If you want to build a business by growing revenue hire marketing people. If not.........

As the march of private equity through retail and automotive continues it begs the question of what it means for marketers. Marketers by and large are top line folks in that growing revenue by increasing demand is what they do. So here's the issue. Not so many private equity folks have a great track record of creating value through increasing demand and revenue. They are jolly good at driving profits through supply chain management and pretty good at doing it by reducing costs. Of course the end game tends to be a sale to the trade or the markets of the new slimmed down, half the calories version at a big old price (yes of course I am jealous).

I am scratching my mouse wondering if there are more than a very few examples where PE and revenue growth are found in the same sentence. If I am right - you will tell me oherwise - where does marketing and its enabling services fit in the company newly yanked off the Dow? My slightly worried conclusion is that marketing under PE rules must be like doing triage in a field hospital. Stabilise the wound so the patient survives long enough to beome someone elses problem! Happily however PE folks do pay their marketers well.