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Running an agency for nearly two decades has given me a unique perspective on the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and senior executives. I estimate we have collaborated with over 500 companies, and I have observed a recurring pattern: Some businesses immediately grasp how to leverage our services effectively, while others struggle to harness the power of marketing.
In this article, we will explore five common signs that indicate your organization might be grappling with marketing-related problems, then we’ll dive into the elements necessary for success.
1. Marketing feels like a black box
If you find yourself asking, “What is marketing even doing?” it’s a sign your organization lacks visibility into the impact of your marketing efforts. You routinely feel frustrated that marketing feels too slow and disconnected from the business. Many organizations fall into this trap, where marketing becomes a mysterious process detached from tangible outcomes.
2. High turnover of marketing talent
If your in-house marketing talent stays less than 24 months, it’s likely one of two reasons. The first is that you don’t know what capability you need to execute the strategy (because you don’t have a strategy), and the marketing pro you hired is tasked with needing to know everything about everything. The second is that marketing has too many priorities, and its time, resources and energy are spread so thinly that nothing really gets done well.
3. Limited insight despite marketing technology investments
Many organizations allocate significant resources to marketing technology but struggle to derive meaningful insights from their efforts. If you’re spending money on mar-tech without seeing tangible results, it’s time to reassess your approach. This is likely a sign you have underdeveloped processes for clean-data collection, analysis and reporting, which keep you from being able to make informed decisions.
4. Marketing operates in isolation from business strategy
A common pitfall is treating marketing as an isolated function, detached from your overall business strategy. For marketing to thrive, it must be seamlessly integrated with your broader organizational objectives. Foster collaboration and communication between marketing and other departments, such as sales, product development and customer service.
5. Over-reliance on a single source of revenue
Relying heavily on a single source of revenue can leave your organization vulnerable to unexpected disruptions. Whether relying on a trade show, founder sales, a major relationship, or key sales personnel, diversifying your revenue streams is crucial for long-term sustainability. If you’re struggling to develop meaningful channels that de-risk your primary legacy channel, you have unmeasured risk in your organization.
If these are the problems, how do you make them go away?
To unlock marketing success, senior executives must address several key elements:
◗ Alignment: Clearly define the purpose of marketing and prioritize objectives that align with your business strategy. This alignment ensures that all marketing efforts are focused and contribute to your organization’s overall goals.
◗ Test: If you ask everyone around the executive table for marketing’s most important goal, are the answers the same?
◗ Ownership: Establish executive-level accountability for marketing. By assigning ownership and responsibility, you create a culture of responsibility and continual improvement.
◗ Test: If marketing has a problem, does the same person raise their hand and say, ‘Hey, that’s on me to fix,’ or does everyone point to people outside the room?
◗ Resourcing: Determine the appropriate level of investment and resources needed to achieve your marketing goals. This includes allocating budget, hiring top talent, and providing the necessary tools and technology.
◗ Test: Is there parity between your goals and the pace of progress expected with the resources allocated to solving?
◗ Operations: Integrate marketing with your business strategy and ensure alignment with sales. Develop a system for measuring progress and reporting results, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategies as needed.
A parallel with finance
In marketing, we too often expect episodic tactics to do the work of an integrated strategy.
Let’s look at the world of finance. Just as hiring an outside CFO to create a budget does not equate to financial sophistication, investing in one-off marketing tactics will not guarantee success.
A sophisticated financial environment requires a thorough approach, including a thoughtful chart of accounts, accounting processes, reporting mechanisms and disciplined behavior. Similarly, marketing demands a strategic and comprehensive approach to yield real results.
Executives seeking growth must overcome these common marketing pitfalls to unlock sustainable success and value creation. By addressing the signs of marketing struggles and focusing on alignment, ownership, resourcing and operations, you can position your organization for growth and market leadership.•
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Sauder is CEO of Element Three, an Indianapolis-based marketing consultancy, and host of the podcast “Scared Confident.” She is also owner of Share Your Genius.
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