I was reading Marketing News (the American Marketing Associations' magazine) recently, the 5.30.09 issue on Measuring, and I came across an interesting quote in their "Measure Up" article (you need to be a member to access the article)Â on the return on marketing investment (ROMI):Â
"Marketing is in the process of maturing from a communications function to a business function." (Tom O'Toole, adviser with Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Inc.)Â
Say what?Â
The first concern I have with this limiting comment is that marketing has never only been a communications function. Let's not forget that there are 4 P's in the traditional marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion). Yes, I get that the statement was used to, perhaps, make a valid point that marketing needs to be an "accounting line item for ROI (i.e. business function)." But from a business perspective, all 4 P's have always been measureable (in one form or another) and those managing these functions can and should be held accountable for their budgets, spending and ROI (if we spent X, what was the return). Is there a communications aspect with all 4 Ps? Sure people always communicate, right? But let's assume with this particular statement Mr. O'Toole is addressing the "Promotion" aspect of marketing and equating "communications" to things like advertising, direct mail, online, interactive, PR, etc.Â
The second is that even if we look at marketing promotions alone, accountability isn't anything new and any marketing communications manager, VP or CMO that isn't measuring marketing communications objectives (and campaigns) is doing a complete disservice to the profession and the company (that business function referred to in the comment). That said I get that marketers struggle with planning, measuring ROI and dealing with accountablity. It's also tough to work within a corporate mindset (client- or agency-side) that if a campaign doesn't bring in positive ROI (and lots of press or leads) marketers might face retribution instead of redirection. (BTW, we need to change that mindset.) I also understand that a lot of marketing management skips the important step of planning at all.Â
From a measurement and communications perspective, marketing has many aspects that need to be considered, understood and―more importantly―bridged by tearing down marketing silos so that marketers work together AND have experience across the mix. For example, often product managers & product marketers determine the product/service and pricing long before marcom folks are tapped into for promotion. And business development folks determine the distribution (place) for the product. And it's the marketing researchers that help the product managers & product marketers (and sometimes the marcom folks) to determine the product/service or if there's even a market for it in the first place. I could go on with lots of combinations, but you get my point. It's marketing management's job to ask the basic questions like "did that supply chain partner help to reduce costs, increase sales and justify the marketing communications costs of selecting them as a business partner?" or "did the marketing research we conducted help the product marketers prove that there was a market for our new product and was that research built into the price of the product?"Â
I am sure by now you are thinking "Beth, so what does all of this have to do with social media?!" Well, I have noticed a trend that people are stating, thinking or promoting that social media will replace all the corporate (and agency) ills of marketing and that just isn't the case.Â
I wanted to demonstrated that marketing is complex and isn't just about communications (I hope I accomplished that in a simple manner...otherwise you'd be here all day reading a textbook or 10). As well, many marketing functions reside outside of the marketing communications department. And yet, they all need to work together, like well oiled gears. So while I do think social media (the tools and the concept) can help enhance all of the 4 Ps, it definitely won't replace them. Saying that is equivalent to saying social media will replace accounting or HR.Â
My question is this... if you think that social media will replace marketing, share with us how you think it will replace all the four Ps and how you will measure the return.
[Image: iStock]
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