John C. Dvorak, technology pundit and columnist for PC Magazine, put forth a rather poignant opinion in his July 8, 2002 column titled “Doom and Gloom to Continue:”
“The retraction in corporate confidence began shortly after the dot-com bust, which left the industry filled with marketing people who know nothing about marketing or even selling. They can best be described as marketing people who seem to have studied finance at The Wharton School. They do have a death grip on numbers, though. I call them marketing accountants. When I see these folks, I know their company is toast.”
Mr. Dvorak advances the idea that “marketing accountants” fail to understand the value of protecting the corporate image and are too hung up on return on investment (ROI). In many respects, DCG agrees with Mr. Dvorak: unless you are selling a particular product on the tradeshow floor, it is difficult to quantify the ROI of having a tradeshow booth.
In other respects, however, we disagree. There is a specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) goal to capture by attending a tradeshow that does contribute to ROI: qualified sales leads.
Establishing S.M.A.R.T. goals is DCG’s mantra. Whether it’s starting from scratch, such as developing a logo or identifying and creating channel management strategies, DCG will work closely with you to achieve your S.M.A.R.T. goals.
We invite you to explore the navigation on the top left to view information about five areas of marketing in which we have unusually specific expertise.
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