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generation and communications, while sales handles reaching and developing customers and generating orders. Various frictions can arise, but the central question remains: can the heads of the two divisions respect each other enough to try and objectively share the marketing budget for the common good rather than for the glory of either of the two departments?
Additionally, the marketing planning process should include more sales people so that they have a say in the program and can buy into the plan. It also helps if marketing people regularly get out and travel with sales people to better understand customers’ needs and the operations of the sales staff.
Marketers usually only have an issue with engineering departments when they are not invited in early enough in the planning of new product features and prices. Scientists and engineers may not take into account the subtle judgments that buyers make when confronting a new product. The engineers may overemphasize features and technical jargon instead of bene ts
and values of the product. Marketers can work with engineers to create better guidance to consumers as to the product’s merits.
Marketing also often interferes with the smooth operation of the production department by planning special promotions that require manufacturing to increase the production load. This could increase production’s costs because of resulting overtime issues. Or marketing may request smaller batches of product for special markets, requiring manufacturing to reset their tools and dies. If marketing’s requests lead to higher pro ts, then their view should prevail. When this is less certain, it may be better for marketing not to make demands on manufacturing until they really can promise a big win.
A major issue between marketing and finance
(as well as accounting) involves marketing’s accountability for the financial impact of the department’s expenditures. Without a strong case by marketing that requested funds will produce measurable profit, finance will be less willing to release the funds. This, of course, produces a continuous tension between marketing and finance
because of the lack of hard financial data from marketing.
Clearly, marketing has to take the lead in making sure that relations with other departments remain on solid ground and all of the teams are pulling in the same direction at the same time. Taking steps to improve the relationships between marketing and the other company departments initially may appear tough to manage but such efforts could go a long way toward restoring marketing’s place as a key driver of business strategy.
Summary
The problem facing many companies is that their marketing departments – operationally intended to be the engine that drives a business strategy – are disorganized, unable to fully use technology, or spend more time struggling with other departments than on more immediate marketing-related tasks.
As challenges to marketing departments increase, it is incumbent on CEOs to address these situations by making sure the marketing department has a strong leader who is aware of the importance of a well- organized operation. It’s also vital that management understand that maintaining technological advantages is a constant cause, as is keeping marketers well trained to use new technologies to their fullest capabilities.
Finally, it is imperative that marketing departments work well with all other departments company-wide, inspiring and rallying all of a company’s employees to its overall cause to create pro t through providing superior value and satisfaction to its customers.
Author: Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. He is the author of 55books in the eld of marketing management, including Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control (Prentice Hall, now in its 15th edition), the most widely used marketing book in graduate business schools worldwide. His latest books are Market Your Way to Growth and Winning Global Markets
Note: This article is based on the earlier version published in Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2004, pp. 4-9 and further updated by author on 25 Aug 2015.
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