more investment does not mean more return I understand fully the ongoing quest of most businesses to reduce costs. Lower costs CAN (though not necessarily) increase profits. I can even understand the ongoing quest to reduce expenditure on marketing. Given the waste and lack of accountability in marketing, I would be surprised if the pressure […]

more investment does not mean more return I understand fully the ongoing quest of most businesses to reduce costs. Lower costs CAN (though not necessarily) increase profits. I can even understand the ongoing quest to reduce expenditure on marketing. Given the waste and lack of accountability in marketing, I would be surprised if the pressure on costs was not ongoing – along with resistance to increasing expenditure – even in good times. The fact is, increasing expenditure (or investment, if you are platitudinous enough to call it that) does not necessarily lead to increased sales and, very often, does not lead to enhanced profitability. The question is – would you invest in anything if a return could not be generated – and demonstrated? I can understand this being a concern to management. It would – and does – concern me. As I have said many times before, managing costs by…