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July 18, 2006
Marketing isn't broke; it's broken
Marketing departments will tell you that they are broke. Not enough money in the budget, they say, to launch a customer community effort or improve service levels. Do more with less, they're told.
But really, marketing departments are broken. They've lost their authority in the organization, yet they still think they're more important than any other department, Forrester analyst Peter Kim says in a new report, "Reinventing the Marketing Organization." (He provided a copy of the report for review. You can purchase the full report here.)
Peter surveyed 104 marketing execs from companies that averaged $4 billion in annual revenue and spend $240 million per year in marketing. Among those companies, only 15% of them have authority over the four marketing Ps (pricing, place, promotion and product).
One rather astounding finding: 76% of the companies surveyed do not influence or own customer service. Until marketing departments reclaim it, they're likely to remain stuck in an organizational rut. This has been an anvil that Pete Blackshaw has been hammering at for years. Own the customer and you'll start owning the business.
First things first: Ensure that the organization has a CMO.
Other blogs that reference Marketing isn't broke; it's broken:
» Forrester on the Era of Customer Engagement from Listening Post
Well, its actually on Reinventing the Marketing Organization. Its a wonderful piece by Peter Kim. He blogs about it here on his own blog and here on the Forrester blog.
I came across this post thanks to the folks at Church of the Custome... [Read More]
» Is professional services marketing broken? from Expertise Marketplace - Professional Service Firm Marketing Blog
Whoa -- and Hurray. I just read Ben McConnell's post Marketing isn't broke; it's broken. Even though he cites the research of Forrester's Peter Kim, it's clear Ben is pretty peeved. As for me, I am at once astounded that [Read More]
» Reinvention -New or Not New from The Engaging Brand
I was reading this Church of the Customer blog about the need for marketing to reinvent themselves. For me this is not marketing specific, every individual, every team, every profession need to reinvent themselves as a matter of course. Reinvention [Read More]
» business marketing from business marketing
An excellent site to increase ones knowledge about the marketing game. Thanks. [Read More]
Here here! Interestingly, last night in NY our firm gathered a bunch of high-powered brains in media/ad circles to debate & discuss the topic of "Attention versus Engagement." At one point the always articulate Len Ellis (formerly SVP of Wunderman) got really worked up and said..."How many of you can name ONE marketing organization where the CMO owns or directs customer service. I'll put money on the table if anyone can name ONE."
Just to provoke, I offered to double the pot.
Not a hand went up. Niente!!!!
Broken indeed, but all upside if we even start to lift a finger.
I used to tell colleagues at LEGO that if we're spending money (on community interaction efforts) we're doing it wrong. It wasn't about campaigns it was about introductions and interactions...these things cost money in soft costs, not hard costs.
They never could understand that I actually declined more money for my budget one year :) Kept me honest and motivated.
That's what I have been thinking as well.
A professional marketer should be the only person to drive a company and define the product, the target audience, the promotion and the customer service.
