Revenue today is driven by relationships. Performance-minded marketers are powering sales by seeking new ways to more efficiently and effectively establish, grow and harvest relationships.

As a result, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is undertaking a new research initiative in Q3 to determine how companies can better aggregate, mine and manage Active Relationship Networks (ARNs).

ARNs create a fertile environment for gaining valuable market access, insight and influence. The ability to enable introductions, multiply contacts, engage in conversations, focus dialogs and derive intelligence, provides a critical competitive advantage.

Dubbed “Grow Who You Know: Scaling Relationship Networks,” the Q3 program will be underwritten by Leverage Software and includes:

*Formation of an ARN advisory board, which will provide input and direction for the Relationship Intelligence initiative. This will include CMOs, event marketing directors, event producers, and association executives.

*Teaming with affiliated organizations, publishers and media groups.

*Online survey of marketers to determine how they currently assess and optimize the return on customer relationships; harvest existing contact networks; and make the most of new introductions, opportunities and connections at user conferences and industry gatherings.

*Publication and promotion of research findings, as well as syndication of content through 150 Internet information channels served by KnowledgeStorm.

*Production of both a webinar and webcast to discuss best practices in Relationship Intelligence and showcase the value of ARNs in optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of lead generation, prospect harvesting and sales cycle closure.

The CMO Council will also deploy Leverage Software solutions (MemberConnect and EventConnect) to stimulate peer-to-peer interactions, appointments and meetings around its annual CMO Summits in North America and Europe, as well as across its network of 1,400 members worldwide. CMO Council members currently control more than $45 billion in annual marketing expenditures and are focused on driving yield and accountability in their organizations.