A good question to start with is defining what marketing is for your company.
Traditional companies started with the declaration that “we make widgets, let’s get them sold-Advertise. If they don’t sell we have to reduce the price, or give incentives. If that doesn’t work let’s throw in guarantees and more incentives.”
Witness the auto industry.
Now the auto industry has reformed after going bankrupt. They are selling cars at higher prices than before and with fewer incentives. They are even making a profit in an ongoing high unemployment lingering recession.
What happened?
They decided that the public was running the marketing. We are in a recession with high unemployment and an economy with uncertain direction. If we buy a car, what does it have to be?
Seth Godin even said, if the market is not buying what you are making, sell what they want. Sounds simple, but that might mean you change what you are doing. Not so simple.
You have to keep molding your message until you hit a chord. You might have to modify your organization to be more responsive. You might have to communicate in a manner that gives your target audience the comfort they need to interact with you.
Until you increase the level of interaction, you will not increase your sales. What do they want from you?
I work with executives who want to develop more traffic to their websites and greater ROI in their marketing programs. They rarely ask, “How do we get more interaction from our Target audience?” Yes they want sales, but they think the answer is more traffic.
Even when you are getting more response, you have to engage the audience and then the real playoffs begin. A marketing program should be judged by how many leads become Prospects and then how many Prospects become Customers.
If executives think they are running the marketing, they may be off on the wrong track to begin with. Think of it as the customer is running the marketing. What do they want and how do they want you to work with them.
They want to see your expertise in Free Information and have you display your credentials before they engage. They want to look through the one way glass and judge who you are before they let you know who they are.
Your challenge is to give away your expertise until they decide you are knowledgeable and trustworthy. The process is too extensive to discuss here, but this is a start.
Download a Free 9 page E book on “Attracting Ideal Targets” 
If you want to get very immersed, purchase and down load the E book “The 5 Strategies for Internet Success“. Only $6.99. See More.
Two Posts that might be of further interest:
http://freightshippingseo.com/2010/08/why-your-targets-dont-care-about-you/
http://freightshippingseo.com/2010/08/respect-prospects-time-and-need-for-information/
Call if you have any questions 1-800-646-0717 or email Mark Kaplan