'Only hard data and insight will prove marketing's worth'

Marketing chiefs are being urged to arm themselves with hard data and insight in the seemingly eternal battle to prove their worth in the boardroom, with most CEOs still viewing marketing as a cost rather than a revenue generator.

That is according to the Marketing ROI Rift Study, carried out by IPG Mediabrands’ performance marketing agency Kinesso UK&I, which reveals a lack of alignment between marketing and the C-Suite continues to plague the industry.

In particular, the study shows the majority (54%) of business leaders in the UK and Ireland see marketing as a cost-centre for their organisation rather than an investment, while one-in-five (20%) admit they only interact with their senior marketers once a month.

Despite this, the study, which canvassed the opinions of senior marketers and business leaders in the UK on the collaboration between the two departments, found that a third (34%) of business leaders admit that the poor communication between senior leadership and marketing is costing their business financially.

The report reckons this disconnect may stem from ROI concerns, with almost half (48%) of marketers agreeing that demonstrating long-term impact from their marketing spend is their biggest hurdle.

Additionally, three-fifths (59%) of marketers agree CEOs do not understand the importance of brand building and would rather value tangible revenue growth, highlighting the need for marketers to better communicate the balance between short-term performance with long-term brand building to drive sustainable business growth.

This lack of alignment appears to foster mistrust, with 45% of marketers believing misalignment on strategic direction is what fuels senior leadership doubts about marketing’s contribution to long-term business growth, while 28% said that poor communication has caused them to miss lead generation targets.

Meanwhile, four-fifths (79%) of marketers believe that having a CEO with a marketing background would help them bridge the gap between sales and marketing.

Kinesso UK&I group managing director Stu Lunn said: “This is by no means a new phenomenon – especially in today’s complex marketing and advertising landscape. However, with so many performance-based marketing measurement solutions available, this doesn’t have to be the case.

“There are tools and solutions that can demonstrate long term results such as awareness, as well as short term metrics including direct ROI.

“When marketers are sidelined from strategy, their ability to deliver and demonstrate meaningful ROI is severely limited.

“To drive sustainable growth, we need to bring marketers into the boardroom – backed by hard data and insights – to clearly communicate initiatives for informed buy-ins. Transparent business direction equips marketing teams to deliver long-term growth.”