Customer Message Management: Increasing Marketing?s Impact on Selling

In today's complex market, product advantage is fleeting. It is no longer what you sell, but how you sell it - meaning it is now vital to bridge the gap between sales and marketing. CUSTOMER MESSAGE MANAGEMENT does just that, eradicating the disconnect that for years has plagued the two departments and, in the process, increasing the effectiveness of both. With its thorough, practical coverage of CMM, this comprehensive guidebook gives readers invaluable insight into how to create effective brand, marketing, and sales messaging based on customer business roles and goals. It also equips readers with the skills to deliver those messages efficiently and effectively across all selling touch-points in a way that can be personalized for each prospect and customer. More than just creating customer-ready messages for the sales force to use, CMM helps companies discern how best to create messages, stimulate conversations, and continue customer dialogues that activate purchase intent.

TIM RIESTERER, CEO of Customer Message Management (CMM), developed this approach for creating more customer-relevant messaging and sales-ready marketing, communications, and sales support. He has lead CMM initiatives for world-class companies such as American Express, Manpower, Caterpillar, FedEx, ADP, AmerisourceBergen, HP, Oce Systems, Unisys, and others. Tim has presented training seminars on the CMM approach for more than 1,000 companies and 19,000 participants over the last three years. Together with the American Marketing Association, he has created the Customer Message Management Leadership Series (www.marketingpower.com/cmm), which produces webcasts, Internet radio broadcasts, regional conferences, newsletters, and reports dedicated to the topic. He is co-host of the AMA¿s Internet talk radio show -- Marketing Matters Live. Prior to co-founding CMM Group, Tim was Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Strategic Services for Ventaso, a provider of sales and marketing effectiveness software and consulting services. Tim also was president and CEO of Brady Marketing Group, a 60-person marketing communications services firm, specializing in B2B clients.

DIANE EMO is the president and co-founder of Customer Message Management. She co-developed the CMM approach for creating more customer-focused, sales-ready marketing, communications, and sales support. She has led CMM initiatives for companies such as Caterpillar, Experian, SAS Institute, AmerisourceBergen, Cisco, IBM Canada, Covance, Galileo/Cendant, and ChartOne. Diane is the American Marketing Association¿s training program designer and lead instructor for marketing and sales integration, and has taught the CMM process to hundreds of AMA members and marketing practitioners in world-class companies. Prior to co-founding Customer Message Management, Diane was the vice president of market development with Ventaso, a San Francisco-based provider of sales and marketing effectiveness software and consulting services.