I was prompted to write this by reading a blog post on Branding Strategy Insider.  The post describes a number of quick and easy tests to assess the marketing competency of an organisation. A number of these tests are relevant and compelling.  What is striking is what is missing.  There is no mention of financial capability, nor sales figures or profit performance or other quantitative measures.

Read post here>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Emotional benefits, brand strategy statements, positioning maps all have their place in creating a compelling proposition.  But the trend in favour of developing tools for these things sometimes can be at the expense of linking them to business fundamentals (profit, sales, etc)

We know that financial criteria matter in successful profitable growing businesses. Marketers risk isolating themselves from the business team every time that claim to develop competencies and skills but then fail to link these to financial performance.

You know you must link your marketing investment to financial results. Investments in marketing communications are frequently subject to this assessment.  Insight and research work is sometimes developed in this way.  Marketing competency work must include this.
As practitioners we must make sure that we relate everything to the financial impact on the business. 

Is this “old hat” in the world of emotional benefits, social networking and brand management tools?  It seems that way in some parts of the fashionable marketing world.  But in our day to day work with clients, we have the sense that it is not “old hat”.  

Business results matter and marketers.  So we vote for marketers knowing how to add up.