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According to a joint study by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and BtoB Magazine, the marketers’ role is evolving beyond their primary function of communications.  The survey, conducted in February and March by research firm Guideline, is a follow-up to a previous ANA survey, which found that 70% of marketing organizations have been reorganized in the last 3 years.

In the newest survey, B-to-B marketers were asked which best described their pre and post organization functions.  Following is a summary of the results:

Marketing Communications
-  62% pre
- 47% post
Responsible for Strategy / Innovation
- 14% pre
- 24% post
Drive Sales to Existing Customers
- 14% pre
-  7% post
Direct New Business Development
- 10% pre
- 23% post

While it’s refreshing to see that B2B marketers might finally be recognized for making large contributions to business growth, I’m amazed that the role of B2B marketing in driving sales to existing customers was cut in half! Plus, this function in B2C marketing also took a 3% dive. It was equally surprising that neither ANA or BtoB mentioned this change while discussing the survey results.

Have marketers forgotten that retaining and driving sales to existing customers is critical to business success?  If you’re not driving sales to existing customers and giving them a reason to stay with you, your competition will certainly give them a reason to leave. Customer retention, which includes cross-selling and up-selling propels profits.  Most surveys, across all industries, prove that keeping one existing customer is 5-7 times more profitable than acquiring one new customer.

So, why did this survey show that the marketing role in driving sales to existing customers was cut in half?  Does that mean companies don’t place a marketing emphasis on this function?  If marketing isn’t driving sales to existing customers, who is?

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About the Author: Bob Sullivan is President of InfoGrow Corporation, a sales and marketing solutions provider that enables clients to leverage resources, expand sales, and improve marketing ROI.