“They're asking for integration. Campaigns generally entail dozens of channels, and marketers work with different constituents and disciplines; so it's hard to coordinate everything. There's a lot of workshopping involved to make sure everything fits across different channels. But first, you focus on internal alignment. Marketers don't want to be surprised three months later with people saying they didn't sign on for something.”
“We're in an age now where marketers are more sophisticated than ever and are smart about digital marketing. They know their businesses very well, and that's brought to the forefront the need for a collaborative partnership between marketers and agencies. Agencies need to recognize and respect this, and take advantage of clients' knowledge. We live in a collaborative economy and must tear down walls to be transparent.”
“Marketers are asking us to help them align marketing and sales. Traditionally, of course, [they've] been separate. But in today's environment, salespeople are raising their hands and telling marketing that they're at a competitive disadvantage to those with content, CRM, social and other things all aligned. Sales is saying they can't do it all themselves, and are asking marketing to help. This is an uber-concern.”