How to Get Your Finance and Marketing Executives on the Same Page

Being on the same page is still a popular idiom used today, even though we’re turning less actual paper pages in our digital age. With all of today’s modern technology available at our fingertips, it is important that we are all still communicating effectively and performing collaboratively as a team. Finance and marketing seldom see eye-to-eye, especially where ROI is concerned. While the folks in finance are questioning the effectiveness of the advertising budget, marketing believes they are doing an excellent job on returns. How can we get these two different viewpoints focused on the same thing — our bottom line. What do experts say? According to a study by MMA (Marketing Management Analytics), only 7% of financial executives are satisfied with their organization’s ability to measure marketing ROI. However, according to the marketing executives in these same organizations, 23% say they believe they are doing a good job with measure returns. Marketing Management Analytics (MMA) found that just 7% of financial executives are satisfied with the company’s ability to measure marketing ROI. A higher percentage of marketing executives believe they are doing a good job with 23% of them satisfied with measured returns. Ed See, co president of MMA states, “Marketing executives are under a lot of pressure to show exactly how investments in the brand translate into sales. He believes that chief marketing officers who still think that effective marketing is all about brand awareness, with only a loose connection to the bottom line, and won’t last very long in their jobs. Looking ahead If marketing isn’t all about brand awareness, then we need to be looking not only at what should transpire in 2015, but what new marketing trends could change and influence our industry in 2020. Five years can sometimes seem like a lifetime in the world of ever-evolving technology. Think of it this way: In 2006, the Blackberry was being called “crackberry” due to it’s addictive nature. Fast forward five short years to 2011, where their signature device was struggling to keep up with the overwhelming popularity of Apple’s iPhone. The “last roll of the dice” for the failing company was said to be the release of the Blackberry 10 in 2011, which was delayed to 2012 and still didn’t make it out to the marketplace until 2013. This is a valuable, important marketing and financial message for both departments. What is all the rage one year can be a complete failure the next. Financiers and marketers must come together and find common ground to stand upon before they start sinking into technological quicksand. This needs to happen immediately, pretty much yesterday, not tomorrow and certainly not next year. Looking back When the marketing and financial departments sit down together, one of the first things they should be examining is the overall financial and marketing picture, concentrating almost entirely on the budget. Where exactly are the failures and successes? What tools can be used to simplify their budget planning? These are important questions that need relevant and immediate answers. Pointing fingers and name calling is for the playground and not the board room. They need to focus attention on finding solutions, pointing them towards the answer instead of repeating the question. By implementing a solid budget, tracking it’s results and effectiveness, the ROI numbers should become clear. Once these two adversaries commit to working together instead of pulling apart, the bottom line will also be seen more clearly.