The evolution of marketing’s role in the business
Within the world’s leading professional services firms, the marketing department plays a crucial role in driving strategic growth initiatives. Until recently, the marketing function at one of Propolis’s member firms were decentralized in the business, with each service line and industry operating its own marketing team. This decentralized approach led to varied marketing practices across the organization.
The member firm then made a strategic decision to centralize its marketing efforts, creating a unified brand and marketing function. This newly created team forms part of the overall Growth function and is designed to support the whole of the business in client engagements and ensure that the company’s marketing strategies align with its broader growth objectives.
Marketing Director
The challenges of the newly centralized marketing team
“While new people do join the business with fresh perspectives and ideas, in such a large organization, it can be challenging to shift behaviors and make significant changes.” explains the Marketing Director.
“We’re focused on creating value through adopting approaches like account-based marketing, the latest marketing technology strategies, and techniques to become more commercially focused marketers. These are areas where we’ve engaged with Propolis to support us in identifying industry best practices.”
The decentralized structure also contributed to inconsistencies in marketing practices, making it difficult to implement a cohesive strategy across the organization. Additionally, there was a pressing need to shift the internal perception of the marketing function from being seen merely as a tactical support role to being recognized as a strategic partner capable of driving revenue and contributing to the company’s growth. We’re a large organization competing with similar-sized firms, but also the numerous boutique consulting firms that have emerged over the last five to ten years. The market is much more congested now, so we need to be more strategic in how we address it.
Setting clear objectives for their Propolis membership
The organization joined Propolis in February 2022, with their membership driven by three key objectives:
1. Elevate the skill level of the marketing team
Particularly in strategic areas like ABM and commercial marketing.
2. Create a more unified and consistent marketing approach
Across the various service lines and industry teams.
3. Transform internal perceptions
Shifting the marketing function from a support-focused role to a strategic partner, is integral to the company’s success.
How the Propolis program was adopted in the business
To achieve these objectives, Propolis worked with the client to develop and implement a phased adoption approach. Initially, Propolis was introduced to a small group of around 15-20 marketing professionals who were identified as likely to benefit most from the specialized expertise available. As the value of Propolis became increasingly apparent, the member firm expanded access to include the entire centralized marketing team.
This expansion allowed the Propolis program of strategic support, training and on-demand resources to be quickly integrated into daily marketing operations. Furthermore, the member firm encouraged its marketing professionals to actively participate in Propolis events and made these insights a regular part of strategic discussions, ensuring that the knowledge gained was effectively applied across the organization.
The results: More informed strategic marketing initiatives across the business
The partnership with Propolis has delivered substantial benefits to the client.
One of the most notable outcomes has been the significant enhancement of the marketing team’s capabilities, particularly in specialized areas such as ABM and commercial marketing. This improvement has enabled the organization to implement more informed and strategic marketing initiatives across the firm.
Additionally, there has been a marked increase in the marketing team’s engagement with Propolis resources and events. The insights gained from Propolis have been shared widely within the organization, contributing to more cohesive and effective marketing strategies. Moreover, the strategic alignment of the marketing function with the firm’s broader business objectives has improved, with marketing now being seen as a more integral part of the client’s strategic operations.
“Everyone in a B2B marketing role can benefit from having someone like Propolis Expert Shane Redding come in and share insights on what’s happening across the professional services market. She provides great examples of successful campaigns and the resulting uplifts.”
Ongoing relationship with Propolis
Looking ahead, the client plans to continue leveraging its membership with Propolis to further refine and enhance its marketing strategies. It intends to further deepen the integration of Propolis into the marketing team’s daily operations, with a particular focus on further developing its ABM capabilities. The client also aims to continue driving a cultural shift within the organization towards a more strategic, market-oriented approach to marketing. In addition, the organization plans to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of Propolis on marketing effectiveness and to use these metrics to optimize its strategies moving forward.
We’re seeing people take the findings and advice from Propolis and not just discuss them within the brand and marketing community, but also present them to partners across the business. They’ve even changed strategies and perspectives based on this external evidence, which is making a noticeable impact on the learning and development culture within the brand and marketing team.
