ABSTRACT
As a collection of necessary tools, strategies, and systems for managing demand, increasing sales, and efficiently distributing goods, the marketing function has long been recognized to be an important, if not indispensable, factor contributing to business success. As this function developed, marketing departments rightly earned their place in firms decades ago. Only since the 1990s, however, have boards and executives across the country begun to realize that truly functional marketing departments must offer accountability for their actions and display a willingness to align to company strategy. This realization stems from awareness that marketing expenditures often make up as much as a quarter of a firm’s total outlays, and that operational efficiencies in other areas of the firm have greatly eclipsed those of the marketing function.
