“The Marketing Department is still too often a Communications Department”

According to Geert Desmet there are still many companies where marketeers are only concerned with the operational aspects and where the marketing department is actually a communications department. Geert Desmet SLM is Adjunct Professor at TIAS and creator of the Marketing master class that TIAS provides together with Marketing Online. Desmet stated this in an interview with Marketing Online.

Image: © Nationale Beeldbank

That marketers are only concerned with the operational aspects, is because these people do not have sufficient time. “But also because the company’s management does not accept that the department affects strategy and these marketers have not acquired the ‘right’ to do so themselves. We offer marketers insight into how they successfully contribute to the corporate strategy and how to apply this, and we teach them about marketing leadership.”

Linking corporate strategy and marketing strategy

Desmet argues that companies should link their corporate strategy and marketing. "More and more markets are becoming saturated. In order to stay healthy, there is a need to differentiate your company from others. Why does a customer choose your company and not a competitor? This choice is determined by a company’s corporate strategy. There are, of course, companies that do link their corporate and marketing strategies. One example is Procter & Gamble, where the marketing department has a lot of influence on the corporate strategy. Just as the Research & Development department does, by the way." 

Do you want your marketing campaigns to benefit your company? Then register for the Strategic Marketing Master Class from TIAS and Marketing Online. 

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TIAS komt met strategische masterclass marketing, Marketing Online (2015, in Dutch)