In your company, probably, the development teams set calendars and product deadlines, then produce new software. Your engineering team creates blueprints and plans. Your production team knows exactly how many finished products will come out at the end of the production line every day, every hour and every minute.
With marketing, on the other hand, there’s no clear traditional line of sight between action and outcome, and ROI has not always been easy to illustrate. In the last three years, though, us marketers have infinitely more data to tap into and analyze, and hundreds of new tools to help us out at each stage of the sales process. If you would like to demonstrate your marketing effectiveness within your company (or, in our case, to the wonderful Envision Works clients), you are now able to communicate specific goals, metrics, actions and progress – and successfully deliver against those goals.
Here’s how:
- Align marketing goals with company goals.
If you want to create marketing results that matter to everyone in your company, set goals that tie directly to the results the company needs to achieve. This may seem obvious, but many marketers define inward-facing, self-serving goals that are at direct odds with the rest of the company. Be a team player, and enjoy the joint rewards.
- Motivate your team.
Make sure the team understands the marketing plan and each person understands his or her role. Asking for your team’s commitment to achieve your goals is not corny or old-fashioned; it’s absolutely necessary to ensure everyday engagement. Here’s another tip: break down the overall goals into weekly, monthly or quarterly goals to keep it all manageable.
- Plan to plan.
In any marketing department, planning usually takes a back seat to the daily tasks – and marketing emergencies – at hand. Make sure you take time to create detailed work plans, again, broken down into manageable chunks. Of course, planning is only part of the picture. Once you create the plan, you have to work the plan.
- Create a living scorecard or dashboard.
Transparency isn’t just a buzzword; it’s very helpful for everyday motivation. Whether a product, marketing or intestate roadmap, you can’t get to where you’re going if you don’t know where you are at any given moment. So set up a living Google doc, worksheet or any other kind of dashboard to keep track of progress, and make it visible to the entire team.
- Hold everyone accountable – including yourself.
The living scorecard or dashboard is also a great way to hold everyone on your team accountable for results – good and not so good. Use these regular reports to stop a marketing plan tailspin before it starts and make sure the entire team stays on track.
- Communicate with the rest of the company.
If you want the rest of the company to know what to expect from the marketing department, you have to tell them. Take every opportunity to communicate your goals and progress, pointing out how everything is in alignment with other company departments. Almost instantly, you will take the mystery out of marketing, create broader company awareness for all you do and garner the company appreciation you deserve.