More than eighty years ago, department store founder John Wanamaker remarked, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half." If we substitute the word "marketing" for "advertising," this quote would accurately describe how senior business executives have historically viewed the marketing function.

Today, many business leaders still see marketing as a necessary, but inherently inefficient, business function. The inefficiency results from the nature of marketing objectives and the characteristics of the tools used in marketing. At worst, marketing objectives are often vague, subjective and difficult, if not impossible, to quantify and measure. At best, they often focus on outcomes that are several steps removed from the customer actions that generate revenues for the enterprise.

Corporate marketers spent a lot of time, energy and money on programs that were designed to “raise brand awareness” and to “position the brand.” Even when these activities achieved their objectives, the connection between individual marketing activity and increased revenues was tenuous at best.