i definitely agree strategic marketing is
critical. my mistake for using the broad marketing term...marcom is what i was referring to. i dont see how sales support is marketing though.
marketing budgets have to be attached to sales to show any ROI...for this reason i say its a cost center. by calling it a cost center i am certainly NOT saying it is less critical, only making the point that if revenues are not high (ie, cant support the marketing budget), marketing folks tend to get canned. i think product planning is freakin cool, might even go that direction after bschool.
in regards to knowing the competition best, i realize there are two sides. the salesperson absolutely knows the competition best in regards to current products/pricing/positioning. marketing is invaluable in determining the competitive threats of future products/pricing schedules/market moves. so there...you made me think...
