If you've been tripping over
crossed corporate signals lately, it turns out you've got some good reasons: A new survey finds that between cutbacks caused by the economy and the explosion of new metrics and media, many B2B
marketing executives are conflicted and confused.
"Overwhelmingly, marketers feel that success in today's environment is gauged by revenue and ROI -- they know that it's about deals over
leads, and metrics, metrics, metrics," Parker Trewin, director of marketing communications for Genius.com, tells Marketing Daily. "But while they've gotten religion about the importance of
sales, they still haven't quite figured out how to get to that pot of gold."
Most say they share less than half their data with the sales department, for example, and that the sales team
shares less than half its data with them. And 58% say they typically meet with sales staff one a month or less. (Some 8% say they never meet with their sales counterparts.) And only 17% say
that being "sales driven" is their strongest skill. And there's no doubt it's costing them, on a personal level, since 44% say their compensation is tied to sales.
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Similarly, despite all the
buzz and hype around social media, these marketers -- a group of more than 500, polled by Genuis.com, a social media automation company based in San Mateo, Calif., and B2B magazine -- aren't
exactly early adopters: 50% don't blog, 49% don't use Twitter, and 25% don't use LinkedIn.
"We decided to do this survey because these people are facing an entirely new way to market, and we
know people feel nervous and challenged."
They also feel underfunded, with 33% saying a bigger budget would make them more successful, and 73% reporting that "doing more with less" is the
biggest challenge they face.