Strategic Alignment is Now Imperative
Marketing Strategic Planning
Marketing is a wildly descriptive term that has many interpretations. If you’re working to position, defend or pivot your current area of expertise in your organization, a few things to consider. These thoughts are based on my experiences during the 2001 and 2008 recessions as well as the ongoing perceptions that marketing may be a “nice to have” versus a strategic partner in solving business challenges. I’m a huge believer in the latter. Are you set-up as a business-ready department? Meaning, are able to quickly adapt to what’s happening. If not, some thoughts below on how to change.
Q: Have you historically been in alignment with the top strategic priorities? If not, get there, fast!
A: Find your peers who are determining the business priorities and listen to what they are being challenged with. Attend as many meetings and conversations as you possibly can to get visibility to the pain points of the company. Bring the challenges back to the team and begin brainstorming how your skillsets, tools, budgets, etc. can transition to support those efforts. It may not feel like the marketing career you signed up for, however, it’s your ability to understand the current priorities that will bring immediate value to the company during this time. And, from experience, I’m confident that minds within a marketing team can brainstorm some fairly incredible solutions if they understand the real challenges the company is facing. Transparency and breaking down silos are also important.
Q: What if your marketing department lacks credibility or isn’t perceived as a trusted strategic partner?
A: Change how you’re working and immediately get in alignment with your peers. If you went into marketing for your career, I’d bet you have some form of creative problem solving. Use it! Get humble. Start taking ideas to your peers (from your industry’s publications or websites, from your network, from your team, from the data sources you hold in marketing, etc.) and begin asking LOTS of meaningful questions so you understand what exactly the challenges are. Now isn’t the time to sit ideal and hope for the best. Or, go with the status quo. Or, to make assumptions that move efforts in the incorrect direction. There is plenty of work to be done in the form of communications to your employees, future employees, customers, prospects, partners, board members, etc. Again, it simply looks different and YOU have to bring the right ideas to solve the current problems. You help manage the brand, right?
Ex: You hear “The company is struggling to answer questions or inquiries in a timely manner.” Great! A problem marketing can absolutely help solve. And, potentially in partnership with other areas of the company. Dig a little deeper and then get to work on bringing solutions. Quick solutions are even better right now!
Can you become an extension of HR to help with any increase of employee inquiries? Can you assist operations in their call center with new scripts or harvest data to develop content based on common inquiries? Or, what about becoming a nimble marketing team that proactively listens to audience X (i.e. market research) and can bring back something that could be a root cause for operational impacts?
The key is being in alignment with Operations, Legal, HR, etc. You are one piece of the solution so figure out HOW marketing creates a short- and long-term impact to the company even if that means revenue will dip but may dip less because you’re involved. Better yet, form a cross-functional team around the challenges that includes HR, Legal, Operations, Marketing, IT, etc. so that you’re able to solve and go-to-market faster than ever before! If everyone is working to solve the same problems then the solutions should consist of everyone’s area of expertise. Side note: I have yet to meet someone in HR or IT who LOVES writing or developing concise messaging so be that subject matter expert who can translate policies or procedures into digestible messages.
Q: How to present your area of expertise in alignment with the top strategic priorities?
A: Put together a quick snapshot of what your team will be executing over the next two to six months that is in direct alignment with the strategic priorities. A written document. Yes, written because it should include the business objectives, goals, target audiences, etc. and how you’ll be supporting the business within your area of expertise and/or alongside other areas of the company. And, it’s a method that can be circulated quickly to bring awareness to all. Continuously communicate, be transparent with your work and adjust based on what’s happening in the company, industry and market.
Q: Marketing is “easy to cut” from the company’s budget. How can I prevent that?
A: Don’t make it easy. You may not control how the business decisions ultimately shake out. What you do control is your ability to adapt and align. Marketing is a key area almost every company invests in. What may not be a familiar way of working, is now not negotiable. With business alignment you will help the company survive and over time thrive. Even if it’s short-term. Ideally, it’s for years to come.
Remember this is part of your career so position yourself as someone who understands the company’s highest priorities and challenges and brings ideas and solutions during this time. Imagine budget cuts, your annual review or possibly a future interview including “How did you respond during COVID-19?” and what you’d love to respond with.
