According to a Booz Allen Hamilton study, companies that elevate marketing to a strategic level have stronger growth in revenue and profitability. Why is that? Since the study requires a login to review, I'll summarize some of the study's findings below.

The key themes for why this happen include:

1. Put the customer at the heart of marketing
   In an idea I wholeheartedly support, the study talks about how at Yahoo, the marketing team exposes senior management to their consumer labs to give them an appreciation for the value of talking to consumers and to build empathy for them. The more of this the better, I say.
2. Make marketing accountable
   Interestingly enough, the study did not have very many examples of successes in this area. It made it more of an objective without substance. I argue that you should Stop Measuring Marketing.
3. Embrace the challenges of new media
   A little too obvious perhaps. The best quote from this is from NBC Universal that "consumers are telling us they want to be in control of the storytelling". I point out that Marketers Aren't Using Web 2.0!
4. Recognize the new organizational imperative
   One key part of this is that "marketing can no longer live on an island". Marketing now has organization-wide responsibility. See CMOs: Step It Up for more elaboration.
5. Live a new agency paradigm
   As Keith Pardy, SVP of strategic marketing at Nokia states "we are moving from technology push to consumer pull, from push marketing to co-creation, from idea manufacturers to consumer experiences. Agencies (and all other marketing services firms) need to adapt or die.
6. Remain adaptable
   Particularly for marketers involved in technology, the world is changing ever more rapidly, and we need to change with it.

So marketers, how can you elevate yourselves to more strategic levels in your companies?