Laura Ramos [Posted by Laura Ramos]

Thanksgiving is next week, and it marks the start of the mad dash to
the end of the year. As I look towards 2010, I see B2B marketers, in
the tech industry and elsewhere, face increasing pressure to reach
decision-makers, justify spending, and deliver high-quality leads to an
increasingly dissatisfied sales organization. Compounding these demands
is a lingering recession and increasing pressure from product
commoditization, new business models, functional outsourcing, and a social groundswell where buyers turn to peers to validate purchase decisions.

To turn these changes to marketing’s advantage, 2010 will be the
year where B2B marketers must expand their focus from the intake of the
pipeline to a broader range of activities that flow across the entire
customer life cycle. This requires fundamental changes in people,
process, and technology to stem marketing’s slide into mere makeup and
wardrobe responsibilities.In my latest blog post at B2B Marketing POSTs, I explore what savvy B2B marketers must do next year.

Additionally, if you would like to hear about the 5 ways to take your business marketing efforts to the next level in 2010, check out my December 1 teleconference. During
the presentation, I will take a closer look at the forces tech
marketers must be able to overcome and why becoming customer centric,
adopting integrated marketing, better managing demand, upgrading
measurement, and embracing social is key to your ongoing success.

There is a charge for non-clients to attend, but if you reply to
this post, I will put you in touch with the right folks can help you
qualify for a reduced rate. (Yep, gotta talk to one of my salespeople.)
Hope you will listen in or join the conversation on Twitter at
#B2B2010. Happy Thanksgiving and see you December 1.