Ever hear this question?  Back when I was on the client side, I used to hear it all the time.  "Why don't we just hire more salespeople?" was a question I got asked quite a bit.  Here's a snipped of an article I wrote a while back.  Based on the feedback we consistently received from companies looking for a Cincinnati advertising agency, it's as relevent as ever.

Why Should I Spend More Money on Marketing?
This question has been asked of thousands of marketing executives and their ad agencies in the last decade.  And it’s a good one.  Why should you be given additional marketing dollars?  Advertising, branding, PR – none of these has an immediate impact on sales, do they?

Nothing spurs the demand for a clear picture of marketing ROI more than the current business climate.  As competition continues to go global, corporate spending is increasingly under the microscope as business leaders are charged with finding that elusive return on investment.

For decades the marketing function was immune from the demands of accountability for performance, seen as a necessary function that could not be measured.  But like other infrastructure investments, the executive team now demands near-immediate payback from marketing spending, or at a minimum, a schedule of when and how much ROI will be achieved.

Two key issues are behind the achievement of marketing ROI - a thorough understanding of the customer’s objectives, and an alignment of operational business processes with the customer’s buying process. 

Get the rest of the article here.