Now More Than Ever, SiriusDecisions Cites Need to Fill Marketing Skills Gap
Releasing the results of a new study that's particularly timely given today's budget-tightening economic environment, SiriusDecisions reveals that a significant "marketing skills gap" exists between the knowledge now required for b-to-b success and the amount of specialized professional training the vast majority of corporate marketers currently bring to their jobs.
Wilton, CT (PRWEB) November 10, 2008 -- SiriusDecisions, a world leader in providing b-to-b sales and marketing best-practice research and data, notes in a revealing new research study that most corporate marketing functions -- even during these "oh no, what now?" economic times -- are still putting precious budgetary dollars in the hands of team members with inconsistent marketing skill sets and little to no marketing training.
"The makeup of today's b-to-b landscape is unchartered territory for marketers," says Richard Eldh, SiriusDecisions' Managing Director and Co-Founder. "New core skills are required; new knowledge of what works, and what doesn't, is necessary. Yet, our latest research identified a dramatic skills gap between the vast majority of today's marketers -- with essentially 'thrown into the competitive pool without professional training' skills -- and the best-practice skills/toolkit marketers must have to meet current demands. To be specific, we found that 85 percent of those currently in b-to-b marketing were not professionally trained in the profession; rather, their career path simply took them there."
Mr. Eldh continues: "From a financial perspective, just how significant are our research findings? Well, for example, we have found that the 'average' b-to-b company selling a complex solution needs almost twice as many leads (15.3) to close a deal than what we would term a 'best practice' company (7.6). So, while technology enhancements can certainly help, the inescapable bottom line is that 'average' marketers will need to change and upgrade their skills."
The SiriusDecisions findings also show that while most marketing teams spend millions of dollars on tactical efforts to boost sales, only a fraction of their budgets goes toward marketing skills training. In addition, at a time of increasing 'do more with less' belt-tightening mandates from senior management, few companies could quantify the marketing function's business value."
Through extensive demand creation benchmark studies, SiriusDecisions has learned that companies following demand creation best practices contribute five times the revenue of those who practice average demand creation techniques. Clearly, this represents a major opportunity for those marketing teams that are willing to invest in the team's improvement to bring their organization up to a best practices level.
With no safety net to cushion the blow from budget cuts, staff reductions and/or poor decisions, today's corporate marketers clearly find themselves in an extremely vulnerable position. The evolution of technology has played a major role in changing b-to-b marketing, and the complexity of the new selling environment drives a need for greater specialization both for marketing and sales. As a result, marketers must be highly proficient in specific areas, lessening the need for "generalists."
SiriusDecisions is now working with its clients to address this marketing skills gap in a number of ways. For example, the firm's training arm -- SiriusDecisions Learning -- is currently offering two one-day courses presented on-site and created for marketing teams who realize the importance of quantifying contribution and direct value to justify budgets, as well as enhance the vital partnership with sales.
"These training courses represent a value component that's simply not in the marketplace today," notes Grace Kraaijvanger, Director of SiriusDecisions Learning. "There are many resources for marketers to pick up tactical 'tips and tricks' that will in slow, small increments improve their marketing performance. However, there are no other venues for marketers to learn the core strategic methodologies that are proven to increase their organization's revenue contribution. The end result of these courses is a marketing organization that speaks the same language, aligns with sales, and has the tools and skills required to execute effectively."
Mr. Eldh sums up: "We believe that b-to-b marketing is at a fundamental crossroads in many ways, not the least of which is the retraining/re-skilling of many of the personnel that staff it. Increased demand creation presence, support of the demand waterfall (the firm's visual process model for optimum selling) from cold to close, closer alignment with sales, and a host of new tools and technologies are all converging -- posing significant problems for b-to-b organizations that are not prepared."
To learn more about the study and how SiriusDecisions can help to ensure your company's preparedness, please contact Rich Eldh at reldh @ siriusdecisions.com (for more key survey findings) or Grace Kraaijvanger, gkraaijv @ siriusdecisions.com, for information re: training courses.
About SiriusDecisions
SiriusDecisions is the world's leading source for business-to-business sales and marketing best-practice research and data. SiriusDecisions Executive Advisory Services, Consulting Services, Benchmark Assessment Services, Learning and Events provide senior-level executives with the sales and marketing operational intelligence required to maximize top line growth and performance. The unique combination of thought leadership, benchmark data, analytic tools, best practices and access to a peer and analyst network allow SiriusDecisions clients to quickly receive the critical insight they need to make decisions effectively. For more information about SiriusDecisions, headquartered in Wilton, CT, visit www.siriusdecisions.com.
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