The document describes various marketing best practices and assesses the importance and competency level for each one. It covers areas such as dashboards and metrics, analytics, brand strategy, process documentation, prioritization, aligning marketing and sales, marketing budgets, marketing plans, positioning statements, websites and SEO, mobile marketing, marketing communications, content marketing, product management, strategic communications, public and analyst relations, social media, video, product development processes, competitive analysis, market research, pricing, industry analysis, customer referral programs, customer satisfaction, market analysis, customer loyalty, customer metrics, customer-centricity, customer support, market requirements, online communities, sales enablement, sales tools, marketing collateral, sales training, tradeshows

1. Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
Dashboards, Scorecards, & Metrics - we have defined metrics and targets for our programs (scorecards),
and a process to collect and report on our metrics with a dashboard.
Analytics - we have analytics software, data warehouses,reporting capabilities, and the skills required to
make forward-looking decisions (such as revenue prediction) based on our business data. 5
4
1
1
3
5
2
35
Strategy & Measurement
Brand Strategy - we have a specific strategy for our brand(s) with objectives, initiatives, targets, and metrics.
Process Documentation - we have documented and standardized all of our key marketing processes such
as product development, strategic planning, campaign execution, program measurement, purchasing,
contracting, etc.
3
Prioritization - we have a process and an analytical tool for logically prioritizing all requests for marketing
projects. 5
World Class Marketing Assessment
Rank the following best practices based on their importance and your level of competency with the drop-down menus provided.
4Aligning Marketing & Sales – we have a process for aligning sales and marketing around common business
objectives that yields dramatic improvements in marketing ROI and sales productivity.
4
3
Operational vs. Strategic - Marketing has a seat at the boardroom table, provides proactive & strategic
leadership and does more than just complete operational requests for marketing services & support to the
business.
Marketing Budgets - we utilize a zero-based budgeting approach in our marketing planning process, and are
inline with industry benchmarks for revenue/marketing spend ratios. 4 5
Marketing Plans - we have documented marketing strategy and product marketing plans. 4 5

2. Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
Positioning Statement - we understand and have crafted and refined our positioning statement & value
proposition.
Website, SEO & Blogs - we have a great website/blog that has been SEO optimized and receives adequate
traffic. 3
Mobile Marketing - we have a defined mobile marketing plan that includes a mobile website, applications,
etc. 4
Marketing Communications Plan - we have a documented marketing communications plan that includes
strategies for enaging all of our key stakeholders both inside and outside of the organization. 5
3
3
4
Content Marketing - we have a content production engine that is driving awareness, affinity and new
business and we use both traditional forms such as case studies and whitepapers and modern forms such as
infographics.
2
Product Management
Strategic Communications
Public & Analyst Relations - we are happy with the coverage we receive in the media and by analyst firms. 1 2
Social Media - we are leveraging social media channels effectively to communicate with our customers. 5 2
Video - we are using video effectively in our communications and can produce videos in-house if necessary. 5 1
4
Product Development Process - we have a standardized process for developing and launching new
products. 5 1
5
Competitive Analysis - we have a defined process for competitive analysis (e.g. SWOT) for strategic review. 3 4
3 3Market Research - we do secondary research and/or hire market research firms to conduct primary research
such as surveys and focus groups to better understand market conditions.
2

3. Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
1
Pricing - Marketing does formal pricing analysis to evaluate variables such as price elasticity of demand. 4
Industry Analysis - we regularly perform a PEST industry analysis to explore the implications of Political,
Economic, Social and Technological conditions in our market.
Customer Referral Program - we have a formal customer referral program that brings us lots of new
business. 4
Customer Satisfaction - we measure Net Promoter Score to gauge customer satisfaction levels. 5
Customer-Centricity
Market Analysis - we do market sizing analysis, segmentation, and segment prioritization regularly.
Customer Loyalty - we have programs in place to measure and optimize customer retention and loyalty. 4
3
3
4
5
4
3
4
2
1
Customer Metrics - we track retention rate, customer lifetime value (CLV) and cost of acquisition metrics.
Customer-Centric - our business is market focused and customer-centric rather than product-focused. 3
Customer Support - we have service level agreements (SLAs) to set expectations with our customers in
terms of support provides and response times. 5
Market Requirements - our Marketing Plans are based on information gleaned from real market insight and
data such as formal Market Requirements Documents prepared by our Product Marketing & Brand Managers. 1 2
3 4
Online Community - we have an engaged online customer community that we use for support and idea
validation. 4 1
3 3Market Research - we do secondary research and/or hire market research firms to conduct primary research
such as surveys and focus groups to better understand market conditions.

4. Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
Description of Best Practices Importance Competency Notes/Comments
Sales Enablement - we have an online sales portal that contains all of our sales support materials and has
analytics to tell us which content items are being downloaded, viewed, etc. by our sales team and channel
partners.
4 1
Sales Tools - we regularly develop sales tools such as playbooks, competition references, proposals, scripts,
etc. 5
3
Marketing Collateral - all of our collateral and marketing materials are up to date and accurate. 5 4
Sales Training - our sales training programs are up-to-date and follow best practices methodologies. 4
2
Tradeshows & Events - we know the ROI for each tradeshow we attend, and plan/manage our events
efficiently. 4
1
1
Inside Sales - our inside sales team is measured for productivity and keeps our pipeline full of qualified
opportunities. 5
Direct Marketing - we are competent with email and direct mail marketing and achieve open and click-
through rates above industry averages. 5
2
Advertising & Sponsorships - we have a process to assess the effectiveness of our advertisements and
sponsorships and are satisfied with the amount of leads we can generate through our campaigns. 3
Customer Referral Program - we have a formal customer referral program that brings us lots of new
business. 4 1
Lead Generation
2
2Marketing Automation - we have automated lead scoring and lead nurturing programs in place. 4
Sales Enablement & Support
2 2Webinars - we have a successful webinar program in place. We often get over 200 people to attend our
webinars.

5. 4
Sales Tools - we regularly develop sales tools such as playbooks, competition references, proposals, scripts,
etc. 5
Partnerships - we effectively manage our channel partners and have visibility into their pipeline of new
business. 5
2
Sales Process - we have a defined sales process that aligns to the buying process for our industry. 5 4