The Scratch Blog

The latest marketing insights, musings and recommendations

5 Tips to Align Sales and Marketing Ops for an Account-Based Marketing Approach

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media In many enterprises, harmonious communication between the sales and marketing departments remains an elusive pursuit. While both groups have the same ultimate goal  —  contribute to the company’s revenue  —  misalignment between the two in day-to-day operations remains one of the greatest sources of functional inefficiency. The two […]

2017 State of Account-Based Marketing Survey

2017 State of Account-Based Marketing Survey from Scratch Marketing + Media and demandDrive Scratch Marketing + Media, along with our friends at demandDrive, are pleased to announce that our joint 2017 State of Account-Based Marketing Survey is now collecting responses. We’re soliciting input from the sales and marketing organizations in B2B companies of all shapes […]

Sales Acceleration: What D&B’s Acquisition of Avention Means for B2B Marketers

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media Dun & Bradstreet announced this week it has purchased Avention. This is big news for B2B marketing, and specifically for the growing sales acceleration market. Knowing Avention first hand, it makes perfect sense for D&B  —  B2B marketing is being completely redefined yet again. Account-based marketing and selling are […]

Three Principles of Marketing the Future

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media More than 50 years ago, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that computing power would increase at an exponential rate. The anticipated rate of change has been refined since his first declaration back in 1965, but half a century later, Moore’s Law (as it came to be known) continues […]

7 Trends That Powered Account-Based Marketing in 2016

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media The roots of account-based marketing, or ABM, stretch back almost 20 years. However, it has only become a white-hot topic within the last few. The catalyst for the rapid ascension of ABM to the top of the B2B marketing food chain has been the wild proliferation of technology […]

Is Account-Based Marketing Appropriate for Companies of All Sizes?

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media It is established that no marketing plan is one-size-fits-all. But what about an overarching marketing philosophy, like account-based marketing (ABM)? Will it work across the spectrum of business, from mom-and-pop shops to the enterprise, whether those companies are the purveyors or the targets of ABM campaigns? While it’s […]

Account-Based Marketing FAQ: From Concept to Launch in Three Steps

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media Up until just a few years ago, account-based marketing (ABM) was more of an ideal than it was a scalable practice. The progeny of the “named accounts” strategy, ABM was just starting to be batted around B2B marketing circles while the technology needed to support all phases of […]

More 2017 Lessons From Inbound 2016: How To Ride the Wave of Change

By Mira Lyubenova, Scratch Marketing + Media We marketers often find ourselves too busy planning budgets, managing campaigns and reporting to take the time to keep up with changes in our field. Fortunately, events like Inbound 2016 allow us get up to speed and hear about where marketing is going from the best of the […]

What Inbound 2016 Meant For Marketing In 2017: New Tactics, New Channels, New Skills

By Mira Lyubenova, Scratch Marketing + Media Wrapping up the marketing efforts you made in 2016 can only mean one thing: New Year’s jitters as you start to plan budgets and strategies for 2017. Marketing in the 21st century changes incredibly quickly, and staying up to date with new tools and successful tactics is a […]

The Three Stages of Marketing

By Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media Modern digital marketing is about establishing brand authority. It’s based on trust, expertise, reputation, community recognition and engagement. Of course, those were all factors that went into marketing in prior eras, as well  —  but that doesn’t mean marketing is the same as it ever was. Placed in […]