Marketing and the bottom line

The new metrics of corporate wealth

Tim Ambler

Tim Ambler is an experienced marketer who has written a number of top selling books, such as the SILK Road to International Marketing and Passion in Global Business. Tim’s approach is unique compared with many other marketing authors as he is a Chartered Accountant, with a Masters in Mathematics, who was joint Managing Director of International Distillers and Vintners before he joined the London Business School in 1991.

Today marketing is big business, but how marketing is viewed and how it is used in companies differs. Tim Ambler addresses the present situation and demonstrates how "marketing metrics" should be used to evaluate the different areas and how this information can then be used to drive a company forward.

The book is based on a 30-month research project into marketing metrics by the London Business School (with help from the Marketing Council) and it combines both qualitative and quantitative findings, case studies and personal examples.

The word metric is described as “a performance measure that top management should review…metrics should be necessary, precise, consistent and sufficient for review purposes.” This concept is the foundation of the book and clearly demonstrates its importance within not just marketing, but the business world in general.

Brand equity is another key principle of this book. Tim Ambler describes this as “..the whole asset built by marketing that exists largely in the heads of stakeholders of all kinds, but most importantly in those of the end user.”

The book highlights the importance that marketing has for today’s businesses, both big and small, and it focuses on issues such as the financial and non-financial aspects of marketing. This should make every board sit up and take notice.

Other areas that the book covers are innovation health, internal marketing, choosing and measuring metrics and the future, all of which are supported by graphs, case studies and the financial advances that these metrics can provide.

The content of the book is well structured into readable segments with interesting introductions and clear bullet-point conclusions in the executive minutes at the end of each chapter.

Praise should be given to the no-nonsense and practical approach that Tim Ambler has applied throughout the book. It has been carefully designed to ensure that the metrics recommended can be implemented into all types of business, and he has used his experience in this field to give useful help and advice.

In conclusion, this book integrates marketing with the management & financial boardroom to give a complete overview of how organisations have to start to analyse their businesses in order to progress. It teaches us how marketing and finances can learn from each other to start working together, and therefore is a must for everyone, especially directors.

Review by Nicola Barnett