The lowly status report can be a great tool to boost your credibility with internal stakeholders. Give yours a fresh look with your target audience in mind, using the same critical eye you would with an external campaign.

Try to deliver the key message in the subject line or first sentence, and use a graphical format (such as green, yellow and red color-coding) to make critical items apparent immediately.

Lastly, demonstrate your commitment by communicating progress updates before stakeholders need to ask for them. A proactive telephone call or email, even if the news is bad, can save a lot of heartache down the road.

Even the most experienced marketers can benefit from outside perspective. Consider hiring a professional facilitator to run your next strategy session. An outside consultant can provide an objective viewpoint, keep discussions focused, and give internal leadership a chance to fully participate.

Marketing supports your sales efforts—but marketing itself is a decidedly different tactic. Leave the selling to sales, and focus your marketing content on help and education.

Help your customer solve a problem or learn a best practice. You’ll start building a positive relationship, and sales can take it from there.

For most of us, great copy doesn’t happen in a flash. Allow enough time in your schedule to write your draft, then step away from it for at least 48 hours. You’ll find it easier to edit and improve your work when you can review it with a fresh and critical eye.

Technology and digital transformation underpin nearly every marketing activity, whether it’s monitoring your social media presence, setting up a lead nurturing strategy or analyzing campaign results. The 21st century marketer’s job is just as much science and data as it is art and communication.

Be proactive and schedule a recurring meeting with your IT leadership. Work together to forge a constructive relationship and clear understanding of what each team needs to do, in order to power your marketing infrastructure. Consider everything from the website and social media, to CRM and email marketing, to opportunities for deeper data analysis, omnichannel marketing and automation.

Worried you’ve lost the passion for your profession? Sharing your expertise with younger colleagues, volunteering as a mentor or giving back through a trade association is a great way to remember what you love about your career. Teaching, training and helping someone else find their way yields great personal rewards.

In the era of marketing automation, analytics and big data, it’s possible to measure nearly everything—but do you know which numbers really matter to your organization?

Figure out the top five metrics that best tell your marketing department’s story, whether it’s cost-per-lead, campaign ROI or the latest budget savings. Then, make sure everyone on the team can use these data points when meeting with leadership or in cross-functional communications.

The more you can quantify and communicate the benefits of marketing, the easier it becomes to garner support for your programs.

There’s no better way to monitor the frequency and content of your company’s communications than to receive them, just as your customers and prospects do. Subscribe to communications offered on your website, for lead nurturing programs by contacting your sales team, and through other channels.

You may be surprised what hits your inbox—especially in large organizations where departments outside of marketing can distribute their own content.

A colleague tested this approach when opt-out rates began to tick upward. Sure enough, five emails hit his inbox within an hour of indicating interest—a quick fix by sequencing timing in the marketing automation system.

When it comes to planning your annual events, don’t trust memory as your guide. Be disciplined. Within 10 days of the event itself, summarize your event presence, pre- and post-show marketing, what worked well, and recommendations for change.

Use your post-show report to communicate results to stakeholders after the event, and as a refresher when you kick off next year’s planning process.

As the flowers start to bloom, take time to freshen up your marketing and sales data. Work with a qualified data consultant or firm to weed out inactive, duplicate or inappropriate records. Review the information you’re collecting and make sure it’s accurate. Prioritize your best leads and give them the attention they need to thrive.