Marketing and Finance: Like Trying to Mix Water and Oil?

As a budding marketer, do you cringe at the thought of doing math? Are you like most others that believe that as soon as you graduate and embark on your career in marketing, you will never have to deal with numbers again? Whilst a marketing job will certainly get your creative and managerial juices flowing, don’t discount the importance of financial understanding…

There is no shying away from the fact that marketing at RB is very much numbers focused. For many, this may be instinctively a thumbs down, but to experience the full spectrum of marketing, knowing the financial elements that impact the business can really provide an added depth and rationale to your marketing initiatives. After all, if an activity or promotion doesn’t make business sense, why do it?

When you start to manage the health of brand, of course you will be overseeing branding strategies, new product development, promotions and advertising initiatives, but you will also need to have a firm grasp and understanding of financial modeling and budgeting, projected return on investment (ROI) analysis, forecasting to manage stock going into the trade and managing your brand’s Profit and Loss statement (P&L).

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“I always thought that P&L was in the realm of Finance, it’s only when I started in marketing that I realised the responsibility I had to my brand’s P&L. I now understand that my numerical analysis can and will determine the strategies that will ensure both profitability and sustained growth of the brand,” said Kenny Tan, Assistant Brand Mananger, Mortein and fellow graduate.

Don’t discount these key financial skills because the numbers reveal so much – where your brand currently is at, where it’s heading and most importantly, what you can do to capitalise on opportunities or rectify any performance issues.

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No doubt you would have studied the 4P’s (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) in Marketing 101, but I don’t think lecturers stress enough about the importance that finance plays in marketing and the fact that the knowledge of what those numbers mean ultimately underpins each of the P’s.

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Product – do you have the funds to produce the product? Does the cost/benefit analysis show profitability? Does the market data reveal an opportunity or demand for it in the marketplace?

Price – what is the right pricing strategy and based on forecasting, how much profit will this generate for the business, taking into account the costs involved.

Promotion –what is the right media mix? Which medium is going to give me bang for my buck? Is producing a premium display stand for all stores too costly?

Place – where do I stock the product and how much trade spend should needed to drive instore promotions?

You don’t have to be a finance guru to have a successful career in marketing within the FMCG industry, but don’t be fooled into thinking that you can progress very far without sound financial and statistical understanding under your belt.

Sound too hard?

I can’t say I loved studying finance in university, but that’s probably because I didn’t see the applicability in my chosen career path of marketing. How wrong I was! But don’t fret, through the RB graduate program, I have been provided with multiple opportunities to hone my financial skills, through on the job learning to formal training…just last week, I was sent on a 3 day financial skills training skills training course with my fellow graduates and colleagues.

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“The ‘Impacting the P&L’ course was really helpful and has given me the tools and confidence to be able to read every line in the balance sheet. By understanding what each number means, I now have a larger scope to assist me in becoming a better marketer!” – Kenny Tan, ABM Mortein.

As a Sales Analyst, I have learnt so much about in-market data – the impact of market and volume share data when compared with competitors across different time periods, how well a new product (NPD) is tracking and whether is your category growing or shrinking and what this means for the brand. Through regular analysis, I have been able to form recommendations to my line manager, some of which have been taken onboard and implemented in the trade.

Through time, I have learnt to not only accept that numbers are part of the job, but have started to enjoy it as well as I realise how my actions can impact the business. When I move to my next rotation, I can see how useful these transferrable skills will be to me as an Assistant Brand Manager. Ultimately, I finally see a practical use of financial skills in my day to day work tasks so that it’s not just something I cram in and forget about immediately after an exam!

Whether it be a career in marketing or sales, knowing know how your initiatives impact the bottom line will make you a better professional and asset to your organisation.