Accountants versus Marketers

We all know men are from Mars and women from Venus.  But what diametrically opposed planets did accountants and marketers fall from?  And how can top management help them to cohabitate harmoniously?

For time eternal, business has needed the dedicated bean counter.  “One for you, one for me and one for the pot”.  Where would business be without such diligence? 

Accountancy has grown to an esteemed career with many specialist sub-disciplines.  The Chief Financial Officer has far reaching tentacles and he or she loves the structure of a well founded budget and profit and loss statement.

Enter the marketer.  The marketer has an endless passion for the product and the market place.  For the marketer, innovation and big ideas are the trinkets to impress.  Cost is not something that is top of mind.

Therein lies the potential for conflict between the two.  Particularly in our age of constant technological change and innovation.  The accountant has ever improving methods of measuring and monitoring cost and return on investment and the marketer has more appealing ways to tempt the market.

Astute leaders must manage the competing forces of accounting and marketing.  A degree of respect must be fostered for the critical role that each plays in the organisation’s success.

The first step is to get both to collaborate in the budget process.  Marketers must understand that the accountant is not just trying to spoil their fun.  Budgets are a fact of life.  And a well founded budget will be easier to live with than one that is a wild concoction.  Budgeting is a skill.  A skill that accountants would be wise to share with the marketer.

Marketers need to be involved in the bigger financial picture.  They need to see the significance of budget blowouts across the organisation.  Miscalculations in their individual budget might seem inconsequential.  But budget errors across the board can be catastrophic.  Top management must ensure marketers are at the financial table too.

By understanding the relativities of the financial picture, the marketer can employ greater discretion.  The internet is a virtual lolly shop where the latest groovy viral might cost more than $50,000.  The marketer must weigh up the cost effectiveness of all channels in the marketing mix.  Will the costly viral really deliver memorable branding?

And accountants need to get a handle on the diverse marketing tools at the marketer’s disposal.  Effective campaigns involve more than the traditional media streams.  Innovative and memorable marketing must involve a web element.  And that costs money.

Understanding the product lifecycle will also aid the accountant’s comprehension of the marketer’s spending behaviour.  A new product has an incredibly hungry appetite for media.  A mature or declining product will require much less media spend and promotional support.

By sharing knowledge and taking a consultative approach, accounting and marketing might actually learn to be respectful allies.  Or at least not fierce adversaries.