Welcome to the B2B Marketing Directions blog.

Before a writer puts pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard - he or she should think through a couple of questions. What is the purpose and what are the objectives of what I am about to write? And, who am I writing for?

The purpose of this blog is to discuss the profound changes that are occurring in the world of marketing, specifically business-to-business marketing. "The Internet changes everything." That's a cliche, of course, but it's also an indisputable reality for B2B marketers. One of our primary objectives here is to describe how the Web is transforming the practice of B2B marketing and what strategies B2B marketers can use to succeed in this new marketing environment.

As far as the "who" question is concerned, this blog is designed primarily for marketers in small and mid-sized B2B companies and for marketing practitioners in small and mid-sized marketing services firms - advertising agencies, direct marketing agencies, graphic design firms, and print service providers who are repositioning their companies to offer marketing services.

Why the focus on marketing services firms? Two reasons. First, changes in the way B2B marketing is done are also changing the competitive structure of the marketing services industry. As the popularity and use of some marketing channels have declined, firms that operate in those channels must broaden their services in order to find new revenues. Even firms that are not focused on "declining" channels need to diversify because their clients want to use new marketing techniques and to integrate their marketing activities across an ever-increasing number of marketing channels.

This diversification takes firms into new territory and usually means they must acquire or develop new business capabilities. Diversification also means that the marketing business is getting more competitive as the internal boundaries that once separated different kinds of firms are blurring. The firms that master the right new marketing techniques will win.

Second, marketing services firms are B2B organizations. So, the forces that are changing the B2B marketing landscape are also changing the approach that marketing services firms must use to effectively market their services.

The bottom line? It's a new world for B2B marketers whether they're in B2B companies or B2B marketing services firms. Our goal here is to provide ideas and information that will help B2B marketers successfully navigate the new terrain.