Competitive Advantage through Marketing
What are the benefits of following this roadmap, both for you and for your company?
Well, as a senior marketing executive, you get to hold onto your
job, something not insignificant in a world where the senior marketing
job has been described–aptly enough–as a revolving door. Just as
importantly, you’ll be part of the transformation of marketing from a
support function to a strategic role that sits at “the big table” where
the decisions of importance about the business are made by the CEO and
the other senior executives at the company. Today, less than 22%
of CEOs come directly from senior marketing roles.19
Marketing is under represented in the ranks of CEOs compared with our
peers in Finance, Manufacturing, Product Development, Customer Support,
Operations, and Sales.
The benefit to your company are just as tangible. ROI
Marketing builds accountability and accountability in itself has been
shown to promote growth in a demonstrable way.20
Meanwhile, by using the “science of marketing” you can do substantially
more with less budget. Delight your CFO by asking not for more
money or headcount but by showcasing how you and your team has figured
out what truly works and can therefore use the same budget as last year
to deliver considerably more revenue and profits. Money that your
company can reinvest in new product development. And innovative
new products are the engine of growth at most companies.
In other words, more efficient, effective, and (dare we say it?)
visionary marketing will put your company on the path to generate
superior revenues and profits. Competitive advantage through
marketing. Now that’s a way to make marketing matter.