by John Jerome
There was a time when the industry was filled with ad agencies, graphic design firms, typesetters, and other specialty marketing firms. Full-service firms also existed, offering all of these services under one umbrella, waiting to deliver should the client call requiring those services. However, the industry has changed. The old concept of keeping high-priced experts on staff waiting for a client to call needing their service has become inefficient and expensive. Yet we’re still expected to be able to deliver the full depth and breadth of marketing services – essentially doing more with less.
At the same time, we’ve noticed that many of our SME (small to medium enterpirse) clients, who recognize the need to market their companies, are frequently lacking key internal factions (sales, operations, purchasing) that allow the marketing effort to work to its full capability. The most effective marketing effort is for naught if the sales force isn’t able to close the sale or if the cash flow isn’t in line with the outgo. Today the total integration of marketing, operations, sales, finance, and other departments is integral to the success of a company. The days of marketing being a silo are over. The more each of the different departments work in sync, the more effective each department becomes – while also ensuring that marketing is able to effectively do its job.