Whilst marketing has the capability to be a true strategic stakeholder and growth driver within any business, it often gets relegated to the position of chief lead generator, or collateral developer. Of course, that’s not to say these activities aren’t important, but marketing has the data, insight, expertise, and intelligence to operate at a much more strategic level.
Positioned correctly, marketing can help drive entire business strategies forward, with a clear focus on revenue growth. Positioned incorrectly (or at least sub-optimally), and marketing risks being seen as cost-center. This means marketing budgets will be cut when times get tough, and businesses will fail to get the most value possible out of marketing. In essence, everyone loses.
With that in mind, over the next few months in Propolis, we intend to tackle this issue by looking into how we’ve got into this situation, what leading B2B marketers are doing to overcome it, and what a blueprint for a commercial marketer looks like. By speaking with our members along the way (more on that later), we’ll look to uncover the exact areas they need help in most, ensuring our members have the skills they need to start acting as the best commercial marketer possible.
But first, let’s define exactly what we mean by the term “commercial marketer”.
A commercial marketer is one who thinks business first, and marketing second
Working with our two Strategy Experts in Propolis, Shane Redding and Georgie Gilmore, we have defined the term “commercial marketer” as follows:
“A marketer whose primary skillset and value is in their ability to think strategically and drive measurable business growth through marketing. A commercial marketer thinks about the wider business objectives first and foremost, and marketing tactics and specialisms second. By comparison, a commercial marketer is not a marketer who is primarily occupied by achieving tactical wins or results in one isolated metric.”
Of course, this definition is fairly broad and applies to all levels of marketer. If we’re to look at marketing leaders specifically, we define this as follows:
“A marketing leader who is responsible for setting the overall business goals and strategy together with the CEO and other executive leaders. They should be focused on the needs of the business first and foremost, and then formulate the marketing strategy to deliver against those business imperatives. By comparison, a commercial marketing leader is not a marketer who is primarily occupied by achieving tactical wins or results in one isolated metric.”
Right now, we would urge all marketers to keep the relevant definition in mind when logging on each day. If you can say with confidence that you are approaching marketing as outlined above, then you’ll already be in a good starting position.
The pace of change and the rise of the CRO have led us to this place
As Shane Redding explained on a recent episode of The B2B Marketing Podcast, which you can listen to here: “The commercial marketer is a very hot topic for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of the post-pandemic pace of change – in markets, customers, and critically, in B2B organizations themselves, many of whom are looking to transform the way they operate. Like many changes, this shift has been evolving over a long period, with tech companies leading the acceleration (with eCommerce replacing the traditional B2B sales channels and bringing in Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) heading both the sales and marketing function).
“This has been driven by the challenge of marketing needing to report on what the board needs: clear lead and lag financial indicators of business performance. CROs have demonstrated they can deliver this, but not all CMOs have been able to.”
“In addition to this, in recent years B2B marketing has often lost two of the four Ps: price and product. In my opinion, for many CMOs who have been promoted in the last five years, this means that they do not have control, or even influence, on two key marketing growth levers. This is a disaster! I do not think you can be a fully rounded commercial marketer unless these are in some way part of your role.”
In a separate conversation, Georgie Gilmore added to this by claiming: “Being a commercial marketer means owning strategy for the business, with the four Ps at the very heart of this. In some of the world’s most successful organizations, marketing leads the business forward and sets that strategy, together with the CEO. Sadly, in the past few years, marketing has in many businesses been reduced to a campaign, and delivery function, focusing on short-term goals and tactics, which by their very nature may not drive longer-term sustainable and profitable business. Marketers have also become increasingly specialized in niche areas, creating a siloed approach and possibly limited understanding of their businesses’ overall goals and marketing strategy.”
How we’re tackling this in Propolis
Becoming a commercial marketer is not going to be a case of reading one report or attending one training course. Fundamentally, it requires a mindset shift and a number of skills.
To help you take this journey and become the commercial marketer that businesses the world over need, we’ll be doing the following:
- Joel Harrison, Propolis Co-Founder, and Editor-in-Chief will be interviewing Chris Wright, BSI, and Simon Rusling, Barnett and Waddingham, to get the “view from the top”. Chris and Simon are two seasoned marketing leaders who’ve gone up to the board level and have returned to senior marketing positions. In this interview, Joel will ask Chris and Simon to share their experience of how the board perceives marketing, and what marketing needs to do to be seen as a truly commercial function, and not a cost-center.
- The Community Sprint begins. For context, a Community Sprint is a short, high-engagement period in which we bring the Propolis community together to tackle a collective challenge – in this case: what’s holding marketing back from maximizing its impact and strategic impact on organizations? In order to answer this ultimate Sprint question, we’ll kick things off with a roundtable for our leader-level members. The conversation? How can marketing leaders build trust and influence with fellow members of the C-Suite, in order to enhance their strategic and commercial impact? This roundtable (available to all Propolis leaders) is a chance to share approaches to proving the commercial value that marketing has and learn what other marketers are doing about this too.
- As the second installment of our Community Sprint, we’ll be running a panel discussion on a new vision for B2B marketing teams: The importance and opportunity for redefining marketing’s role within the business. In this Panel (available to all Propolis members), Shane Redding will be joined by the B2B marketing leaders who are really making an impact in this area. This session is the opportunity for members to: 1.) understand the opportunity they have to drive commercial success for their business (and own career); and 2.) learn how leading B2B marketers are acting as commercial revenue drivers, and the things you can do today to change your approach. In the session, we’ll also be running a series of polls to understand more about where members most need help in order to become commercial marketers.
- As the third installment of the Community Sprint, Georgie Gilmore will be running a best practice briefing on: How to become a commercial marketer and prove the impact you’re having on revenue. Whilst the first two installments of the Sprint are an opportunity to understand the challenges and the opportunity, this session will be a deep dive into how marketers can practically start behaving as commercial marketers and prove the impact they are having on revenue.
- As the fourth and final installment of the Community Sprint, I’ll be speaking with Gursaran Marjara, former CMO of The Access Group, and current Non-Executive Director at The Access Group and Forterro. Gursaran is a shining example of a commercial marketer in action, and I’ll be asking him about his own personal approach and the key things that you need to keep in mind if you’re to act as a truly commercial driver.
- Propolis Data & Insights Expert, Tony Lamb, will be speaking with a CFO in this live event, walking you through the exact metrics you need to use when talking the language of finance. Shortly after, we’ll be publishing Tony’s full report on the financial metrics
For now, that’s how we intend to help you become a commercial marketer. However, we’ll be using the Community Sprint to learn more about our member’s specific challenges and will create more events, content, and resources to help you succeed.
