Accountants are taking over the Marketing Department
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Tue, Mar 01, 2011
Online Marketing brings data
We mentioned in yesterday’s blog that the marketing function is shrouded in a new era of accountability thanks to the evolution of digital media and its measurement capabilities. This new development has furnished marketing divisions with new access to data, decision making and campaigns that were unimaginable before.
Online Marketing lets you qualify
In fact, it was the normal practice that marketers had little idea how their activities contributed to the overall sales revenue in their organisation. Traditionally given the task of brand development and promotion, there were no measurement tools in place to assess how these activities impacted on sales specifically. Digital media, data availability and the corresponding measurement tools have changed all that by giving marketers the ability to quantify their activities for the first time with both speed and accuracy.
Online Marketing at times is not about large numbers
However, the temptation to get carried away with the numbers must be avoided. Huge email lists and high traffic numbers may look great on paper but it is the quality of the list and traffic that will really determine results. On email lists for example the presence of large numbers of inactive email addresses weigh down the overall efficiency of the list. Although removing those lists may make the list look less robust, it paves the way for stronger communication.
What, Finance and Marketing going hand in hand
That said one place where digital marketing is making a huge difference to quality of communication is between marketing and finance departments. In the past finance measured only the marketing department’s contribution to overall revenue but today it is also possible to pass on information regarding the financial impact of marketing strategy, brand awareness, customer retention and new customer acquisition.
Marketing no longer about feeling good
Moving forward, the success of digital marketing will be determined by measurement processes as well as internet process policies. Policies must exist across the board for measurement of factors such as new lead generation, cost per lead, lead volume, retention and awareness. So move over marketers and let the accountants in.
If you would like more information about effective online marketing, contact a member of SiliconCloud today.
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