Conversations that start with questions like - "Metrics are down across the board - how did this happen?" "We're paying thousands for our paid campaigns and we're still coming up short - why is this?" - are both uncomfortable, and unusually common. Organizations across industries are prioritizing their marketing efforts at levels not seen in this space. A big reason for this is that leaders see the influence marketing can provide in the business development and revenue generation efforts of the organization. These types of outstanding issues are born from misalignment with company strategy and the marketing strategy deployed to support it. The punchline is that both strategic outlooks may be solid in their own right, but if one fails to account for the other, the disconnect will be felt around the company - not just in your metrics.
The key to successful marketing support at a strategic level
When you break it down, organizations are simple - they are comprised of professionals focused on various areas of the business with the main goal of positively effecting the overall success for the group. But as you begin to peel back the layers, the underlying complexities begin to show. These tend to include things like external influences (the market, stakeholders, competition, etc.), as well as conflicting action plans at the internal departmental level and beyond. To add to the problem, Strategic planning and agreement are not something easily achieved for organizations of any size. The more voices in the room may lead to more options or opinions, but the smaller the room can leave organizations vulnerable to blind spots. Regardless of where your organization may land on the spectrum, one thing is clear - having a unified strategic vision is a must-have for real success. And having a unified marketing strategy can be the tip of the spear you need to elevate that vision.
The key to a rock solid marketing strategy is to ensure you can tie all of your marketing initiatives directly to the organizational vision for the future. You should focus your marketing efforts that align with a specific purpose - random acts of marketing just won't fly here. In a perfect world, you'll have a top-down org strategy to work from to allow the various functional department strategies to help accomplish the goals. But, more times than not, that sequence is reversed. If you find yourself in this position, don't fret - you can still build an ironclad strategy for your marketing efforts.
Start with what you know. Things like overall performance of the current year's efforts and identified wins for the company can bring some direction as to what you can expect for the following year. This is an opportunity for you and your team to review what's worked well from an initiative perspective. If it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Well sort of... You'll want to be mindful of recency bias as well as identifying the winning characteristics of your initiatives that produced the positive results. This is because what worked for you this year, may not be as successful the more you go back to the well in the future.
The best marketing programs can objectively evaluate successful campaigns and still find ways to increase efficiencies and success, leaving behind the tactics that didn't. Once you've completed your success audit, focus the conversation around the trends in your space, both from a tactical marketing perspective, but also from a market trend and competitor analysis. Further, and arguably most important - how are your customers doing? What insights can you glean from your strongest accounts and what do they tell you regarding landing the next one? Things like customer satisfaction scoring or Net Promoter Score exercises can help provide objective data to work from that will allow you to make decisions to calibrate your future efforts to fit the needs of your audience. If you're using buyer personas or company profiling, make sure you're updating those specifics for each as needs and focuses change over time. If you're not using buyer personas, you should be (we can cover this topic separately).
Alright, so your research phase of this exercise is complete - now it's time to start drawing up your plans for the future. Most of the time a marketing strategy will consist of the following pillars (these vary in specificity, but should fit at a thematic level):
- Lead gen and business development - what resources and tactics (both paid and organic) are you planning to devote to continuing to support the pipeline? This is a critical area of focus because as marketers, we're not directly closing deals or onboarding new clients. On paper, marketing can look like a cost center, which can make it difficult to secure the budget and resources needed to run a successful shop. Identifying key metrics to measure success in this arena can help support the argument for investment into your marketing programs and anticipating the expected ROI.
- Content Roadmapping - The value of genuine business content continues to increase as we careen towards an ever-evolving digital world. Studies show that customers are consuming more content at a faster rate than ever before, and that they are ingesting more before taking the step to convert into leads/opportunities. Your content plan needs to be rock solid - whether you've seen success in whitepapers/downloadable content, video-based content, or something else, it is one of the more powerful tools at your disposal. Make sure you take the time to explore all options and settle on a combination that makes the most sense. In further discussions, you should make sure you define a content schedule/roadmap to support this pillar as well. This roadmap should include things like dates, times, content type/campaign affiliation, and realistic production milestones to produce this content. Identifying responsibility and accountability from team members is a must as well. I've seen success deploying a RACI matrix. (if you need help designing one, click here to download a free template to help you get started)
- Brand strategy and voice - Like many marketing professionals, I have been viewed as the default PR/Comms contact for the company. There is not a well defined line between marketing and PR/Comms. Both utilize similar channels and vehicles to accomplish campaigns, which to the untrained eye can look very similar. Beyond those commonalities however, they are not. If your organization has a separate PR/communications function, be sure to sync with that team to better understand what roles you will be expected to play in the publication and support of internal and external communications. From a brand perspective, the key question should be around how you wish to present the company to the marketplace and your audience. Are there specific initiatives that are critical to its success? What are they, and most importantly, how to they support the overall direction of the organization?
- Internal Process Management - Simply put, what resources are you going to need to put your marketing plan into action and achieve the results you expect? Are there additional tools or personnel required to accomplish these things, and how can you make the most with what you've got? Are there shared costs or multiple use cases across the organization for adding or changing these processes that you need to account for, and do you have stakeholder buy-in from the other areas of the organization to make the case for your proposed plan? Are you documenting your processes to allow for coverage within your department? If the main POC on your team was tragically hit by a bus, or leaves your company, what redundancies do you have in place to ensure critical campaigns and initiatives stay on track with their absence? Identifying the what and the how will define the realistic capability of your function and allow you to set realistic expectations on what you'll be able to do in the coming year.
- Conference/Event/Experiential Marketing - Most companies are involved in conferences, event, or experiences at some level. Make sure you've identified the areas of opportunity that your organization can benefit from. Analyzing the data of previous participation, exploring the trends in your market, and understanding the needs of your customers can all play a role in the scope and overall value you place on initiatives in this area. Everyone is a little different when it comes to perceived value in this area, so lean hard on your data to ensure your plan makes sense in the larger market - the last thing you want is to spend thousands on an event without clear expectations of what you intend to gain from participating.
The final piece of a successful marketing strategy is acknowledging that compromise is a must. In a perfect world, you would get the green light on every aspect of your strategy and subsequent roadmaps along with the necessary budget and resources to knock things out of the ballpark. But realistically, you must approach an organizational strategy from the perspective that marketing is one arm of the business. Granted, marketing can be a powerful tool when deployed strategically, but there are other competing priorities that will need to be accounted for around the organization as well. Rather than looking at this as a loss, look for the opportunities to jointly approach priorities with your departmental peers. This process can help strengthen departmental relationships and provide additional insight into what initiatives can both benefit your efforts as well as opportunities to better support your peers. After all, you're all on the same team.
Shameless Plug
Marketing strategy and organizational strategy can be a complex beast - and while I hope this post can serve as a starting point for you, I acknowledge that there a far more variables on a case-by-case basis that cannot be adequately accounted for. If this is an area you're struggling with, or are looking for some outside support, I'd love to find out how Joe McNamara Consulting can play a role in helping you reach your strategic planning goals. Let's find a time to connect and discuss in more detail!
