What Your Marketing Team Needs To Succeed
I asked 25 marketers from all walks of life, industries and geography, “what is the most common way a business leader prevents or hinders marketing from doing its job?” These are groupings of the six most common responses:
Why do business leaders not trust their marketing team?
In a confusing environment cluttered with customer data, insights, and “thought leaders” impressing their opinions on how to do marketing “right,” it’s easy to see how business leadership can develop a less-than-favorable view of their marketing team. But as much as we could point fingers at leadership’s lack of understanding, marketers too have a responsibility to communicate their purpose clearly.
The lack of clear marketing objectives
In their book, The Next CMO: A Guide to Operational Marketing Excellence, authors Scott Todaro, Dan Faulkner, and Peter Mahoney explain that there are really only three topline marketing objectives: sales, awareness, and perception.
Specific marketing strategies like “paid search lead generation” or a “January Google AdWords Campaign” are important, but they do not specifically state how they are going to help the business reach its goals - which typically are connected to numbers on the P&L or Balance Sheet.
When a marketer reports Google campaign metrics to business leadership without connecting it to a topline objective (sales, awareness, perception), it causes business leaders to question the alignment of the campaign to business goals. Typically, when there is no clearly understood “line-of-sight” to business goals, the marketing activity is devalued and resources are cut.
Poor communication of results
In line with the example above, marketing must understand the difference between marketing metrics and business KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) if they are to create trust. A KPI is the one most important metric that best describes the performance of the objective.
As an example, if the objective is “Sales”, then a KPI could be “E-Commerce Revenue” measured in Dollars. This is what leadership needs on their radar to determine what actions they should take to satisfy the P&L. It is much more difficult for a business leader to use marketing metrics like “impression share” or “click-through-rate” to make top-level business decisions.
The confusion of marketing strengths
When it comes to the marketing role, we tend to mix up or not distinguish the nuances in marketing post-goal setting. A narrow view of the many different skills and approaches needed can erode trust because we are asking marketers to do things they may not have a natural strength for.
In the example above, I illustrate the difference between “big picture” abilities or approaches at the top of the chart:
Strategic - High-level activities to achieve big goals;
Creative - Ability to come up with new ideas;
General - A theoretical approach to problem solving
…and the more detailed, granular abilities or approaches at the bottom of the chart:
Tactical - How a strategy is carried out;
Practical - Ability to get along in different contexts;
Technical - Specific skills and knowledge. An analytical approach to problem solving.
With this example, you should note:
“Big picture” abilities or approaches are usually opposite of the “detailed” abilities or approaches. Both are necessary, but it’s rare for one individual to be naturally gifted in both.
Typically, you find individuals with a “crossing” of abilities (e.g. Strategic & Practical)
Business leaders and marketers MUST recognize the differences and make sure that all approaches are supported
Why do marketers feel misunderstood?
It is possible that in some organizations, the marketing function may not be fully integrated into the decision-making process or may not have a strong voice at the executive level. This could be due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of understanding of the value of marketing, a perception that marketing is a cost center rather than a revenue generator, or a lack of alignment between marketing goals and overall business objectives.
Confusion of marketing’s role
Business leaders may not fully understand the role of marketing or may have an outdated view of marketing as being solely focused on advertising or promotions. In reality, marketing encompasses a broad range of activities, from market research and product development to branding and customer engagement.
Marketing plays a crucial role in understanding the needs and desires of customers, developing effective product and service offerings, and creating brand awareness and loyalty. These activities have a direct impact on a company's revenue and profitability, making marketing an important contributor to business success.
Lack of resources
If there is a misunderstanding of marketing’s function in the business, or a lack of clarity in marketing’s objectives, then marketers may find themselves fighting for budget, talent, and priority. Business leaders may not fully grasp the long-term outputs that marketing influences (building brand awareness, creating customer loyalty, and driving sales) which makes it harder to see a direct correlation between marketing activities and financial outcomes.
Some companies may have had negative experiences with ineffective marketing campaigns in the past, leading to a perception that marketing is not worth the investment. If marketing efforts have not yielded desired results previously, business leaders may be hesitant to invest further in marketing.
Ultimately, building strong relationships and collaboration between marketing and business leaders can help to ensure that marketing is viewed as a critical contributor to business success rather than simply a cost center.
Bad communication
If a business leader doesn't clearly communicate their goals or expectations to the marketing team, there can be many negative consequences.
Wasted resources and a lack of impact on revenue growth and brand equity.
Lack of engagement, low conversion rates, and missed opportunities to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Lack of innovation and a failure to stay ahead of competitors.
Difficulty assessing the ROI of marketing efforts to make data-driven decisions about future strategies.
To avoid these negative consequences, it is important for business leaders to communicate their goals and expectations clearly and regularly to the marketing team. This requires ongoing collaboration, open communication channels, and a commitment to providing feedback and guidance throughout the process. By working closely with the marketing team, business leaders can ensure that their goals and expectations are effectively translated into marketing strategies and tactics that drive revenue growth and build brand equity.
The domino effect
In general, the most successful businesses recognize the importance of marketing and involve the marketing function in key business decisions. The consequences of not collaborating can ignite a chain reaction of bad decision-making and ineffective marketing execution.
It is important for both marketing and business leaders to work together, communicate openly, and have a clear understanding of each other's goals and expectations. By doing so, they can effectively achieve overall business objectives.
Want to learn more about this topic? Click here to watch our webinar on ways to avoid marketing fails.
