The role of marketing is to understand customers, create value and drive profitable growth by shaping strategies, guiding innovation and aligning the organisation around customers and their needs. Research from McKinsey, Deloitte, Gartner, the IPA and others consistently shows that organisations with strong marketing capability grow faster, innovate more successfully and also outperform competitors over time.
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Why Marketing Matters More Than Ever
Marketing has never been more important to business success. In a world of rapid technological change, rising customer expectations and intense competition, marketing is no longer a communications function — it is the engine of organisational growth.
This article explains the true role of marketing, backed by evidence, and outlines how strengthening marketing capability can transform business performance.
What is the Role of Marketing? (Definition)
Marketing’s role is to understand customer needs, shape strategy, guide innovation and drive profitable growth by creating, communicating and delivering value.
The 7 Seven Core Roles of Marketing in Modern Organisations
1. Customer Insight & Understanding
Marketing identifies customer needs, behaviours, motivations and pain points. This insight informs marketing strategy, innovation, brand development and also customer experience.
Why it matters:
- Customer–centric companies are 60% more profitable (Deloitte) (1).
- Organisations that deeply understand customers innovate more successfully (Harvard Business Review) (2).
2. Market Strategy & Positioning
Marketing defines where to play and how to win — through segmentation, targeting, positioning and value proposition design.
Why it matters: Clear positioning improves differentiation, pricing power and long–term growth (McKinsey)(3).
3. Product & Service Innovation
Marketing shapes propositions based on customer insight, ensuring products and services meet real needs.
Why it matters: Companies that integrate marketing early in product development outperform those that do not (1).
4. Brand Building & Reputation Management
Marketing builds trust, distinctiveness and long–term brand equity — proven to drive profitable growth.
Why it matters: Long–term brand building delivers the highest ROI Ehrenberg–Bass Institute (4) and IPA (5).
5. Demand Generation & Sales Enablement
Marketing creates demand through integrated campaigns, digital channels, content and sales support.
Why it matters: High–performing organisations combine creativity, analytics and purpose — and grow 2.3x faster (McKinsey) (6).
6. Customer Experience & Retention
Marketing ensures consistent, valuable experiences across the customer journey, improving loyalty and lifetime value.
Why it matters: Customer experience is now a key driver of revenue and retention (Forrester) (7).
7. Performance Measurement & Growth Optimisation
Marketing uses data, analytics and experimentation to improve effectiveness and ROI.
Why it matters: Data–driven organisations outperform competitors and allocate budgets more effectively (Gartner)(8).
Why Marketing Matters: Evidence That Marketing Drives Growth
Across industries, research consistently shows that the role of marketing is as a primary driver of growth:
1. Marketing-led companies grow faster
McKinsey finds that companies that combine creativity, analytics and purpose grow revenue 2.3x faster than peers. Marketing is central to this “triple play”, driving customer understanding, innovation and brand strength (3).
2. Customer centric organisations are more profitable
Deloitte reports that customer–centric companies are 60% more profitable (1).
3. Brand building delivers the highest long–term ROI
IPA research shows that long–term brand investment outperforms short–term activation (5).
4. Customer experience drives loyalty and revenue
Forrester finds that improving CX increases loyalty, reduces churn and boosts revenue (7).
5. Distinctive brand assets drive market share
Ehrenberg–Bass research shows that distinctive brand assets increase mental availability and growth (4).
6. Marketing drives innovation success
The Harvard Business Review highlights that marketing–led innovation is more likely to succeed (2).
Together, this evidence demonstrates that marketing is not a cost centre — it is a growth engine.
The Strategic Role of Marketing in Business Success
Marketing is a strategic capability that shapes business success. Organisations with strong marketing functions:
- Grow faster
- Innovate more effectively
- Build stronger brands
- Create more loyal customers
- Outperform competitors over time
Marketing aligns organisations around customer value — the most reliable route to sustainable growth.
Insights from The Marketing Director’s Handbook
Drawing on our own work and research for The Marketing Director’s Handbook, several themes emerge:
- Organisations with strong marketing capability consistently outperform their peers.
- Marketing’s influence increases during periods of uncertainty, when customer understanding becomes critical.
- Many organisations under–invest in marketing capability, limiting growth potential.
- Only a minority of FTSE 100 companies have marketing represented at board level — yet those that do tend to outperform.
These insights reflect decades of hands–on experience working with CEOs, CMOs and leadership teams.
Examples of Marketing’s Impact (Client Success Stories)
1. Consumer Brand Strategy and Innovation
Researching consumers and developing a new communication campaign helped drive a nine-fold sales increase for a product in overlooked consumer markets.
2. Professional Services Repositioning and Communication
Researching and creating a new proposition and communications for a professional educational qualification inspired real growth in students across seven international markets
3. Childrens’ Brand and Marketing Strategy Development
Working collaboratively, engaging consumers and investing in professional marketing inspired a new brand positioning and marketing strategy. As a result this led to a trebling of theatre schools and sales.
If you want to strengthen your organisation’s marketing capability or clarify the role of marketing in your business, we can help. We work with leadership teams to build marketing functions that drive growth, innovation and customer value. So explore our marketing consultancy services or get in touch for an informal conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To understand customers, create value and drive profitable growth. The role of marketing includes:
Understanding customers
Shaping strategy
Guiding innovation
Building brands
Creating demand
Improving customer experience
Measuring and optimising performance
Because it shapes strategy, guides innovation, builds brands and drives demand.
Insight, strategy, innovation, brand building, demand generation, customer experience and performance measurement.
By aligning the organisation around the customer and creating demand for products and services
Marketing creates demand and shapes strategy; sales converts demand into revenue.
References
These sources provide independent evidence of marketing’s impact on business performance.
(1) Deloitte – Customer Centricity Report: https://www2.deloitte.com
(2) Harvard Business Review – Marketing’s Role in Innovation: https://hbr.org
(3) McKinsey – The New Marketing Organisation: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/were-all-marketers-now
(4) Ehrenberg–Bass Institute – Distinctive Brand Assets: https://www.marketingscience.info
(5) IPA – The Long and the Short of It (Binet & Field): https://ipa.co.uk
(6) McKinsey – The Growth Triple Play: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-growth-triple-play
(7) Forrester CX Index: https://www.forrester.com
(8) Gartner CMO Spend Survey: https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/research/cmo-spend-survey
Key Takeaways
- The role of marketing is to understand customer needs, drive innovation, and create value for profitable growth.
- Strong marketing capabilities help organisations grow faster and improve brand equity over time.
- Seven core roles include customer insight, market strategy, product innovation, brand building, demand generation, customer experience, and performance measurement.
- Evidence shows that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable and that marketing drives innovation success.
- Effective marketing aligns organisations around customer value, leading to sustainable growth and superior business performance.
