Mals Musings: Mind Marketings Rhetoric-Reality Gap!

No profession suffers amateurs and pretenders like marketing. In many ways, the function is at a crossroads, since the gap between rhetoric and reality is glaring.

By 'Mal Barnard' on Jun 14, 2010

No profession suffers amateurs and pretenders like marketing. In many ways, the function is at a crossroads, since the gap between rhetoric and reality is glaring. If the proof is in the pudding, then it is clear marketing as a department needs rethinking.


We know what sales people do, what accountants do, and what legal counsels do. However, ask what marketers do and the range of responses varies from A to Z, from nothing to everything. Funny, the masters of positioning and branding appear to have forgotten to apply some of their magic to their own profession.


The reality is that most marketing departments are a laughing stock in their organization, notorious for big spending, travel and perks, and, oh yeah, they lack accountability because we still dont know what they do.


The damage is done. We missed the chance to define who we are, and what we do. The solution is to dismantle the department and rebuild with a different slant.


Lets review what marketing is supposed to be. The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as the management process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers needs profitably. Wow!


First thing that strikes me is that any department that does this must be the lifeblood of any organization, and surely they will be loved and respected. Somehow, the reality is somewhat different. Why?


If we review the role of marketing according to the CIM, this sounds like a job for the whole company rather than a department. I mean, can the 3% of employees that work in a department called marketing really ensure that they identify, anticipate and satisfy customer needs profitably?


If so, I have one further brainwave suggestion: Get rid of the 97% left and shareholders will be in heaven. There is something wrong with the definition, execution or role. This confusion is the main source of a lot of marketings problems.


We have bitten off more than we can chew and ignored some of the key principles that we use to manage customers and products: focus. We all know that a jack-of-all-trades very soon becomes the jack of no trade. We are surprised that most FTSE CEOs have a financial background. Well, I hate to say it but they have done a better job focusing what they do and communicating the value they add.


In fact, when we review the professional development of those that take the financial route we find that they cover more traditional marketing theories and principles than many marketers. As for the marketers, often we learn on the job with no formal training and sometimes specialize in presentation rather than substance.


Then you have the evangelists who preach marketing is more than communications but out of the big pie that we bit, thats all we have left to own and even this is not safe ground.


A close inspection of the state of marketing reveals what we all secretly know: Marketing is done by an organization not a department. A department could make sense if it led the process but most marketing departments are so far back in the decision-making room that the REAL marketing is being done by financiers, sales people and customer service personnel.


It is time to kill the notion of a marketing department. It is a joke and it is time we start holding this profession accountable. We already have clinical marketers, medical marketers, and many financial and sales marketers in reality. It is time to go the extra step and dismantle this ineffective and sometimes embarrassing white elephant.


Marketing is not working as intended. We would have one marketing leader (CEO or COO) and then we would have marketers in each of our key functions. These individuals will be trained medics, accountants, sales people, etc. Then if we needed project managers or communication experts, we appoint them and call them what they are not: marketers.


Marketing would get a new lease on life rather than dying. It would actually live on stronger than ever. Implementation, knowledge sharing, and other functions will become easier since we now own marketing and, dare I say, we have got rid of the department that could barely look after its own interests let alone the customers.


Then, when you say I am a marketer, the next question would be: Whats your specialist area or focus? To which the response can be, medical marketer or communications marketer. The approach is straightforward. If we divide the big chunk we have, we can still rule.