– Steve Amedio, President and COO of Technekes LLC

Because of my position, I’m asked a lot of questions.  Things like, “What does our team need to do?”  And, “How can I get better?”  And, “What do I have to do to score a goal?”

You guessed it.  In addition to my day-to-day responsibilities at Technekes, I also coach my kids’ soccer teams.  The kids’ questions, though, aren’t that dissimilar from the questions B2B marketers need to be asking.  Staying relevant  – in an environment of diminishing budgets and burgeoning social media, emaciated sales forces and escalating sales goals — is a genuine issue.

Clearly, staying the course is not enough.  Marketers have to be vigilant, first looking inward at our own organizations – our people, our process and our technology.  I’d maintain that now is the time to break ground, providing even more employee training, more education, re-igniting innovation and making our work environments richer and more desirable.  Rather than reap profits at the expense of people and product development, it’s time to reinvest, focusing on areas that make us more able, more responsive, and more efficient.

Innovation is at our “virtual” fingertips.  The challenge is to use our abilities and technology wisely — at scale –for benefit of our company and our customers.  Toward that goal, at Technekes we have been encouraging more frequent client brainstorming sessions.  We have also established “innovation” as a key dimension in our performance management system that drives employees compensation.  We even added a new award category (thanks for the “bright idea,” Preston) to our end-of-the-year award ceremony, called — you guessed it -– The Bright Idea Award.

More than self-introspection, though, marketers need to partner even more closely with our clients.  If we turn a blind eye to the pressure our clients are facing, not only are we ourselves doomed, but also we are doing a disservice to the people who rely upon our expertise, our technology and our guidance.

This isn’t simply a matter of “feeling their pain.”  It’s a matter of stewardship.  We are entrusted with our clients’ campaigns, their budgets, and on occasion, their jobs.  We are obligated to honor this trust with nothing less than our best, smartest and most efficient efforts.

What I tell my soccer players is that they have everything they need.  Even so, winning won’t happen automatically.  If you want to win, you need to think harder.  Consider your options.  Look ahead.  Prepare.  Be bold.  And execute!

So let’s get out there.  Work hard.  Have fun.  And score a goal or two.