Those in the marketing field know the value of the campaigns they design and run.  The people in the marketing department at any corporation are aware of the benefit their lead-generation programs provide the company.  But, according to a new survey by MarketingSherpa, that knowledge, understanding, and feeling of necessity might not extend far beyond the confines of the marketing department.

MarketingSherpa surveyed 277 marketers at two of its recent conferences to determine what role, if any, office politics played in lead-generating marketing campaigns.  The results spoke loud and clear:

The overwhelming majority of respondents said they didn't fear for their budgets, however:

• 83% said their CFO didn't understand the importance of lead generation
• Most said their CFO had no clear way of measuring the success of lead generation
• Approximately 40% said they had no way of tracking their leads through to completion
• 60% said the sales department doesn't think highly of leads generated by the marketing department
• 80% said this lack of understanding by the sales department has led them to work together with sales to define what makes a good lead
• About 80% of the respondents said they got no feedback from the sales department on whether or not their leads had been successful
• About 50% said the rest of the company didn't fully understand the benefit of lead generation

These numbers don't paint the prettiest picture for the marketing departments out there.  I agree with the MarketingSherpa assertion that more communication is definitely required within organizations.  I mentioned marketing to prospective employees a few days ago.  Now we're talking about another form of internal marketing:  marketing the marketing department to the rest of the company!

Maybe it's time to sit down with people from other departments around your company to get a feel for their perception of the marketing department.  At the very least I'd suggest taking this information to heart and making sure that the people in charge of your budget, like the CFO, understand what your department does and why it deserves to stay funded.

Put those marketing skills to use for yourself.  It could be the best sale you've ever helped generate.