Exploring the Role of Marketing Metrics for Top Management: Towards a Research Agenda

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of marketing metrics for top management as a critical component of contemporary marketing practice which is both underdeveloped in practice and under-explored in theory. Much of the theoretical debate cites the lack of alignment of marketing to financial outcomes as a core challenge while the practical debate focuses on the lack of support for and engagement with marketing metrics within marketing and at the board level. As a consequence, companies lack a clear and relevant understanding of the ROI of their marketing efforts and investments and fail to operationalise marketing to its full potential. The challenge of aligning marketing and financial outcomes is particular important during economic downturns. The paper suggests that companies could perform better if they were to recognize the value that the marketing domain is able to contribute. Traditional marketing metrics are often not understood by top management and are thus failing to communicate this value. What is needed is research that supports the aligning of marketing and financial outcomes and which also provides practical support for businesses. This paper suggests three appropriate research questions, which explore the contemporary role of marketing and marketing metrics for top management.