Efficacy of financial measures of marketing: It depends on markets and marketing strategies

Abstract

There has been an increase in attention given to the financial returns of the marketing function, primarily because marketing costs are seen as increasing, with declining returns. For example, both brand loyalty and customer satisfaction levels are declining in spite of increasing marketing expenditures. One of the reasons for the increased pressure on marketing is that the marketing function has utilised limited financial measures of efficiency and effectiveness. This paper examines previous research in this area, and provides a framework from which to examine existing financial measures of marketing evaluation that will lead to future research in this area.