Think about it for a second - the life of a b2b marketer is getting a lot tougher.

If sales teams are to be believed, the average marketer is akin to some kind of ‘blue skies’ conceptual artist operating in a parallel universe. But in 2007, the pressures felt by sales are just as applicable to marketers (dare we say perhaps even more so - at least sales have a bit more control over how their revenue targets are going to be hit).

Should a b2b marketer’s pay cheque reflect the reality of b2b marketing in 2007?

Measuring and rewarding marketing performance has always been a struggle for both the in-house marketer and the agency, but this is changing. There are whole rafts of new performance metrics that can and should be deployed to measure Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). The trick is in setting the most suitable parameters and agreeing these up front at the beginning of a new marketing campaign or project.

So, which activities and metrics should we be looking at?

And, if agreed KPIs are hit, should we marketers really be paid a ‘marketing commission’?

If we look at top line metrics such as growth in market share, revenue and gross margins can ‘marketing’ really claim ownership for success?

There are, of course, instances when marketing strategy can be spot on, but it may have little real chance of success as a result of internal politics or external factors. Equally, how do we reward marketers who try their damndest to sell a product that is quite obviously unsellable in the current climate?

Take the example of the last general election. It was widely acknowledged that the Conservative party had the best marketing strategy and execution – The ‘Are you thinking what we’re thinking?’ campaign.

But they lost. No amount of marketing genius is going to change the fact that the market doesn’t lie if it doesn’t like a product!

If the bigger picture metrics are too flaky, what about hitting performance targets on specific activities?

Certain activities will always represent a more accountable ‘pound for pound’ spend. For example, a pay-per-click ad campaign may beat a PR campaign for short-term lead generation - but what about over the long haul?

The danger is that we get obsessed on the short term ‘quick wins’ to the detriment of longer term brand led activities that build real brand equity. A bit like rewarding a striker in a football team with a goal bonus, only for him to become greedy and never pass the ball which results in the team losing the majority of its matches!

So what’s the way forward?

A quite radical idea is bubbling away to try and solve the disconnect between sales and marketing. The idea is to share commission payments on new business wins. The marketer gets a % for generating the lead; the sales person gets a % for converting the lead. Now this could open up a real hornets’ nest in the sales department, but you can bet that it will at least get sales and marketing departments talking to each other!

Whatever the mechanics of a performance related pay scheme, perhaps it's now time for b2b marketers to step up to the plate and ask for proper recognition.

As they say: ‘What gets measured gets done.’

And if in getting it done you get a little extra cash in the bank – who’s complaining? Back to bitesize chunks