It’s Up To Us – Marketing Enablement
The job of a B2B Marketer is hard and continues to get harder when trying to keep up with today’s sophisticated buyer while obtaining and maintaining the skills needed to do our jobs effectively. Marketing enablement is not something most marketers have heard of…because most organizations don’t invest in it. I take that back, some organizations might have a quarterly marketing meeting, but that is to more synchronize marketing plans, not to train marketers or help teams develop skills to become better or more efficient in their jobs.
There is a serious marketing skills gap today that many marketers and organizations suffer from. It means that the marketing teams aren’t equipped with the skills necessary to perform well in their jobs. A lack of skills means that marketers aren’t as effective as they need to be in their jobs. It also means marketers often lack the training necessary to master new technologies that enable our Demand Generation Strategies, and this costs our organizations time and money.
The ANNUITAS B2B Enterprise Demand Generation Study showed that 55.7 percent of respondents said they were unskilled in executing Demand Generation Strategy. A recent study by Grovo highlighted the skills gap by showing which skills marketers felt they have and those they need to obtain, with analytics and email marketing ranking at the top for skills needed.
In talking with marketing executives and practitioners about the lack of marketing enablement, many are concerned about the skills gap. According to Brian Hansford, director of client services and marketing technology practice for Heinz Marketing, a Seattle marketing agency, “It’s time marketers take acquiring the right skills into our own hands. It only helps us achieve greater success personally and professionally if we do.”
In an effort to help marketers address the skills gap and take marketing enablement into our own hands, take a look at the first of three webinars, “Marketing Enablement – It’s Up To Us.” This webinar explores the skills gap, why it exists, how to addresses it ourselves, and as marketers, how to make the case for enablement in your organization. Watch the webinar today and let’s work to bridge that gap via our own marketing enablement.
Author: Erika Goldwater CIPP/US @erikawg is Vice President, Marketing for ANNUITAS