The news last week that a new business model has been devised to cultivate the relationships between finance and marketing departments UK-wide must come as a relief to professionals in both sectors.
The innovative ‘Infinity Model’ was conceived in 2005 at a Direct Marketing Association conference, where it was bemoaned that there was little cohesion between the fact-based discipline of finance and the airborne creativity of marketing.
All too often, finance departments are struggling to explain to their shareholders why so much money is invested on marketing campaigns, while being unaware themselves of the true value that their marketing team can offer…and in some cases, being unaware of what they actually do.
Dr Robert Shaw (Honorary Professor of Marketing Metrics at Cass Business School) researched over 100 organisations to compile the Return on Ideas report, supported by industry heavyweights CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants), the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Direct Marketing Association (where the idea started).
The fact that there are two marketing associations on board and only one finance body is somewhat reflected in the breadth of research in the report (it tends to be more focused on the integration of marketing rather than finance); however, it’s still fairly comprehensive.
Predominantly, it addresses the financial value that marketing departments indisputably add to any corporation of any size. It also provides good practice guidelines that demonstrate how creativity and ‘imagination’ (a word frequently used in the report) nurtured in marketing can be fostered by finance departments. I suppose even finance professionals will agree that you can never have too much creativity and imagination in any organisation!
Such advice seems fitting at a time when financial departments are deciding where to cut costs and are actively seeking innovative, money-making ideas to keep their corporations afloat. Instead of ignoring the value-adding acumen offered by these traditionally ‘disjointed’ sectors, it’s time to get the balance right and embrace BOTH. After all, there’s nothing like a credit crunch to get everyone banding together.
Have a read through Dr Shaw’s findings, and you might just come out of the downturn alive. Or at least with some new friends in your marketing department.
The synergy created by tight integration within a company by it's marketing (especially direct marketing) and finance departments should be the goal of every organization. Too many times I have seen in my career the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing scenario regarding same.
This fact compelled me to write an article about this topic for All About ROI Magazine. That article can be found here: http://gilbertdirectmarketing.wordpress.com/2009/05/06/marketing-and-finance-the-peanut-butter-and-jelly-of-direct-marketing/
Regards,
Jim Gilbert
Posted by: Jim Gilbert | July 27, 2009 at 05:40 PM