B2B LEADERS REPORT: In the hot seat

The B2B marketing leader – marketing directors, CMOs, heads of marketing and VPs – is an enviable role that most marketers aspire to reach at the peak of their career, and is one that determines corporate strategy and direction. But, what does it mean to be a B2B marketing leader in 2013, and what does it take to succeed in this job?

These are the questions B2B Marketing sought to answer in its upcoming B2B Leaders Report, developed in association with Circle Research.

For the second year running, B2B Marketing has created an in-depth profile of this audience, looking at aspects of branding, budget management, leaders’ performance and team development. 

It seems on the whole, leaders are positive that branding and marketing are in reasonably good health. However, although almost three quarters of leaders felt their brand was well understood internally, and 85 per cent said their brand is based on a sound understanding of their market and customers, less than half agreed it was well understood by those outside the organisation. So why are these statements so disjointed?

Sarah Fry, senior marketing manager at the Electrical Contractors’ Association questions if a brand is actually in good shape if it’s not being understood by customers and prospects: “The strength of an organisation’s brand should be measured in the way in which you are perceived by others, not how you perceive yourself.”

Nick Jefferson, GM, Gyro London is a bit more vocal on the subject, accusing too many brands of being “self-centred, narcissistic affairs,” and makes the point that what often seems significant internally is just noise to the outside world.

When it comes to the marketing function in general, the majority of leaders surveyed agree it is seen as critical to the success of their organisation. Marketing is well respected by other departments for 70 per cent of leaders, and is high on the board’s agenda for over two thirds of respondents. A further 81 per cent revealed marketing is able to demonstrate its value to the organisation.

But, what are the biggest challenges B2B leaders are currently wrestling with?

Results expected fast

Let’s start by looking at leaders themselves. Most are in agreement that strategic skills are their forte. When asked about the skills needed for their role, leaders cited their top three skills as ‘budgeting and management of spend’ (56 per cent), ‘developing marketing strategy’ (46 per cent) and ‘inter-departmental cooperation’ (45 per cent). Their people management skills were, on the whole, weaker (See figure 2 on p24).

In terms of the average length of their tenure, survey respondents occupied their current position for just over three years, expecting to stay for another year or two. But how long do B2B leaders need to make an impact in their job? Most respondents (58 per cent) said results can be achieved within two years.

But Caroline O’Keeffe, marketing director at employee benefits provider, Thomsons Online Benefits thinks two years is a leisurely amount of time: “I work for one of the fastest growing businesses in the UK, and leaders are expected to make an immediate impact and deliver inside six months, not two years.”

O’Keeffe believes a great leader can get to grips with the organisation to make a tangible difference rapidly. But does today’s fast-paced environment, in which good results are demanded immediately, mean some brands have a blasé attitude towards long-term goals and achievements, which could result in letting go of skillful leaders?

Katie Hungerford, marketing manager, ATPI says leaders themselves need to be upfront with realistic goals aligned to their approach and the ability to avoid failing expectations. She says: “Not matching their effort can pile on the pressure, but you have to make a life choice and this means either you work smarter or you relax and understand that for you, it will be a little longer than three years until you make your impact.”

Success breeds success

The majority of leaders (79 per cent) have spotted skills gaps within their teams. 

Gaps causing the most concern include: ‘data analytics and reporting’ (cited as a gap by 59 per cent of respondents), ‘customer or market insight’ (49 per cent) and‘digital marketing techniques’ (44 per cent).

Leaders seem less troubled by traditional skills and internal management. Only a quarter experience some gaps and issues with project management, 19 per cent cited some problems with traditional marketing skills, and supplier or agency management expertise was low for 13 per cent of respondents.

Javier Diez-Aguirre, director, corporate marketing EMEA, Ricoh says analytical skills are imperative to the basic marketing capability, and thinks it’s a shame this gap hasn’t shrunk in line with the growth of big data.

Going back to the earlier point that leaders feel less confident about their people management skills, maybe this is a result of poor delegation or employee empowerment blocking. Andy de Sallis, sales and marketing director at Julius Rutherfoord & Co suggests leaders give employees more ownership: “A leader who surrounds him or herself with colleagues who are better than they are never looks weak – conversely, the whole team becomes much stronger because success breeds success.”

The results also highlight a lack of time as destructive to team development; over two thirds of leaders revealed their team members are too busy to take time out for ad-hoc professional development. However, this isn’t the only barrier holding back the evolution of team skills. Nearly half of respondents cited budget for training as a significant issue. But maybe reasons for stunted marketing team progress is more personal and down to the individual.

Jo Marshall, marketing manager at Kiowa certainly thinks so: “It is the role of the management team to identify skills and personalities and develop these accordingly for operational success. Where gaps are established, training can help, but only
if the person doing the training is interested, capable and skilled enough to grow in that position.”

Top traits of a successful B2B Leader

By The Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing

The mark of a really good leader lies in their personal attributes and people skills. Today’s B2B leaders need:

Agility: to gain knowledge across disciplines and sectors and be comfortable shifting between them.

Clear, unswerving focus: despite the many options available.

Fearlessness: don’t be afraid to fail or to admit what you don’t know. Learn to ask the questions others don’t want to ask, and make sure you learn from the new generation as well as the old.

Stakeholder management: the ability not only to manage your teams and your customers, but also across to other business functions like finance and IT – it’s how you’ll deliver 
against organisational goals, not just marketing objectives.

Compelling ROI is key

Leaders are struggling to prove ROI. Almost two thirds can only measure return half, some of the time or not at all, and this lack of evidence means that for 93 per cent securing future investment is incredibly difficult. A quarter said the impact of not measuring activity meant further difficulties in choosing and justifying which activities to undertake with their budget. So, all in all, if leaders can’t prove ROI, they can’t secure future investment and marketing budgets will shrink as a consequence.

But are issues with demonstrating ROI down to the fact that typically longer, more complex sales cycles in the B2B world make measuring return tricky?

James Trezona, managing director of Mason Zimbler concludes by saying he often finds the problem with ROI is structural, with companies adapting team structures to cope with new challenges, to then find different parts of the business have conflicting goals. Trezona says this is “an immediate way to destroy ROI.” He says it’s the leader’s role to create an environment of certainty to channel infectious positivity to energise every area of the business. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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