mommyjenlin

The Sales Enablement (SE) role is fast taking root at many of our client companies. But it is interesting to see that its position on the organization chart is somewhat fluid. Does the role take root in sales? In marketing? Does it have to make an effective straddle across both functions , or is it bound to get hung up on the fence between the two? Our IDC marketing and sales research teams are surfacing many good techniques for improved sales enablement. Here are some practices specifically for marketing's side of the sales enablement challenge as presented by Rich Vancil, VP IDC Executive Advisory Group. "Thanks Michael. Depending on your resources and ambitions, these SE practices are noted as: easiest, harder, and hardest. Easiest: IDC defines Sales Enablement as "Delivering to the sales representative (direct or channel) the right material at the right place, at the right time, and in the right format, to move a specific opportunity forward." Yes, there are a lo...

There are many ways to track the success of marketing's planning process. One metric that is often mentioned by marketing operations teams is the percent variance of actual vs. budgeted marketing investment. One of a few good metrics to track if your processes and systems have matured to the point of being able to do this. . . even if you use Excel today. What variance is acceptable? I've seen targets range from 2 to 10% variance. 2-3% variance of actual expense vs. budget would be considered "very good" for a 1B+ revenue company. Assuming that marketing budget allocation is optimized throughout the year, it makes sense that managers should motivate their staff to spend all monies that they are allocated; including ensuring that certain percentages of budget are targeted to specific segments, campaigns, etc. This leads to a "use it or lose it" mentality if not an official guideline. The problem with this strategy (or culture) is that market shifts requ...

Okay, are the hospitals and health systems paying attention ? With the media creating a panic about swine flu and the chances of a worldwide pandemic , now is the time for the healthcare system to step forward. Get those PR and Marketing departments off their chairs and into the media, on your web site and into community with health, prevention and treatment options on the swine flu. Leverage the opportunity to do some good for a change instead of waiting for things to happen. Okay, free consulting follows: First, get your docs together in rapid order and get them on board. Second, link your web site to the CDC, WHO, etc., and make a big deal out of it. Third, prepare some material for distribution in the community. i.e., grammar schools, high schools, private grade schools, senior centers, community groups, local employers etc., and such with tips and ideas for prevention, health information etal. That is what you do! Four, write a series of press releases and get them out...

Five or six years ago I was frequently asked the question "What is the one key metric to track the impact of our marketing investment?" Without even breaching the open-ended topic of what is ROI, I typically responded with my own question of "Do you even know how much you're spending on marketing, let alone what the return is?" In most cases the response would be a simple "no". After working with 100s of companies on analyzing their investment as well as seeing the progress that marketing operations and marketing finance people have made, I can comfortably say that as an industry we have matured significantly in our ability to track marketing investment . . . at least at a high level. (e.g., Marketing Budget Ratio (mktg. spend/revenue), Program-to-People KPI, etc.) I consider these to be operational metrics as opposed to execution metrics. ( refer to past posts for more details re: execution metrics ) Greater sophistication in investment management, wh...

Score Tied and No Extra Innings Ever think about it? Healthcare is built for a tie. Throughout the industry no one can ever get a competitive leg up. We all have the same managed care contracts, similar programs and services, even our docs go to a group of hospitals. So, in a commodity market environment, which healthcare is, and price is becoming king, how can anyone expect anything less than a tie? You can not be a clear winner, you can not dominate your market, you can not keep out new entrants. Okay, maybe for a short while but not indefinitely. Tie score, 7-7, "same ol same ol" across organizations and it may not change anytime soon. We all do the same things . Breaking the tie The only way you can break a tie is with your people. That's right, your employees. They make the difference and set you apart from the field. In a zero sum game where the truth be told, no one can really define service and quality, people make the difference. That is what doctors and patient...

While the notion of shared services is prevalent across many management functions including IT, HR, and finance, it is for many marketing organizations a business technique that is in its infancy. A marketing shared services (MSS) model offers the opportunity for improved service delivery, greater economies of scale, greater concentration and leverage of expertise, and more rapid and effective program/campaign execution. IDC defines marketing shared services as: Organizing two or more areas of repetitive and redundant marketing activities into a fewer number of activity areas that are offered to internal customers at a cost, quality and/or timeliness that is competitive with internal or external alternatives. Marketing shared services result in cost reductions and an overall increase in efficiency and effectiveness of operations. Given the difficult economic environment that we are all navigating through in 2009, tech marketers' who are developing shared services strategy should ...