A shocking finding:
“80% of CEOs admit they do not really trust and are not very impressed by the work done by Marketers – while in comparison, 90% of the same CEOs do trust and value the opinion and work of CFOs and CIOs.”
This was the finding of a study done in 2012 by the Fornaise Marketing Group. In this study Fornaise interviewed the CEOs and decision makers at 1,200 large and small companies in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
The Main Reason For the Distrust
CEOs and executives are bottom line, numbers people. They want to know how much their company will get back on every dollar they spend.
Marketing Departments are traditionally staffed with creative people. Those who focus on how to express concepts and ideas in words and pictures. They focused on English and the arts in school. They didn’t like numbers and tended to avoid math courses they didn’t have to take. As adults many frequently have difficulty balancing their check books. It’s not a priority for them and they avoid it.
CEOs and executives want to know what the return will be on every marketing dollar spent. Their marketing people can’t tell them. The concept is foreign to them. They don’t know how to calculate it.
In recent years the problem has become worse. Buyers are driving more and more sales. The job of the sales rep has become more difficult. It’s a challenge for them to get in front of prospects.
A way has to be found for a business to get in front of prospects. The biggest way for this and to put the seller back in charge of driving sales is through content marketing campaigns.
These campaigns are expensive. It’s critical to know not only how effective a content marketing campaign is but also how effective each piece in that campaign is. The plug has to be pulled quickly on any content marketing campaign that is not working. Otherwise, the company is pouring marketing dollars down the drain.
How Do You Address the Problem?
The solution is easy and it comes from the sales department. Create a sales funnel for the Marketing Department. This funnel has to show:
– All of the new leads a marketing piece or marketing campaign generates.
– The number of leads are converted to hot leads.
– The number of sales from these hot leads
– The total revenue generated by the sales
– The cost of the marketing campaign
– The Return on Investment (The total revenue generated divided by the cost of the marketing campaign)
Any CEO or executive can see from a report like this how well their marketing campaigns are doing.
This sales funnel should be a joint effort of both the Marketing and Sales Departments. While marketing people are not familiar with the concept, most sales reps have been using funnels like this throughout their careers.
