The book, Customer Equity, is a bit of a classic in the marketing field. It is an early attempt to refocus companies from products to customers, specifically through measurement of the value of the customer base. The authors introduce a lot of interesting new ideas. They have many admirably big swings and, to be honest,…
Category: Accounting and Marketing
Non-GAAP Disclosures and Implications for Marketing
An interesting phenomenon has emerged over recent years in financial accounting which could prove relevant to marketing. This is non-GAAP reporting by companies. What is, could be, the relatonshp between marketing and Non-GAAP disclosures. GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles The rules of external financial reporting, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, are known as GAAP. Non-GAAP reporting…
Understanding What Companies Are Spending On Marketing. SG&A Isn’t Great.
I often discuss marketing assets. Specifically, I worry about that the way marketing assets are accounted for in financial reports. This does not help us understand marketing effectiveness. For example, see here and here and here. This results of financial accounting choices creat a significant problem in understanding what marketing does. It means we can’t…
Management Accounting and Customer Recording
At least one area of marketing metrics makes me positive. The future is bright. The area is what we might call management accounting and customer recording. This tends to work best where there are contractual relationships. With contracts or, at least, stable long term connections, we can go a long way to understanding the value…
The Problem Of Goodwill And Marketing
Tony Tollington’s book on Brand Assets is fascinating. The book is not an especially easy read. Indeed, it gets into some pretty detailed philosophical debates around the nature of assets and accounting which can be tough. That said it is good to think about these things and Tollington definitely made me think. There is a…
The Politics of Accounting
Tony Tollington’s book on Brand Assets is fascinating. (Accounting rules have changed a bit since he wrote it. The acronyms and rule numbers aren’t what are used nowadays but the ideas are similar). He makes fascinating notes on the politics of accounting. The Politics Of Accounting For Intangible Assets Tollington notes the problems with the…
The Marketing-Accounting Interface
There is a lot of work linking marketing and finance. Unfortunately, at least from my perspective, nearly all of this has focused on linking marketing to financial markets. Such work is useful but I would like more looking at more diverse linkages between marketing and accounting. Sidhu and Robert’s article is an exception. They look…
What Is Tobin’s Q Useful For?
I am not a fan of Tobin’s q (as it is currently used). I have a Marketing Science paper on the misuse of Tobin’s q in marketing. As such, I was fascinated to see a SSRN working paper with a very similar title in the field of finance/economics. The authors Robert Bartlett and Frank Partnoy,…
Marketing Response To Stock Market Pressure
What is the marketing response to stock market pressure? Myopic Management Myopic management/marketing is the tendency to focus on short-term gains at the expense of long-term profits. It can occur for a number of reasons. Yet, at its heart, pressure from Wall Street appears to drive myopia for public companies. Certainly, many scholars subscribe to…
Successfully Managing At The Marketing Finance Interface
Keith Ward in his great book Marketing Finance addressees success factors in managing at the marketing finance interface. The Future Is What Matters Ward starts by noting that historical analysis can’t change the past. Okay, that is pretty obvious. The implication is important, however. Historical analysis is mostly only useful if it “can be applied to…