An interesting post on B2B Marketing Insider called Do Marketers Have Any Credibility? looks at an extensive survey of CEOs which found that “almost three-quarters of CEOs think marketers lack credibility. And according to the report, were not helping ourselves either”. The problem, it seems, is that we’re not prepared to quantify our marketing initiatives in terms of profit and loss, and I think most of us will grudgingly admit that’s true.
Why is this? Well, for a start, it’s difficult. And secondly, a whole industry has built up over the years selling you services which probably don’t give you a good return on investment. Trust me, if the media was confident that your advertising spending was generating a positive business return, they would find a way to help you prove that. I think we all know why they don’t do so.