Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

20. Managing Marketing’s
    Link with Other Functional
    Areas

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Managing Marketing’s Link with Other Functional Areas 579

Implementing a marketing plan usually requires a financial investment—so we’ll

consider both money required to start up a new plan and the money needed to meet

ongoing expenses. Then we’ll look at production and operations and review how

available production capacity, production flexibility, and operating issues impact

marketing planning. We’ll also take a closer look at how accounting people and

marketing managers work together to get a better handle on marketing costs. We’ll

conclude with a discussion of human resource issues—because it’s people who put

plans into action.

How important the linkages with production, finance, accounting, and human

resources are for the marketing manager depends on the situation. In an entrepre-

neurial dot-com start-up, the same person may be making all of the decisions. In a

big company, managing the linkages among many specialists may be much more

complicated.

In firms with a marketing

orientation, people from different

functional areas work together to

make certain that they satisfy the

customer.

Resource Requirements of

Marketing Strategies and Plans

Finance

Department

Investment

capital and

cash flow

Accounting

Department

Profitability of

individual

customers,

products, and

activities

Human

Resources

Department

Recruiting,

training,

motivating

Goods and

services that

meet customer

requirements

Money to start

plans and meet

ongoing

expenses

Information

about

costs and

revenue

Skilled

people to

put plans

into action

Production &

Operations

Department

Capabilities,

flexibility, and

efficiency

Exhibit 20-1

Some Important Links

between Marketing and

Other Functional Areas