Published on 11/28/2024 – Last Updated on 11/28/2024 by OTC
Marketing has changed dramatically over the last 100 years or so, although its existence has been present since the dawn of humanity- most ignoring it!
The way in which we advertise ourselves to each other, the way we present ourselves and how we attract a potential partner is rooted in our genetics and is as clear a form of marketing as can be expressed.
Marketing has rapidly evolved, with teams now juggling multiple roles while proving their value across the business. Increasingly, it seems that marketing is expected to deliver more business impact and drive revenue, fast. Research shows 40% of CMOs face greater pressure to prove ROI quickly, while 47% must directly impact revenue. That said, marketing quickly became in vogue over the last 100 years, with the famous anecdotes from founders such as Henry Ford and the advent of mass production and over capitalism. According to H.Ford: ‘A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.’
Perhaps obviously, with so many marketers now following the same processes, and marketing now being run by data scientists as opposed to those with natural behavioural instinct, the next phase is upon us. This is one where the natural new frontier is an understanding of how people actually think and act, and thereby finding the best way to engage with them on their terms. In a sense, it is moving away from the manipulative techniques that have been made famous by so many companies during the digital age and instead to a more positive age altogether.
It’s worth pausing for a moment to consider why this happened,
as along with mass consumption of consumer goods, consumer choice increased dramatically and so did the requirement to capture their attentions.
Over 70% of B2B prospects define their needs before contacting sales, with nearly half identifying solutions beforehand. Marketing content must therefore deliver real impact ahead of any sales conversations. As well as the pressure of delivering at speed, the marketing team is playing a growing role in driving digital marketing transformation and keeping up with the latest in technology.
In the US alone, approximately 70% of digital marketing transformations in B2B organisations are led by senior marketing leaders.
This age of authenticity requires a clear understanding of how a brand should act because it is in-tune with its target audience and society more broadly. Furthermore, by understanding this audience, marketing becomes uniquely in sync with the business’ mission and its products. Of course, like in every age that has gone before, there are businesses that have always pioneered this approach. In fact, the people leading many of the most successful companies during the digital age e.g. Google, Apple, and Tesla were in fact experts in both the art and science and marketing. And this age will be driven by a realisation that both art and science are crucial for marketing success.
Marketing Matters – All teams should know its value
As a result of this is that marketing team focus and resource are being pulled in different directions, and prioritisation has never been harder. Short term initiatives, long-term brand building, reporting and proving ROI are all competing for your attention and time. In the rush to transform and the squeeze on resource, teams may be feeling out of their depth – and need additional support with the day-to-day of how to best utilise the marketing stack. The fact is, only 27% of marketers say their marketing data is fully integrated with their systems and tools, while a sizeable 69% of B2B marketers feel that their team are not very effective in their roles.
Combine this with the age-old marketing challenge: ‘Everyone has a viewpoint to share, yet wider departments don’t always understand the purpose of marketing.‘
The multi-faceted role of marketing
Marketing leaders are working harder than ever, facing industry-wide challenges, including:
Defending the marketing strategy.
Educating wider teams on the value of marketing.
Making sure the goals and priorities stay on track.
Proving value to the business and driving future growth.
And, ultimately, delivering value to customers.
So how do you showcase how the work marketing does?
It all starts with raising awareness of the sheer scope and depth of work, challenges and inputs produced as well as the impact they will have.
Here are 5 tips to help…
1. Improve your team’s visibility
Give company decision makers regular updates on what you’re currently working on. Consider creating a simple one-page plan to outline everything for the year, why it’s important and how it aligns back to business objectives.
2. Speak stakeholder language
Don’t assume marketing language will be universally understood – so make sure you’re using accessible and widely known terms to communicate your strategy. Explain marketing terminology and tell your story in a simple, easy to understand way, welcome questions and explore metrics as ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’.
3. Showcase your services and skillsets
Create a marketing brochure, showcasing your skills and services to educate teams on when to approach marketing for support. Run internal workshops to educate and inspire.
Use these sessions to show the buyer journey, the value of marketing, and best practice industry examples.
4. Treat wider teams like customers
Consider Teams as Internal Customer. Frame your conversations around their world: ask about conversion rates, where gaps are and where they’re doing well, and align your projects to their objectives and values.
Be prepared to hear their challenges and objections, and show how you’ll solve them.
5. Communicate all outcomes
Build internal credibility and trust by communicating the goals and outcomes of projects, as well as aligning expectations. By setting out what will be achieved and when you will alleviate pressure and manage expectations. When those updates do come, it’s equally as important to share when your campaign hasn’t achieved what you were expecting, as it is to share successes.
The result of this is that we will see much greater differences between brands that are truly authentic and those that are merely trying to hack their marketing efforts for short-term gain. Being authentic is in itself the great hack, as it ensures that a business is truly relevant in the first place. If it is, then it is presented in the best possible way to customers, and subsequently, it is likely to grow most successfully in the short, medium and long-term.
Of course, the businesses that follow this approach will quickly rise to prominence and gain the interest of investors who are looking to model growth and investment. Once this happens, these approaches will be a requirement in the same way that data science is now a de facto element within a marketing department.
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