MESSAGE MAPS & GAPS

• The impact and implications of ineffective message development and mapping
• The need for marketers to fully understand and document customer solution requirements, not just product feeds and speeds
• The imperative that sales and marketing jointly define and author messaging material to ensure that marketing messaging reflects the conversations sale is having with customers, and the realities of the sales cycle
• The need for marketing to regularly and judiciously audit what support tools the field is finding most useful and relevant
• Strategic disconnects between marketing, sales, and channel organizations

The goal of the MMG program was to define and establish best practices for creating, delivering and managing sales-ready and customer-relevant marketing messaging that conforms to the way sales people sell, and reflects the conversations they are having with customers. The ultimate challenge and objective is to create an environment and processes that enable marketing and sales to work together both strategically and tactically to drive more revenue through better focus on the customer.

After multiple interviews and teleconference, the CMO Council task force team has drafted a White Paper, which summarizes the research, and provides a forum for discussion and development of Best Practices in this important area. You can also view a webinar co-sponsored by Frost and Sullivan that discusses the results of the Task Force.

The CMO Council, which is supported by publications like BusinessWeek, USA TODAY and Crain's BtoB Magazine, teamed with the Customer Messaging Management Forum on this project. We have invited Sales & Marketing Management Magazine to participate as well. The CMM Forum is an industry organization dedicated to improving the impact of marketing support on sales effectiveness and works closely with the AMA.

Listen to the Summary Report on the Message Maps and Gaps Task Force »
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