You may be unconsciously thwarting your marketing success. Subtle actions and negative mindsets may create an environment counterintuitive to developing and delivering strong solutions. The wrong mindset tamps down marketing’s curiosity to ask probing questions that take the broad to the narrow - which is a key action that enables marketers to strip out the fluff and get to the core of the message.
To unleash the strength of your marketing team, you must ensure that there are no underlying messages and actions that direct your team down the path of uncertainty and doubt.
If you want to improve marketing and its results, try pinpointing the subtle actions that are hindering success.
Here are three questions to consider (and solutions) to help uncover hidden negative undercurrents that may be sabotaging your marketing success.
Do you want your marketing team to function as an agency that simply takes requests and project orders? Tossing a program to-do list to your marketing team creates an order-taker mentality. They will no longer ask probing questions that will allow them to create refined and targeted programs with more significant success opportunities. Invite marketing to the table early and allow them to participate in the process. This will allow your team to engage and share ideas and concerns. Ultimately, they will help improve program success.
Do you encourage a sales and marketing rivalry? Not developing and promoting a team mentality creates a toxic environment rife with finger-pointing. The focus becomes internal instead of external and wastes time and energy that should be directed toward optimizing the buyer’s journey. Embrace a coaching mentality focused on helping your sales and marketing team work together to define leads and opportunities using a common dictionary and vocabulary. Facilitate a Buyer’s Journey walkthrough to ensure that both sales and marketing understand how they each support the buyer throughout the process. Help them understand that they are in a relay race. Each team member must perform flawlessly and securely to pass the baton at the right moment.
Does marketing strategic planning get pushback and limited support? When there is a negative reaction to the mention of a strategy, and you would rather jump to discussing the cool graphics, it means you are encouraging a tactics-first mentality. And, instead of creating a plan based on the strategic goals, you are unconsciously using a hit-or-miss methodology. This mindset also affects your marketing budget (or lack thereof). Tactic-driven processes increase the probability of choosing the wrong channels, misidentifying your overall spending, and creating unrealistic timelines. Encourage a planning mindset. Embrace the strategy mindset, as it will develop critical thinking and fiscally driven quality programs focused on solving business goals while supporting sales success.
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