Conrad cites a top-heavy team as one of his key resource issues. “We’ve got three senior people, but only one exec resource,” he says. This means senior marketers doing a lot of work below their level of responsibility. It also creates the risk that if one of them leaves, there’s no succession plan in place for more junior staff to step up.
Developing a pool of talent for a team of future leaders is important. While focusing on skills that may be missing within your team is crucial, so is ensuring a mix of senior and junior talent to keep the balance right. How can you achieve this?
“Think of a good mix of people and bring succession planning into the organisation,” says Conrad. “People don’t leave a company, they leave a manager. How personally involved you are with the team is crucial.” Other factors are also at play, Conrad explains, such as the ability to benchmark your employees’ salaries.
In a small organisation that’s growing very quickly, he’s found there’s a real emphasis on growing the team. With plans to double the number of employees in the company every year for the next couple of years, there’s a need to focus on talent they need in 2022 for a very different organisation. “Having the skills for tomorrow is important.”
As it is for many marketers, budget is a big issue for Laura. “The UK is not a big growth market for us, so there’s a lot of pressure on budget,” she says. “I believe there’s a lot of opportunities but if the company is looking to get the best ROI, it would rather invest in Asia or South America.”
Establishing the percentage of total revenue your marketing budget accounts for is often a good rule of thumb. Laura suggests a minimum of 2.5% as favourable for marketers, but dealing with this situation is about accepting what you’ve been handed and prioritising.
“At first it was difficult because the previous marketing director would say ‘yes’ to everything sales was doing and they were regularly over budget,” Laura says. This changed when she started in the role and spent a lot of time saying ‘no’ – a mindset she is trying to instil in her team as well.
This was backed up by looking at ROI of previous campaigns. Just a single sale resulted from the 26 campaigns carried out in one year – evidence enough that budget was better spent elsewhere. Now, she reasons, if activities don’t tie into the global strategy, say no. “I feel comfortable doing that because I have the buy-in of the boss and the CEO. They’re challenging us to do more and prioritise. If you can say no to 80% of the rubbish, you’re in a good position.”
When marketers feel they don’t have sufficient resources for their operations, it can often come down to where marketers have made poor technology purchases when they’ve been after a quick fix, explains Ashling.
“Businesses should be looking to implement technologies that provide insight in real-time, empowering them to provide a better service to customers. The end goal should be to have all types of data on a single platform, which offers a 360-degree customer view – rather than creating silos within the business through unaligned technologies,” she says.
Thinking about the bigger picture when choosing the right tech is crucial. So, how can marketers make the most out of their stack regardless of their size or budget? Ashling explains AI gives businesses the power of foresight – and can be a real leveller. “Affordable tools and services are now available, making AI accessible to businesses, and can be a shrewd investment. Smart technologies can create a more level playing field for small businesses when competing with much larger enterprises.”
While almost six in 10 customers are open to companies using AI to improve their experiences, its immense data analysis capability helps businesses offer the same personalised service consumers come to expect – a wise investment when belts are tightened.
Standing your ground and fighting for what you believe in when under pressure is the most valuable advice Mark has to share with fellow marketing leaders. Marketing is always in the hot seat, he explains. Rebrands – such as the one tech business, Rackspace, has recently undertaken – stir up a lot of emotion and opinion. If you solely focused on gaining group buy-in, you’ll be a slave to consensus in the name of reducing tension. This means you can end up with homogenised ideas that try to please everyone. “That’s easier said than done,” Mark cautions. “But when I’ve not had fortitude, I’ve usually been penalised for it.”
Stick to what you believe in and have the conviction to back it up, he offers. “It can be strategic in nature. We all come to that crossroads sometimes in our organisation, when there’s always going to be conflict with people we report to between what we think is best for the business might conflict what others think is the appropriate direction.
“As a marketing leader, when you have decisions that are based on experience, research and data, it’s a perilous journey to turn away from that in the name of appeasement.”
Where Mark’s made his biggest mistakes is when he hasn’t stood up and fought for the things he felt strongly about, he underlines – strength and fortitude might be your most valuable resource if you use it wisely.
