Improving Marketings Collaboration with Finance: Tips from ITSMA’s European Marketing Forum’

During this years European Marketing Forum, Delivering Value: Marketing in Action, Paul Newton, finance and planning executive for IBM Global Services in North East Europe, joined ITSMA’s 16 in one of the plenary sessions to explore how marketers can raise their game in the sometimes daunting area of communicating with finance departments. According to Newton, effective communication, focus, and measurable delivery are essential elements of the new marketing mix.

Here are a few of the session’s other key takeaways:

1. Collaboration counts. Finance and marketing need to work more closely together to understand each other’s strengths and perspectives from an early stage in the business cycle. It is not enough to wait until budget time for engaging in debate on funding and the focus of marketing activities, because by this time too many other factors will be clouding the debate. Successful collaboration results in a forward-looking business plan that is fact-based and invests for growth where market opportunity lies.
2. It’s all about money. Marketing should harness the power of finance’s focus on making money, its processes, and its discipline to ensure strong linkage between marketing activities and business results. When approaching a discussion with finance, it is helpful to structure the information and content in a format that is pertinent to finance rather than woolly statements and pictures. For example, marketing should quantify sales quotas and incentive plans supporting the introduction of new solutions and services to market.
3. Take time to understand. The communication challenge cuts both ways. Marketing needs to speak the language of finance, but the finance team should also take more time and trouble to understand the marketplace, which will enable better and more valuable interaction with the marketing and sales teams. Ultimately, when both functions are working together effectively, 1 + 1 really can equal 3!

In addition to Newton’s plenary session, the Forum (which was sponsored by BT Global Services) included keynote presentations on “The Power of Partnering,” “Innovative Marketing,” and “The Future of Services Marketing.”

Complementing the plenary sessions were interactive workshops where delegates were able to hear firsthand from experienced practitioners and discuss case studies on how to:

• Strengthen sales and marketing collaboration through Account-Based Marketing
• Develop personal networking skills
• Transform an organisation from product to solutions focus
• Leverage the power of customer communities

Throughout the event there were numerous opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing that allowed individuals to forge new relationships and build on old ones—strengthening the marketing community that makes ITSMA so special.

My thanks go out to all those who contributed to the success of this event through their active participation and willingness to share practical experiences, advice, knowledge, and views.

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ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. We work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing℠, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.