The Marketer's Handbook: Reassessing Marketing Techniques for Modern Business

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCE IN MARKETING

Application: Marketing Effectiveness, Strategy

Figure O.3: A representation of the evolution of different marketing departments

The Concept

Much of the published work on marketing focuses on theory, concepts, or practice and makes assumptions about the way the function works in a firm. Most assume that there is a well developed organization led by a marketing director or CMO, able to call on financial and human resources to undertake research, manage advertising, or adjust product features in the light of rational, justified arguments. There is little talk of the need to convince organizations of marketing’s importance, of competing for resources, or of organizational politics.

The situation is rarely so clear-cut. The marketing function is often under-developed. It has to argue for its role in the organization and has to invest in processes, as well as running projects to generate revenue. Some companies do not understand their own need for certain marketing skills and restrict the contribution that the function makes, limiting it to, say, a minor promotional role. In many firms, marketers spend their time running around making PowerPoint presentations to each other or organizing the mind numbing detail of different events. This is not effective ...