From Sales Obsession to Marketing Effectiveness

An enormous number of U.S. companies are sales-minded, but only a few are marketing-minded. The difference is subtle and usually hard for sales executives to see, but it spells the difference between unstable short-term success and stable long-term growth. The first aim of this article is to show executives how to tell whether an organization understands and practices marketing--and if so, how well. This can be done by means of a marketing effectiveness audit. The audit is a form for rating marketing effectiveness in each of five major functions; the resulting score tells where the organization falls on a scale ranging from no marketing effectiveness to superior effectiveness. the second aim of the article is to show top management how to respond to a low or mediocre score by injecting more marketing thinking into the division or company.