Marketing And Finance Cease Fire (Part 1 - Source of the Friction)

Just like the 'cat and mouse' relationship, there has always been known friction between a company's marketing and finance departments primarily on account of marketing spend. Marketing after all spends money to make money so to speak. There is then an occurrence of natural polarity, marketing and finance usually gravitating towards opposite sides. In the past I have been hounded by one finance person after another seeking explanation as to why I spend this much in marketing, how I spend it and where are the returns.

Now in order to make ends meet with Finance, there has to be first - mutual respect. I have the highest respect for a number of finance professionals. I have grown my own analytics section in the marketing department just so there is straightforward and clear communication. One of the main proponents to instill is not just peace but understanding to explain that we are all on the same side with adherence to the same company goals.

To achieve this, communication is vital. However this communication shouldn't just be peripheral or meaningless chatter, but instead purposeful conversations that exchange ideas and transfer knowledge. May it be a debate, argument or what-have-you - it is very important that a routine dialog be maintained by both parties to arrive at agreements, directions and decisions. This though should be supplemented by plans, documentations and carefully crafted strategies.
Marketing will have to take upon itself the initiative to operate on a planned budget/ projection (and more importantly - stick to it). This isn't any ordinary money-in/ money-out plan.

Marketing is dynamic. Marketing must be equipped to respond to competitor offers, technological advances and industry trends in as close to real time as possible so as not to be left behind. I speak from personal experience when I say that it is not always easy for marketing to adhere to a strict set of rules, and this is typically where the frictions originate. Marketing's goal is always closely tied to top line targets, while these same targets are often influenced by Sales team performance as well. Making it rather difficult to capture the performance of marketing without sales - or vice versa.

The right marketing projection will then bridge the gap between Marketing and Finance and bring together mutual expectations to allow communication through this one project that of course fuels top line and protects bottom line.