The CMO Council recently published a report entitled "Closing the Gap: The Sales and Marketing Alignment Imperative." Among other key findings, the study revealed that "there is an urgent need for marketing, sales, and channel management to align and embrace technologies, processes, and programs that enable wider and deeper customer conversations, as well as leverage the knowledge, influence, and access of the channel and continuously refine the delivery of products and services in the most painless, seamless, and satisfying way."