion. We’ll see.

And we’ll see as I write, and hopefully others respond, where this conversation goes…

Rather than expanding on email vs. blog comments, I’d like to refocus on the issue you raised in your earlier post: How do we measure and monitor and tweak our programs, so that we achieve the level of performance now expected of other professions (lean manufacturing, for example)? It’s no longer possible to say we can’t connect the dots, as “big-brother Internet” is able to track every key stroke. Tools like http://www.Leadlander.com, http://www.Vocus.com, http://www.MeltwaterNews.com, Google, and Alexa.com, help us all see the activity that’s generated as we embark on various marketing efforts. To ensure that our clients (and their management teams) understand the impact of their programs on revenue, Tech Image is implementing client dashboards that paint a visual picture of the results, including such things as Web traffic vs. article pladements, coverage vs. competitors, coverage by industry, positive vs. negative coverage.

Dashboards like the one described above can deliver the facts that management needs to understand PR or Marketing’s value. It’s not possible for marketing to close a sale, but marketers should definitely be acknowledged (and compensated) for their ability to fuel the pipeline and accelerate the sales process. Marketing typically has responsibility for the message, value proposition, education (via user groups, white papers, published articles, etc. ) lead generation (via advertising, PR, events), credibility/closing (via awards, product reviews, analyst and success stories).

By coming together at the sales planning table, marketing and sales can clarify their complementary roles in the sales process, and how they will each be rewarded.

Thanks for fueling the discussion, Jeff!

I’ve been using the theme as designed with little modification. I’ll try moving the comment link and see what effect that has.