I will readily admit that today, marketing ain’t easy. Long gone are the days when marketing’s function was limited to buying media and creating print ads or TV or radio spots (think Mad Men, only with less shenanigans).
Modern marketing leaders are neck-deep in Web properties, content development (from 140-character tweets to lengthy brochures), social media, digital media, “alternative” media and umpteen sales enablement activities.
Marketing systems have grown significantly more sophisticated in the last 10 years than in the previous 40 years combined. BI, CRM, MAP, MRM, SAM, WCM and numerous other two- and three-letter acronyms litter pages of marketing plans and process flow diagrams. This is all very overwhelming indeed for marketers.
So, what is the result of all of this? In my experience as a consultant at SiriusDecisions, I have found that our clients fall into three primary groups – the embracers, the adventurers and the paralyzed. The embracers take all of their new duties and new technologies in stride, managing to integrate new roles, processes and technologies at an appropriate pace to drive incremental capability and improvement.
The adventurers move more quickly – and at times, more recklessly – bringing in new systems and processes without a clear business case or communication plan. They often find themselves riddled with false starts, partially functioning systems and misalignment between resources. The paralyzed are a whole separate breed. They are simply mired in place and time, not knowing how or when to proceed.
Let me share some observations about organizations that are paralyzed:
To the paralyzed among us, I say, “Don’t just sit there – do something!” Put a plan in place and get started, one step at a time. Be realistic in your approach – you cannot complete everything in the next 30 days. Expect to fail at times but fail quickly and fail small, then learn and make course corrections. The important thing here is to take that first step and build some confidence.
For example, identify one high-impact improvement that can realistically be accomplished over the next quarter. Build a mini-business case showing what is required to get it done and how things will look after implementation. Share that with your leaders and your peers. Build support for change and then drive. Solicit buy-in from relevant teams and managers and avoid scope creep to ensure a quick win, and then use that win as a springboard for the next big idea.
Is your organization among the paralyzed? Or do you see your organization in one of the other groups, or a different group altogether?
Whatever the case, let SiriusConsulting™ know. We would love to hear from you and can even help you create a plan to achieve your goals.