Seeking out the answers from those that do know

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone suggests an idea in your area of expertise? In Marketing, there seems to never be a shortage of ideas for consideration. What happens when the ideas are being provided by leadership? The visibility on next steps increases.

Quick background: I was new to an organization and was part of a high-profile, long-term project that involved many key stakeholders and top leadership. The group met weekly to talk about the progress of work, communication, events, etc. Within about two to three weeks, it was apparent that the idea of bringing a national conference to the city, by the organization, was of the utmost of importance to the top leaders.

This was uncharted waters. I had planned and executed plenty of events and conferences but to bring a national conference to the city, how does that look? And, my direct leadership was hoping the idea “would go away,” if we gave it enough time. A challenging spot for a new employee. I had been in enough client meetings over the years to know there was a strong likelihood this wasn’t going to “go away” without some effort to understand the opportunities, challenges, etc. related to the idea. And, at that time, a marketing strategic plan did not exist. We had a laundry list of tactical ideas but a true marketing plan would have offered us the ability to hold a conversation around alignment, strategy, effort, resources and more versus chasing (or not chasing) every idea someone offers up in a meeting or hallway.

I pursued the next logical step in my experience and began socializing the idea with strangers in the organization hoping someone would provide me a name or point me in a general direction because they had knowledge I didn’t. I called the chamber of commerce to see about its knowledge on the topic. And, little-by-little, piece-by-piece, I found experts with the needed knowledge. We formed a team and within about four weeks, we had a presentation ready for leadership.

Marketing Strategic Planning

We had our subject matter experts from the Omaha Visitors Center as well as an internal department that specialized in conferences, present the business case for how national conferences vet cities, submit RFCs and more. What we accomplished with our newly formed team was credibility. We served as a knowledge-base to educate and inform on the process and what may or may not be possible based on our realities.

Leadership was now informed and the initial idea quickly evolved into a reality conversation for the organization multiple times over the course of a few years. It may not have been feasible to attract conference A or conference B, however, there was a new opportunity and understanding how to strategically incorporate and pursue conference G or conference H.