A New Curve in the B2B Marketing Loop

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There was a great article on Huffington Post last week that the "M" of MLT Creative passed along to me (thanks @billymitchell1!) called "Marketing in Today's Digital Culture." The author, Patricia Martin, writes from a B2C perspective, but much of what she explains is relevant to B2B marketing as well. This section in particular hit home for me:

"Marketing and consumer services are becoming the same thing. Finding ways to help people live more meaningful, efficient, happier lives is becoming more important to brands than advertising - thereby linking the marketing department to operations."

Or the B2B translation:

"B2B Marketing and the buyer experience are becoming the same thing. Finding ways to help businesses become more profitable, efficient and satisfied with their purchases is becoming more important to brands than advertising - thereby linking the marketing department to operations."

This assertion holds just as true in B2B marketing. Bridging the great divide between sales and marketing doesn't fully complete the closed loop marketing model. B2B marketers must  listen to their marketplace, and ensure that operationally, their business is keeping the promises they make - or else, any well-planned strategic communications will lose credibility and ring hollow.

Kelly Pires is B2B marketer and an account executive at MLT Creative, an Atlanta-based B2B advertising agency.