Why were you hired? You might think you were hired to update the website, or to help with proposals, or to write press releases, or to open doors to new and exciting clients.
But none of those things represent the reason you were hired. The only reason a marketer ever gets hired is the bring work into the firm so it can realize revenue.
Whether you are writing proposals, designing flyers, or any of the multitudes of duties you might have, the reason you are doing that is because someone, somewhere thinks that doing this will help bring in revenue.
The Importance of Revenue
The idea that a marketer’s job is to help bring in revenue seems heartless. But let’s explore this in greater detail.
How does a professional service firm realize revenue? They bill time or deliver a service.
And who bills time and provides service? People. People are at the heart of every professional services firm.
And like any heart, these people need something to pump. Work is the lifeblood that sustains the firm. Without it, the firm will die and the people will no longer be needed.
As you bring in more work, the heart has more blood to pump and grows bigger. Much like the veins in your body, your responsibility will remain closely tied to these people, the heart of the organization. The sole reason your role exists is to serve them.
Like the human body, your business would not be able to function without its heart.
informative !!!
Interesting analogy, Matt. I totally agree with the point about revenue, although I’m not so sure I’d call a “marketer” the “heart of the organization”. Marketing professionals are more of a combination of both make-up and a mirror of the organization.
I think you misunderstood. I said people were the heart of an organization and revenue was the blood.
I absolutely agree. Building awareness through social media, content development through websites, signage, PR work and proposals are all meant to bring in revenue. Its our job to keep our companies front of mind for existing clients and potential clients. If we can’t close the deal on a proposal promoting the attributes of our people and company, then we are not serving a purpose.
Thanks for sharing, Matt. 🙂
Matt:
While revenue is an often used metric, I think that profit is key metric that anyone in marketing or business development needs to understand. Unfortunately, profitability information is often not shared with the marketing/BD team, so revenue is the crutch everyone seems to use.
However, bringing in lots of unprofitable revenue can bankrupt a company! Similarly, bringing in slow-paying or non-paying clients can sink the ship when cash flow tightens.
Understanding the amount of profitable work that your firm can accomplish with its present resources is a good starting point. From there you can determine if the company intends to remain about the same size, grow, or in some cases contract. Marketing efforts can then be tailored to bring in the appropriate amount and type of work.