Can Marketing Lead to the Boardroom?

Marketers add a huge amount of value to a company, especially in an age when this sector is so vital to engagement, brand awareness, lead generation and conversion. The fact that customers now have greater choice than in the past, also means that marketers are hugely influential when it comes to delivering a service that meets the needs and wants of the customer.

With the role and importance of marketing increasing, it makes sense that it can help to lead to the boardroom. While traditionally marketers haven't made it to the boardroom, with the focus being on those with a financial management background, more organizations are seeing the important role they play.

Helps with strategy

The change in how marketing departments function means that they operate similarly to many other departments that make it to the boardroom. No longer can a company operate with each sector acting as its own silo, as marketing is now integral to so many areas of a business.

Mark Kerswell, chief executive of Centaur Media, told Econsultancy:

Marketing needs to and is becoming more strategic. Sales, digital, marketing; none of these teams can operate in isolation so we’re building the right teams, expertise and communications internally. The bigger picture is around where we should be investing across different channels and that needs strategic marketing input.

As a result, the boardroom could benefit from a marketing perspective, showcasing the importance of the sector to success.

Drives revenue

One of the biggest issues that those in the boardroom care about is revenue. At the end of the day, a company needs to be making money, and marketing is a big part of that. Idio explains that using both engagement and business metrics can help marketing to show that it does "move the needle" when it comes to revenue.

The fact that there is now more data available to showcase how marketers help to drive revenue - and that it can actually help a company save money by helping to inform customers - means that marketers have a better opportunity to make a place for themselves in the boardroom.

Knows the customer

When it comes to knowing and understanding the customer, marketers are ahead of the game. After all, it takes a thorough understanding of the customer to to create effective campaigns that deliver results in-line with company goals.

Oracle reports that Randall Rozin, global director of brand management and digital marketing at Dow Corning, said:

Taking readings from the market, triangulating customer needs and translating that into the insights that focus the sales forces and help a company focus externally, squarely on the customer and the market. This is needed at board level to counter a traditionally inside-out focus.

Knowing the customer and having the data to back up what they know, means that marketers are in a unique position to heavily influence how a company addresses them. This is needed at the top of the ladder to ensure that every part of a business is working toward the same goal, which can lead to the best results.

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