Research by SiriusDecisions indicates that the number of marketing touches received per week by the average b-to-b buyer has grown by 32% since 2006, flying in the face of the fact that these buyers increasingly prefer to do their own research before engaging with vendors. When they are combined, these forces have without question made it increasingly difficult for marketers to attract attention, leaving them to seek new marketing channels to engage with their targets.

Enter mobile marketing. In recent years, the introduction of the iPhone, iPad, Android mobile operating system and advances in the Blackberry Web browser have made mobile Internet access for business users commonplace. According to Nielsen, smartphones will comprise the majority of new mobile phone sales in 2011. Whether accessing email, surfing the Web, viewing online videos or listening to podcasts, mobile marketing simply can no longer be ignored.

The primary goals for b-to-b mobile marketing tend to be awareness building, branding/positioning and relationship development. Direct response tactics are relatively rare because activities such as visiting/reading Web pages, downloading/viewing content and completing forms continue to be perceived as somewhat cumbersome despite recent advances in smartphone and tablet PC technology. In general, SiriusDecisions has found that mobile marketing tactics are best used as part of broad, integrated programs that benefit from a more varied mix, extended reach and additional touches. In addition to dedicated tactics, many organizations are adapting traditional tactics for presentation on mobile interfaces. The most common mobile categories currently drawing b-to-b attention include:

Mobile applications. Mobile applications are specifically developed by organizations for download on a smartphone. They are often an extension of an existing product (e.g. an interface to access a software-as-a-service offering), but also can be useful tools that align a target audience’s needs with an organization’s brand/positioning goals.

Mobile advertising. Services such as Google Mobile Ads and Microsoft Mobile Ads offer a wide network of mobile properties and applications for contextual text and display advertising. In addition, growing numbers of organizations are driving audiences to their own mobile Web sites and apps by promoting them via traditional print and television advertising.

Mobile Web sites. Mobile Web sites are designed to be displayed and navigated using the smaller screens of mobile devices. Organizations also optimize mobile device content for consumption by reducing copy, minimizing images and adjusting formats.

Short message service (SMS) alerts and campaigns. Text messages that are no longer than 160 characters and devoid of any graphics are increasingly being sent to mobile devices via SMS. While some organizations are beginning to develop opt-in text message programs, most are still struggling to create a value proposition compelling enough to convince business users to sign up for what is a relatively intrusive form of marketing.

Content marketing. Leading organizations, aware that customers and prospective buyers are increasingly accessing content via mobile devices, are developing new content creation and management processes to ensure that all relevant video, audio and text content is optimized for display on mobile platforms.

Email marketing. Since most mobile devices being used by today’s business people are much better at rendering HTML emails than they were even a year ago, many b-to-b marketers assume that mobile email design issues are yesterday’s news. However, marketers must still consider the specific needs of people accessing marketing emails on mobile platforms, including proper formatting for all common devices, designing messages to fit on smaller screens and understanding the unique situations of this growing audience.

Location-based marketing. Location-based marketing, which makes use of the recipient’s location to deliver targeted messages and services, is only beginning to emerge in most organizations, because b-to-b marketing rarely requires “just in time” messages about new coupons, local stores or sales. The most common use is at conferences and other events where some companies offer location-based services such as text alerts and announcements to improve the experience of delegates.

Sales/partner enablement. Leading b-to-b marketers think about the information salespeople need while in the field and how to make that information as accessible as possible. One common tactic is providing a mobile-friendly interface for sales information portals, customer relationship management (CRM) and sales force automation (SFA).

Slipping mobile devices into pockets before leaving home in the morning has joined checking for wallets, glasses and keys as part of virtually everyone’s daily departure routine. Thus, the time has come for b-to-b marketers to begin seriously considering how to integrate mobile marketing tactics and strategies into their existing mix.

Ally Motz

Model One: Virtual Demand Center
Often the first step organizations take in their demand center evolution, the virtual demand center is not a discrete function. Instead, it is characterized by strong marketing operations serving as a central hub that virtually connects selected portions of marketing (e.g. product marketing, marketing communications) into a cross-functional committee. Specific services include those typically found in marketing operations (e.g. data services, workflow management) but may include program development and asset management.

Virtual demand centers enable organizations to more broadly leverage specialized skill sets in marketing operations, and realize increased efficiency and effectiveness from more structured collaboration between functions. This model is also an excellent starting point that enables companies to learn with minimal disruption as they evolve.

Model Two: Demand Central
The demand central model is characterized by a highly centralized services team that focus on creating repeatable marketing activities such as data services, long-term nurture flows, workflow management, training and playbook development. For small and medium-sized organizations, demand central will be the primary demand center strategy; for larger global organizations, it often becomes the back-office organization that supports regional demand centers.

Benefits realized by organizations implementing a demand central model include improved leverage of marketing best practices, a more efficient demand waterfall, and greater consistency in the deployment and execution of global marketing programs. Also, field marketing is often relieved of some duties taken on by the demand center and is therefore better able to focus on supporting sales deeper in the waterfall.

Model Three: Regional Demand Center
Regional demand centers are geographically based centers of excellence that provide demand creation-related shared services; they often emerge from and are supported by a demand central model that was previously implemented in larger, global organizations. Services provided include advisory, assembly and/or execution services in are as such as program creation, teleservices and lead management.

The regional demand center model provides greater leverage, sophistication and consistency of marketing campaigns and programs across global regions. Implementation often results in an overall reduction in the number of campaigns created and launched because those built are more effective and easier to leverage. This model also provides local marketers with the equivalent of an internal agency, which allows them to focus more resources on execution.

Model Four: Specialized Demand Center
Specialized demand centers focus on specific industries or a limited number of companies. Services provided include account-based marketing (ABM) including both current account marketing and large account marketing, pipeline acceleration and perhaps account-specific sales enablement. Due to the narrowed focus on specific verticals or named accounts and the sensitive nature of marketing in these situations, specialized centers often define their strategic marketing contribution with significant direction from sales.

Like the previous two models, the specialized demand center model improves campaign sophistication and consistency. Services provided by specialized demand centers free field marketers to focus on tactical execution and make field sales reps more efficient and effective in their efforts to source business from specific verticals and large, complex accounts.

When planning a demand center strategy, begin by considering the unique circumstances of your organization. In the context of your go-to-market strategy, resources and skill sets in local markets, current areas of strength and weakness at central and local levels should define the specific services that the demand center will provide. If prior experience with demand centers is lacking, we recommend starting with a virtual demand center or pilot effort to minimize disruption during the learning process. Finally, keep in mind that even the best plans will likely fail in the absence of effective internal communications. Be sure to clearly define the role of the demand center model selected and ensure that all stakeholders are fully aware of its responsibilities and how to properly engage with it.

The culture of the typical B2B company is unique and provides the necessary conditions for implementing an integrated branding strategy:

• Industrial companies are typically run by some generic types including: engineers who foster autonomy and equality, loathe structure and are “technology” versus “market” driven. Or they tend to be “sales” driven cultures with little time for the disciplines of marketing.
• Operationally B2B companies tend to be decentralized in many ways – but especially with respect to communication strategy.
• Company employees tend to have a more direct relationship with customers at almost every level – and tend to be confident that they know exactly what customers need.

1. Brand variation versus integrated branding – B2C companies are notoriously successful at creating strong sub-brands: Kraft sub-brands include Jello, Philadelphia (cream cheese), Nabisco etc, etc, etc; B2B success stories are noted for re-organizing and rationalizing units, divisions and sub-brands.
2. Globalization versus internationalism – on the B2C side not only does a company like Kraft develop sub-brands domestically it also adopts international brands and lets them flourish locally; again, the most successful B2B case studies involve the promotion of a corporate brand (or overbrand) across all markets.

Some of the more high profile and well documented cases of successful B2B integrated branding cases include:

Emerson
A success story in integrated branding – previously known as “Emerson Electric” this company was once comprised of 66 autonomous divisions, known as a provider of components (about as non-strategic as you can get) and utilizing uncoordinated marcom strategies. A substantial makeover was initiated.

• In addition to a name change and logo re-design Emerson re-defined itself as the market leader in technology. All product brands were linked with the Emerson overbrand.
• The company’s 66 divisions were re-organized into 8 business groups including “Emerson climate technologies” and “Emerson motor technologies” -- with emphasis on sophisticated engineering products such as industrial automation.
• Rather than “telling employees what they couldn’t say” Emerson launched a global advertising campaign with a new tagline: “Consider it solved" – with the objective of turning Emerson into a company of “problem-solving zealots”.
• Eight years later Emerson is successfully perceived as an organization of cross-functional teams selling integrated solutions.

• The name change reflects an organizational re-structuring into two divisions.
• The add-on names have been criticized for being meaningless and confusing: “Mobility is a term strongly associated with the mobility industry which markets scooters and wheelchairs to the disabled...the word “mobile” better carries the meaning”.
• Splitting a high profile name like Motorola is thought to be damaging to the integrity of the brand: “The Motorola brand is best suited for its vast consumer business”. Some have suggested that a completely new name should have been developed for the enterprise “solution” side of the business.

• B2B companies are more likely to operate from a position of weakness -- they are competing with high profile consumer brands (such as Coca Cola and Hershey).
• Only one “true” B2B brand (Intel #70) scores in the top 100 of Corebrand’s Brand Power rankings. Other high profile B2B brands Caterpillar (#277), Emerson (#422) and Motorola (#117) are way down the list (out of 788 brands).
• Corebrand (which measures brand equity (as % of market cap) calculated at one point that average B2B scores are half that of B2C brands.

Ruth Lukaweski

As your organization plans for the upcoming year, now is the perfect time to assess whether it has the process discipline required to succeed in five cross-functional areas, and if not, what to do about it.

In this post, we share five key trends that we believe will impact marketing and sales functions in 2012, and discuss specifics around each.

1. Content Remains King
Creating compelling content that engages target audiences has been a primary focus of b-to-b marketers for more than a decade, yet most continue to struggle to keep up with evolving content requirements. B-to-b organizations realizing efficiencies and success in creating and managing highly effective content have done so through a disciplined approach, starting with assigning accountability for creating a content strategy that maps content to the information needs of specific buyer roles in defined buying cycle stages. SiriusDecisions research shows that the trend of b-to-b buyers engaging with sales reps later in the decision making process continues. Organizations are responding to this trend with inbound marketing strategies and the creation of better and deeper content to attract, engage and educate, which has resulted in buyers with deep knowledge, and well-formed opinions and perceptions. When they’re ready to engage, they expect salespeople to add even more to their knowledge, meaning that marketing needs to up its game in terms of the enablement content provided to reps and partners.

2. Leads: Volume Down, Quality Up
Marketing automation has made it easier than ever to design and execute multi-touch marketing programs that generate high volumes of responses. While this is great news, it hasn’t created the efficiencies many expected. Marketers are also busier than ever and spread so thin that it becomes difficult to do anything well. By focusing on efforts with lasting positive effects such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), automated recycle nurture programs and Website conversion optimization (WCO), and integrating those efforts with serialized marketing programs, marketers can create a steady stream of leads via sustained tactics that simply need monitoring and tweaking over time. Leading organizations are using inbound marketing, WCO and other strategies to create more leads while executing fewer programs. In addition to fewer programs, marketers should review the volume of leads delivered to sales and consider turning down the volume and increasing the quality. Our research has found that fewer, better-qualified leads result in a far more efficient sales force and contribute to improved pipeline dynamics. If salespeople spend less time reaching out to prospects who are not ready to engage or buy, they can spend more time focused on deals that are moving forward.

3. Enablement’s Next Step
While product and solution marketers and product managers have always focused on supporting field reps and channel partners, what often have been ad hoc activities are evolving into a more formalized, continuous process known as sales enablement. The core goal of enablement is simply put: Increase rep and partner productivity. Product teams, business units and product/solution marketing will continue to set business goals, define strategy and act as subject matter experts (SMEs) for their domain (e.g. industry, solution, product, customer segment). But making a person or group of people (formal or virtual) responsible for standardizing enablement initiatives (e.g. program frameworks, content templates) from disparate business units or product teams is critical to ensuring that sales resources can absorb what is being delivered to them. This function also should be responsible for sharing enablement best practices across the organization, and performing the data collection and reporting necessary to demonstrate how enablement is improving sales productivity.

4. Integrated Social Properties
For too many organizations, social media strategy still consists of maintaining a Twitter account or two, updating a blog a couple of times a week and accepting LinkedIn group members. In larger organizations, different business units or regions often establish their own social accounts with little thought or insight into what their colleagues are doing. This results in social accounts whose focus overlaps, along with content and links that are endlessly repurposed and a general dilution of uniqueness and brand – not to mention the confusion that customers, prospects and other constituents experience when they can’t find the most appropriate social property to engage with. Organizations should conduct a social properties audit to determine the state of all of their social accounts and properties, including blogs. In some cases where there’s topic-area overlap or low levels of engagement, consolidate accounts to drive the highest levels of interaction. One of the best ways an organization can advertise its social presence is to create a landing page that lists all of its social properties by topic area to make it easier for individuals to find the most appropriate account.

5. Data: Better Buyer and Customer Insight
Data quality gets a lot of attention because it is the foundation of successful sales and marketing interactions. Unfortunately, having correct and complete contact and account records doesn’t mean much if they aren’t used to learn about buyers and customers, rather than just catalog and count them. Once data quality processes are in place and trustworthy data becomes available, use it for more than results reporting. Insights are needed to deliver the right assets and interaction options to buyers and customers at the right time. It’s not necessary to wait until a data project is finished. In fact, data improvement will never be finished; it’s an ongoing process. As data-related investments are made, look for incremental uses of data around analysis and action. Focus on “need-to-have” data elements first, then expand based on the potential value a new data element could bring to insight-driven marketing. Don’t forget to build a data dashboard to show progress.

Much uncertainty remains in the global economy, making it unlikely that marketing budgets will grow significantly in 2012. To succeed, those responsible for marketing and sales must focus their resources where they will make the most positive impact. Another key to success will be finding leverage points and preparing for the future. By employing strategies with longlasting effects (e.g. inbound marketing, WCO), marketing can deliver better-quality leads with fewer programs.

Finally, when planning for the year ahead, be sure to determine on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis the steps that must occur to accomplish your goal. While the goals may be exciting, the key to success is the execution.

Ally Motz

1. Centrally Funded
The simplest model for funding shared services is a central budget. Each year, as part of the marketing budget process, groups considered shared services (e.g. communications, internal creative agencies, market intelligence, analytics, demand centers) receive a share of the marketing budget and deploy resources using that funding to meet expected demand. Internal clients using these services are not required to provide budget for the work they request; while the services are free, there’s no mandate to use them beyond the obvious cost advantage.

Pros. This model enables the shared services team to control its own budget and make decisions about how best to optimize resources. It works when budget and resource allocations are determined based on prioritized needs, and not every internal client must get equal support. Based on various internal client requirements, the shared services group can estimate its own resource demands and maximize effective, efficient delivery. This is also the right model to choose when the objective is to meet cost, quality, process and other consistency goals by discouraging the use of outside resources.

Cons. Groups using a service without being mindful of what their requests actually cost may not be judicious in their requests. In other words, it’s easy to overuse a shared service or request “nice-to-have” work that never gets used. Another issue is internal perception of quality, especially if the shared services group is not measured or held accountable for internal client satisfaction and cost effectiveness.

2. Agency
Some organizations want shared services users to fund the work from their budgets. For each project, the scope and cost is agreed upon with the internal client, creating an internal contract for the work. A very limited central budget covers the salaries of the shared services team and some infrastructure costs, but the majority of yearly program spend comes from outside the group.

Pros. Agency models make it clear that using a resource has a cost, incenting shared services users to make judicious choices about budget allocation much as they would if using an outside resource. This model also drives a shared services to deliver high-quality work because it is competing for budget dollars with outside suppliers. This model is most effective when budget and resource allocation is not centrally mandated; shared services are allocated based on budget decisions by lines of business, geographic marketing groups and sales.

Cons. Agency models are complex to manage and require administrative support to keep track of budget chargebacks. As a result, they add a layer of cost that has no impact on the quality of service. Agency models also make it easier to bypass internal services and use outside resources, which reduces potential for cost savings and other advantages of internal shared services.

3. Client-funded
A third option is a blended model, where some budget is allocated centrally and some is charged back to internal clients via budget or personnel allocation. Chargebacks are used for situations where the request exceeds what’s budgeted, or outside services are required to fulfill the request.

Pros. The client-funded approach balances efficient central management with recognition that additional help may be needed to deliver the best work. It keeps the shared services group accountable for service quality because some funding is at the customer’s discretion. Since central funding is higher than in the agency model, the cost of the services is subsidized, making it more difficult for internal groups to justify taking budget outside. This model works best when geographies or business units are autonomous, but marketing wants to establish some central efficiency for commonly used services. This client-funded model can also help marketing organizations to reduce dependency on a multitude of outsourced service providers, manage these relationships centrally and decide what services should be brought in-house.

Cons. In the client-funded model, discretionary funding is easily withheld or reallocated. The risk is that the shared services group will be funded at a minimal level but will not be utilized or supported by internal clients, which instead decide to outsource or do the work themselves. If the organization wants to drive process consistency and encourage the use of central shared services, a client-funded model slows down that change by allowing variability.

The goal of marketing shared services is to provide equal or better services to what can be found outside the company for lower cost, with the benefit of central oversight and consistency. If quality and utilization are deficient, the budget model doesn’t matter. The shared services group can easily become an underutilized resource and a drain on resources and profits, while internal clients continue to do things their own way. Shared services groups must pay attention first to service quality, then focus on optimizing how services are used by internal customers.

The recent announcement by LifeSize® of the upcoming release of a cloud-based video conferencing package later this year is a good example of how cloud based alternatives to more traditional client-server software packages are becoming available, but what does this mean for businesses? Flexibility, Lower Price and Mobility.

Cloud computing, by definition, removes the need for installation of software and hardware, and increases the range of platforms through which programs and files are accessible. Cloud computing also breaks down price barriers for businesses who are not interested in purchasing high-end telepresence and desktop video conferencing endpoints. Specifically, for video conferencing, the need for pricey hardware purchases is eliminated through cloud solutions that are centrally managed and hosted. The possibility of participating in a video conference while on the go, for example, is an attractive one. A program, file or application which can be accessed by a user from traditional platforms like desktop computers and laptops, as well as more modern ones such as mobile phones and tablets, offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of how, where and when these can be accessed. As well as the inherent benefits explored above, cloud computing also has the potential to save businesses time and money through other means, which are not immediately obvious.

Perhaps the most relevant benefit in the current environmentally-aware business climate is the reduction of CO2 emissions that comes with the increase in use of video conferencing software. Attendees at meetings are able to be present without actually being there in person, cutting out the need for travel, which also translates to savings for business in terms of travel costs.

Perhaps what is most intriguing about the rise of cloud computing is the benefits that aren’t immediately obvious. As time moves on and more cloud-based alternatives become available to current software, I think more of these benefits will become apparent. Future considerations for cloud based technologies include data storage, applications, and even entire operating systems – but opinions on these matters are best reserved for another post.

Christopher Lee

The good news is that leaders can adopt a proven strategy that builds a relevant and dynamic reputation that is right for them and their company. That strategy, which is rooted in product management, begins with the recognition that every person is more than a brand -- i.e. the way that you are thought of or spoken about by others -- they are, in fact, a product. This alters the way you should market yourself.

For example, if you were simply marketing a brand online, you would focus on shaping key messages (e.g. Steve Jobs is known as an innovator who is obsessed with perfection). You would limit yourself to being concerned with the language used to describe you, where that conversation takes place, and who you are associated with. But, marketing yourself as a product, means you address what it is you actually do -- your features and functionality -- along with how this brings value to your clients, your colleagues, your profession or your community (e.g. Steve Jobs leads one the world's most inventive companies which consistently yields better-than-expected dividends).

According to Simon Brightman, a much sought-after product management expert, "Successful senior executives have embraced a product management approach because it is based on results, profitability and the ability to adapt."

To present yourself successfully as a product means following a proven five phase process:

Phase I: Idea Generation. In this phase conduct some initial research. Also, contact relevant associations and identify those people who are thought of as highly successful. With these findings in hand, identify your own strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats. Finally, develop possible visions of you as a product -- i.e. what are some of the things that you will do and how that fills a particular market's need.

Phase 2: Assessment and Prioritization. Based on the ideas that you develop in the first phase, get some feedback. Also use friends and colleagues to help you determine if what you plan to do is actually in-line with who you are. "This is one of the most critical phases when defining yourself as a product", according to Jeff Hendler of Toronto-based professionals, The Product Accelerators. He continues, "To effectively transform yourself into a successful product means knowing your true capabilities and how you approach problems."

Phase 3: Product Development. Once you know what it is you are planning to do, start pulling together the resources required to build you as a marketable product. That means adding new skills, pursuing specialized accreditations and identifying those people or organizations that will play a role in marketing you. For example, reach out to colleagues and have them write strong recommendations for you on your LinkedIn profile. It's at this stage that you should also be developing and testing the kinds of messages that you want to emphasize when promoting yourself.

Phase 4: Launch. Now that you are a well-defined and tested product, it's time for you to systematically introduce yourself to the market that will benefit most by what it is that do. Gather initial feedback to see how you are being perceived. Determine if you are being embraced by your target markets.

Phase 5: Refine. Based on the results from the launch phase, look to refine your core offering. "Refinement and adjustment are the keys to the longevity of a product. People forget that today's iPod has gone through nearly a dozen iterations. The same is true when defining yourself as a product", says Brightman. "Collecting feedback and a commitment to constantly improve has turned the iPod into a game changing product."

Going through these steps will help you to present yourself as a product, leading to even more potential to succeed.

Andrew Brown

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the respondents to our ongoing sales forecast and pipeline survey stated that their companies’ sales cycle length is either stable or decreasing. This data suggests that the long documented trend of steadily increasing sales cycle length is finally coming to an end. While this change may be driven in part by the gradual improvement in the economy, our research indicates a fundamental shift in buying behavior is also occurring.

Many buyers are now better at self-educating, having learned how to search, source and filter the information available on the Internet. Consequently, sales is engaging with more informed and proficient buyers who already understand core features and comparisons of alternatives; what they want to know is how a product/service being evaluated will perform in their unique environment. They engage sales reps much later in their active buying process, which leads to shorter sales cycles.

Buyers are also becoming more efficient at managing the collaboration of multiple internal buying roles. While the finance team may dictate the process for requesting and allocating funds, business units drive the needs assessment and justification to support the investment. Processes for establishing priorities, gaining necessary approvals and meeting requirements for return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO) are unique to every organization and initiative. As buyers engage in a purchase decision every couple of years or so, depending on the product or service, they slowly but steadily improve their ability to execute the buying process efficiently.

While shorter sales cycles are good news when they are driven by better sales processes and favorable economic trends, they can backfire when they are driven by more mature buyers who are less dependent on sales reps for knowledge and guidance. If sales reps have a narrower timeframe and fewer interactions to influence buying decisions, the selling organization’s leverage over these outcomes will be reduced unless it takes effective countermeasures.

Bad News Equals Opportunity
By adapting aggressively to the requirements of mature buyers, b-to-b organizations can turn the potential bad news of shorter sales cycles into competitive opportunity. Below are three strategies that organizations should consider:

1. Bad news: Buyers are able to source information freely from multiple independent sources before engaging with sales.
Opportunity: Progressive marketing teams must construct dynamic web experiences to guide and inform the buyer, stimulate inquiries and identify buyers entering into an active buying cycle. Marketing should inform sales about the buyer’s previous behaviors and activities when passing marketing qualified leads to sales, analyze and educate reps about competitors’ and third-party Web resources, and share what sales should expect the buyer to know. Sales and marketing should build and link common value messages based on a buyer’s online experience, giving the salesperson an advantage over poorly integrated competitive sales and marketing functions.

2. Bad news: Shorter sales cycles result in fewer interactions for the sales rep to influence the decision.
Opportunity: Sales organizations should track sales cycle length by sales stage to identify when, where and how buyers engage with sales. It should then refine sales processes to ensure the right set of selling activities are in place to synchronize with buyers’ needs and increase the impact of the reduced number of interactions. Messaging or targeted playbooks based on buyer profiles should be developed to provide the sales rep with the information needed to maintain his or her knowledge advantage when selling to a more mature buyer.

3. Bad news: While sales cycles are shorter, sales capacity (the number of deals that the sales force actively manages) hasn’t increased.
Opportunity: As informed buyers engage with sales later in the buying process, sales can defer to marketing to take more responsibility for educating future prospects and passing the results to sales when these prospects enter into an active buying phase. Sales can then fine-tune its qualification criteria to focus on deals that are already active and more likely to close, reducing the amount of time spent chasing “no decisions” and increasing the number of active deals in the pipeline.

Due to today’s increasingly knowledgeable and prepared buyer, the long-established trend of expanding sales cycles may be stabilizing or reversing. Shorter sales cycles for mature buying organizations are in fact the result of these companies’ effective use of technology and consistent buying processes to drive better, more efficient decisionmaking. B-to-b organizations must likewise exploit technology and optimize their sales and marketing processes to meet the needs of empowered buyers and increase rather than decrease their leverage over buying decisions.

Ally Motz

Introduction

“The reconstruction of the organization to create demand, rather than to manage it.”

“A significant reallocation of marketing attention and spending from branding and advertising to field marketing and sales enablement.”

“A reality that prospects find you when they’re ready – inbound marketing needs a bigger slice of most plans.”

“A push by the executive suite to drive greater synergies between sales and marketing.”

Each of the above statements is an example of a significant shift that has occurred within the b2b environment over the past five years. The question is, in what state have these changes – and others like them - left sales and marketing?

A new approach

During the early 1950s, the Japanese developed a new manufacturing approach based on just-in- time delivery, lower inventory, continuous improvement and customer value. Considered radical at the time, the concept of “lean manufacturing” (the term describing this system) is now widely accepted, with lean companies successfully enhancing quality while at the same time reducing cost.

Based on the findings of SiriusDecisions’ most recent study of b2b sales and marketing leaders’ pipeline and forecast practices, top-performing companies are replacing the traditional “more is more” sales pipeline approach with an emphasis on higher-quality leads and more accurate forecasting.

The study findings, based on responses from b2b sales and marketing leaders from diverse global industries, revealed that it may be time to revisit traditional approaches to pipeline management and consider the value of lean principles:

- Companies mandating tighter pipelines had a better close rate. Companies that manage pipeline-to-quota ratios of three or less had a close rate that was 32 percent better than their peers managing pipelines of four or more. “Less” improves pipeline quality.

- Companies mandating tighter pipelines had significantly more reps at plan. Approximately 57 percent of the companies with pipeline-to-quota ratios of three or less reported that they had at least 60 percent of their reps at plan or better, compared to only 37 percent of the “four or more” respondents. “Less” improves sales productivity.

- Companies mandating tighter pipelines had more accurate pipelines/forecasts. When asked to specify their greatest forecasting issue, respondents with pipeline-to-quota ratios of four or more said “lack of predictability and accuracy” more than twice as often as the group with lower ratios. “Less” improves forecasting accuracy.
In this article, we take a broader look at how marketing and sales organizations can adopt lean principles to create greater alignment as well as improve overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Fundamental lean principles

Lean thinking is based on four core concepts:
1. Value is in the eyes of the customer.
2. Examine the entire marketing and sales process.
3. Eliminate or minimize waste.
4. Continuously improve and empower employees.

Marketing and sales waste

Lean thinking runs counter to the traditional marketing/sales assumption that more is always better. The following types of waste should be identified and eliminated:

A. Overproduction
B. Inventory
C. Unnecessary processing
D. Time and motion
E. Employee skills/communication

Conclusion

Before embarking on a journey to lean nirvana, there are two important things to consider.

First, the Japanese concept of “kaizen” (or continuous improvement) is in important part of the lean philosophy. It calls for an unending quest toward perfection. Second is a lesson from the past: many of the North American manufacturers that initially attempted to deploy lean processes failed in spectacular fashion. They failed to apply the concept across the entire process; instead, they made changes in just a few functional groups. This will not work because productivity gains in one area can be sabotaged by lack of productivity in another.

In today’s highly competitive and complex b2b marketplace, growth doesn’t come from excelling in one functional area; it comes from the integration of functions and a commitment to process and discipline within those functions. Going lean is a holistic proposition.

Ally Motz

Teflon (also known as polytetrafluroethylene) was invented at the Dupont research centre in 1938 by a researcher working with refrigerants who discovered a compound that was inert to almost all chemicals. The first Teflon pan was created in 1954 and the rest is history:

• Ingredient branding didn’t become a mainstream concept until the 1990’s when it became synonymous with Intel – the ultimate ingredient brand: making zero sales to end consumers having created an incredibly strong consumer demand pull for its chips.
• The publication of Kotler and Pfoertsch’s book: "Ingredient Branding: Making the Invisible Visible" (2010) is creating a renewed interest in ingredient branding.
• The B2B connection – ingredient branding has been described as a "B2B branding strategy in which an ingredient/component of a finished product has its own brand which is promoted to the end consumer...it represents a symbiotic relationship between the component manufacturer, the manufacturer of the finished product and the supply chain".
• Ingredient branding is typically recognized as a successful B2B brand strategy – industrial trade names evolve to become consumer brands over time.

  "Ingredient branding hurts the top-end players just as often as it helps the bottom-end players” (David Aaker) – never has this brand strategy come under such scrutiny.

• Ingredient branding is now recognized as more of a trade-off than a sure bet – with both benefits and risks.
• Some recognize Intel’s branding campaign as a great success story but others have severe reservations: that IBM may not have benefited from the alliance with Intel; smaller PC brands with inferior products were legitimized; at one point IBM even felt threatened by the strength of Intel.

The Intel story - prior to the Intel Inside campaign its computer chips were a generally unknown component of PCs: most customers don’t see chips, many don’t understand and many don’t care about this commodity. When Intel was unable to trademark its “386” chip the company launched the Intel Inside campaign to create a consumer brand – PC manufacturers were convinced to place the Intel Inside logo in their advertising and marketing materials. The advertising results were stunning: brand name recognition soared from 25% to 80% to 94% (Intel regularly makes it on Interbrand’s list of top global brands.

The Pink Panther – the most under-rated ingredient brand – for the past 25 years Owens Corning and MGM have had a licensing agreement to use the iconic Pink Panther as a mascot for Corning’s home and commercial construction materials (especially its pink insulation products); in 1987 Owens Corning became the first company to trademark a colour, in this case, pink.

Other ingredient brands you might not have thought of – Techron (the additive in Chevron gasoline that is associated with better, cleaner gas); Geek Squad (computer support company acquired by Best Buy to reinforce its service credentials); Kevlar (better known as the Kevlar vest); Gore-Tex (which lists 85 partners on its web site including Adidas).

Ruth Lukaweski