The pressure is on.

Let’s face it. It’s not easy being a marketing professional. Your organization’s management team, especially the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is expected to perform more than ever. The board doesn’t want to hear zany excuses like increased competition or limited resources.

  1. Serve as a strategic partner.
    Work for ways to be involved in your organization’s strategic planning process. In fact, marketing must be part of your organization’s culture and not simply a function or expense. That means being proactive about your efforts. Don’t wait for your management team to request a new campaign. Understand and study your organization’s strategic plan, and then present recommendations that line up with those goals. You know you’re still going to get the request to plan the open house or produce a brochure. You can still respond to these demands and develop sensible solutions. But while you’re doing this, focus on the big picture. If the strategic plan calls for a shift in market share, how are you going to align your initiatives to support that objective? You’ll gain instant credibility if you think like your CEO. Ask him or her which two or three initiatives would define the success of the marketing department. Ask what challenges your CEO is facing. What are his or her main concerns? By doing so, you’ll be able to empathize and develop solutions. Before you know it, you’ll be viewed as a problem solver and a trusted advisor. Just make sure you do what you say you’re going to do. And if, by chance, you miss the mark, admit it. Don’t make excuses or place blame. Maintain your integrity. Explain why your plan didn’t work and what you’ll do differently the next time.
  2. Produce results.
    You’re constantly being asked to demonstrate marketing’s return on investment.  Although it may not be easy, depending upon the complexity of the project, it can be done. But it’s just as important to produce results. Virtually every project, whether it’s a newsletter, an advertising campaign or a community event, should have agreed-upon goals before you begin. Whenever possible, these goals should be business or volume related, such as market share, customer visits or revenue generated. But often just as important are communication goals, such as increasing product line preference by a certain percentage, or drawing a specific number of people to a community event or receiving a measurable number of Web site hits or phone calls.
  3. Communicate goals and results.
    Communicate these goals in advance, and then report the results based on your goals.  This isn’t about bragging, but it is about being visible. Yes, it does put pressure on you to produce. But when your CEO knows you’re taking responsibility and accountability for your organization’s success, you’ll earn respect. Your CEO will give your ideas full consideration and is more likely to support you when you find yourself in the middle of an inevitable political storm. Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of orchestrating many high-profile advertising campaigns. But one of my proudest moments to date is managing a team project that not a lot of people knew about and one that certainly didn’t win us any awards. But when the health system’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) cited the communications effort as the main contributor to the initiative’s success, I couldn’t have received a better compliment. It’s no secret that bean counters and marketers don’t always sing from the same hymnal … so when a marketer gets such an endorsement, it’s definitely a career highlight. In short, the initiative was a public relations program that leveraged relationships with physicians and the business community to take on a national insurance carrier — an industry giant known for throwing its weight around and influencing public perception in its favor during negotiations. Our public relations program literally saved the company millions through a much-improved managed care contract. And from a credibility standpoint, the effort demonstrated that marketing and communications can directly make a positive impact on the bottom line. We knew and understood what the management team was facing, and we executed a flawless plan. When it came to justifying the following year’s marketing budget, it was a much easier process because we had demonstrated value.
  4. Develop specific criteria for when to invest marketing resources.
    It’s critical to develop specific criteria for determining when and how to invest in marketing, whether that’s dollars or labor. Is there capacity for the product or service?  Is it truly market ready?  What’s the current or potential contribution margin?  Does this service offer a competitive advantage?  Does it build goodwill in the community? Does it improve employee communication? These are just examples of criteria that might be right for your organization. Often you’ll have more than one criterion for an effort. In addition, criteria will be weighted differently. What’s important is that you form a consensus with your management team on these criteria and their weighting factors. Once you do, the marketing and budget process becomes much more logical and results oriented.
  5. Put the organization’s goals before your own.
    In order to be valued as a strategic partner, you need to demonstrate you’re putting the needs of the organization before your own. Sure, it might be really fun and good for your résumé to work on a new branding campaign, but what your organization might need right now is a direct mail campaign to build relationships with prospective customers during a critical time. And when you’re fully engaged in the organization’s goals and strategy, you may come to the conclusion it’s more important right now for the organization to purchase needed equipment rather than launch a new television commercial. Senior management will view you as a strategist and leader who’s not afraid of making tough decisions.  It sends a very clear message about your motives when you actually recommend spending under budget.
  6. Be a step ahead of the competition.
    Competitive analysis is part of your job. At the very least, make sure you understand what your competition is promoting and what messages they’re communicating. But apart from advertising and promotion, what else are you hearing? Are competitors expanding their departments or adding new employees to key programs? Stay on top of new developments, and communicate them quickly and routinely to your CEO.
  7. Increase the visibility of your CEO.
    Some CEOs are better than others at public visibility and community relations. Be your CEO’s advocate. Place him or her on key corporate, nonprofit or industry boards and seek out creative opportunities for appearances at staff meetings, department meetings and community functions. Position your CEO as a spokesperson on industry related and business topics with the local media.  Start a blog, and ghostwrite articles for your CEO, placing them in key local, regional and national publications. Not only do these techniques add to your CEO’s visibility and success, but they demonstrate your commitment as your CEO’s advocate. This will surely pay dividends by further adding to the value the CEO places on marketing and public relations.
  8. Keep the CEO informed of marketing successes, community events and key company happenings.
    Prepare brief updates that the CEO may choose to use at board meetings. Even if the formal report is not shared, an informed CEO is a happy one. This is especially true for unforeseen situations. CEOs hate surprises and they like to be in a position to anticipate difficult questions from the board, employees or the media. Again, your role as a reliable information source will prove invaluable and will surely result in a relationship based on trust.
  9. Be prepared for a crisis before it happens.
    Nothing demonstrates value more than a poised, orchestrated and prepared response to a crisis situation or disaster. Your response will shape people’s perceptions about your CEO’s handling of a situation. Undoubtedly, your ability to shape both a CEO’s and an organization’s reputations can convert your CEO into an instant marketing champion.  For more specifics on developing a crisis communications plan, please read my article, “Preparing for a Crisis Before It Happens,” available for free at www.golegato.com.
  10. Focus on service.
    Remember, marketing and communications are service roles within your organization.  Your job is to help the organization meet its goals. Always remember that you and your department are there to serve the needs of your company. If your actions demonstrate this belief, you’ll establish the kind of credibility that will allow you to affect meaningful change.