Bain & Co. recently looked at nine years of income statements from 200 large companies and found that more than half have increasing sales and marketing expenses, and aren't getting scale benefits from their growing size. According to the study, customers increasingly demand a tailored solution anchored in expertise about their industry or a specific function; expect providers to solve their business problems; measure value based on outcomes, not the lowest price; and have more competitive, disciplined bid processes that trump ‘relationships’.

This is consistent with what I see in my practice and the detailed report makes interesting reading.