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I first studied the rise of the marketing operations (MO) function early in 2005; and MO professionals and teams have made significant progress since then. However, much work still remains; and the momentum of marketing operations leaders' strategic impact is at risk of being lost at many organizations. Here are some key findings/insight from my 3rd annual study of the MO function to help ensure the continued success of this important role in the marketing organization: 1. Make the case for an MO function that reports to the CMO if you haven't already, and leverage IDC research to justify staffing levels for this function. Based upon IDC's Marketing Performance Matrix, 90% of companies in the Marketing Leadership quadrant have one; and your position and your marketing organization's success depends upon the strategic planning and process discipline that this role brings to the table. IDC's overall guidance or "rule of thumb" for staff allocation to the MO

The archetype of the world class tech marketing organization, Top Ten characteristics: 1) The senior-most marketing leader is viewed as a being a business-person by the CEO or COO or equivalent. 2) The senior-most marketer is perceived by the other peer-level direct reports to have equal weight and reporting status in the politics and influence of overall management. 3) If it is primarily a B2B tech vendor, the senior-most marketer has an especially productive and collaborative relationship with the senior-most Sales exec. 4) The marketing organization has a good grasp of its "marketing business model"; that is, what are the ingrained programs, practices, etc. that represent the foundation to the company's marketing platform. There is an annual "rhythm" to this marketing business model so that there is a good sense, across the marketing team, of a solid operating pattern. In other words, the team does not feel as if the marketing strategy changes frequently and

Do you know how much of your marketing investment is dedicated to your channels? Not just co-op and market development funds(MDF), but also the investment in other marketing activities that are intended to either directly or indirectly support the channels. This may include "ground cover" as some people would put it. If your answer is no, then you're not alone. Few companies have a more holistic understanding of their investment in the channels, let alone their return on that investment. In addition, most channel-centric companies are afraid to modify their investment in the channels since they don't quite know what will happen; taking a stance of "if it's not broken, don't fix it". With cost pressures on marketing only increasing, this strategy will need to change, and quickly. The challenge is even greater for those companies just beginning a channel marketing program. . . trying to decide how much to invest in the channels and how to manage and tr

Marketing investment across the IT vendor community will increase by 6.1% for 2007. This increase in marketing investment will lag behind the growth rate of global vendor revenue, which is forecasted by IDC to be 6.7% in 2007. Tech marketers should watch this trend closely, and monitor their marketing budget ratio (MBR) and marketing investment change (MIC) data versus the industry. My research within IDC on marketing ROI has consistently shown that tech marketing leaders tend to expand their budgets at a rate equal to or greater than their revenue growth rate. Short-term budget reductions may improve short-term operating margins while sacrificing longer-term growth. This holds especially true for disinvestment in the brand and awareness-building elements of the marketing mix, which tend to return the best results when managed with a smooth and steady investment strategy. Here are some key guidelines for tech marketing executives and their operational counterparts for 2008: - Think mor

By Richard Vancil, Vice President, IDC's Executive Advisory Group A long-standing rift exists between sales and marketing in the IT vendor community. We all recognize the tired observations: sales is more tactical and marketing is more strategic; sales is all about the short term and marketing is about the long term; sales brings in the money and marketing just spends it. And we all know that the finger-pointing from the "two sides" gets sharper from there! Just as these misalignments and strained relationships have been long-standing, so has the tolerance of this by the C-Suite executives. The prevailing mindset: as long as the business results have been very good, a little organizational tension never hurt anyone – and some of it is actually helpful! It's a good sign that complacency hasn't set in. IDC is now observing that C-level tolerance is reaching its limits. More CEOs and COOs are scrutinizing their total cost of creating a customer: the sales plus market

Product marketing needs to undergo a significant evolution in the technology industry. It must no longer be marginalized as a content creation role or simply included as part of product management. Companies have an opportunity to lead this evolution by leveraging product, solution, and industry marketers to drive innovation in the organization and better meet the needs of their customers. Here are some key insights and guidance for tech marketers: Companies should conduct a comprehensive audit of their product, solution, and industry marketing practices and apply a consistent definition of roles and responsibilities across the organization. This should include rules of engagement for these teams to interact within marketing, with other functions (e.g., product management and sales), and across business units where applicable. (contact me to receive a free copy of our 2007 Technology Marketing and Sales Taxonomy doc which includes definitions of these roles - mgerard@idc.com ) Innovati

CMOs and their organizations continue to fall short in optimizing alignment with their sales organization, and the field marketing function offers significant opportunity to improve the linkage with sales. Based on the results of a study I completed as part of IDC's CMO Advisory Practice of the field marketing function and related processes, I'd like to offer the following key insights and guidance: Conduct a comprehensive audit of your field marketing practices, and apply a consistent definition of roles and responsibilities across the organization. This should include rules of engagement for these teams to interact within marketing and with sales. Best practice leaders achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness through global consistency: common language, sales communication and enablement, and more rapid sharing of best practices. Achieve a greater balance of centralization versus decentralization from a staffing as well as a program investment perspective. Regional marke

Who has patients.....doctors or hospitals? Somewhere along the way to the informed healthcare consumer and all that hospital advertising about how good they are, the newest piece of technology and the latest greatest renovation as well as how much we care about you as a person (or your spirit, whatever that means), we have may have forgotten about the role of the doctor.... and that is not a good thing..... Hospitals and health systems talk about "their patients". Healthcare organizations troll for consumers and employers through a variety of marketing techniques. Some have even entered into agreements with insurance companies under capitation arrangements for "covered lives" where they are paid a certain dollar amount per month per life to provide complete care. (After learning that it's not as easy as it sounds and losing millions of dollars, most hospitals and health systems have exited the insurance business. Good move.) Physician referral programs, RN staff

The debate heats up.......Again...... Much is beginning to be written about healthcare as it continues to consume an ever increasing portion of the GNP; as the medical care component of the CPI continues its rise outpacing the general CPI; as employers find operational costs increasing due to health insurance expenditures; the 2008 campaign...... Well, you get the picture. Intense focus will be coming over the next year as the presidential campaign for 2008 heats up, with the Democrats and Republicans putting forth their proposals on fixing healthcare. State initiatives will also force the issue, cobbling together a patchwork quilt of suggestions, programs and hidden taxes to pay for the "universal" coverage. There will be some new proposals, but I for one expect much of the same. Looking at past history, nothing will really be solved until both parities engage in a discussion of two very basic questions: Is healthcare a right or a benefit and how/who pays? These are the two

As the old song goes, I can't get no....satisfaction....... Ever wonder why in the healthcare industry that satisfaction is sometimes so hard to come by? That is not to say that every hospital or health system has a satisfaction or service problem. There are many exemplary examples of service focused healthcare organizations that day-in and day-out deliver high levels of patient and physician satisfaction. Yet, in an industry where we "serve" individuals, we hear from consumer research that it's the other guy. My doctor and my hospital is fine as consumers report general happiness with their healthcare providers. Hospitals regularly report satisfaction in the 90th percentile. Get people outside of the hospital and you hear some pretty common complaints: the food is cold; I did not know about my test; you woke me up in the middle of the night; it was noisy; the room to cold; the room is hot; and on and on. As organizations tout the JD Powers Satisfaction Award, show gr

Welcome to Healthcare Matters. Yes its a play on words. Healthcare consumes a great portion of our GNP so that matters. How you are treated by doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists, other practitioners of the medical arts, hospitals and other medical providers matters. What the drug companies create and medical device manufacturers sells matters. How the government - state and federal - pays for healthcare matters. How the insurance companies create those managed care products matter. How your patient information is stored, read, managed and remains confidential - matters, really matters. Its a complex maze of great opportunity for health and wellness. And at the same time, a world where billions and billions and billions of dollars are at stake. In the end it that matters to you, me, our families, the uninsured, taxes and all the rest. We pay, are going to pay more and when it comes right down to it - we have very little say. I have been in healthcare for nearly 20 years now- hospital