In case you hadn't noticed marketing is undergoing a revolution, the profession is in a state of enormous upheaval laid waste by deep budget and personnel cuts but more excitingly by genuine breakthrough technologies that radically alter the ROI of marketing and mean we might actually, genuinely, be able to measure marketing for once and prove to that pesky CFO that marketing is in fact a worthwhile investment and a genuine contributor to sales and profits.

But significant change is required in most marketing departments and regardless of the wonders of new tools and technologies, change is hard and the highest risk of failure is not that the technology doesn't work, it's that the team hasn't bought into the change and the stakeholders throughout the organisation are not on board. Change programmes are a minefield.

So here are 5 tips for driving a successful change program in your firm, the 5 first letters of each heading rather neatly spell out G.O.A.L.S. Your first task is to think up a suitably corny pun for your company newsletter or blog!

This blog draws heavily from a recent post on Hubspot, by the clearly very smart Julie Devaney.

Game plan.

The decision has been made, and the transition to a new marketing platform is going to happen...now what? To kick-off the transformation, ask yourself (and your team) the following questions

• Why did we make the decision to adopt the new platform?
   
• What are our long term goals related to this change program?
   
• What are our immediate goals?

With this information, create a Transition Plan that is accessible to your entire team. The plan should answer the questions listed above, in addition to anticipated milestone and "Go Live" dates, to provide full transparency for when changes are expected. Keep in mind that your plan doesn't have to be a detailed 150 page thesis. Keep it simple for yourself and your team. It's amazing how often transition teams lose sight of the overarching goals of the program and decisions are made that stray from the core objectives.

Outline:

What do your current marketing processes look like? Who in your organization lives and breathes these processes to do their job? One of the biggest roadblocks to a successful implementation of any change comes from plain old confusion.  When expectations are not clearly defined, and new tasks are not outlined, there is a tendency to hang onto the "familiar" rather than move forward with something new. Spend time with each person in your organization who will be impacted by the shift to inbound marketing, to ensure next steps are clearly defined. Schedule 1-on-1 sessions to outline and discuss the differences in their day-to-day tasks and general responsibilities. It's extremely important to make sure everyone has a clear understanding of the changes to their job, and the expectations associated so they can successfully work toward marking inbound marketing happen.  Take time to listen to ideas. Often those involved in the day to day details realise early on when something just won't work, you can save yourself many hours of wasted work. Conversely sometimes people are just frightened of change, they are nervous they won't be needed any more, take time to reassure them.

Adoption:

Once a change is recognized and its impact is understood, the third hurdle is putting the change into action. Getting your team to adopt and drive the changes that have been explained and outlined is critical. Rather than saying "Ready, go!" - make the adoption a collaborative effort. It's important to build momentum and excitement around the changes to increase buy-in, satisfaction, and motivation. How many people are involved in the transition process? Come up with a contest to "Name the Change," and the winner becomes the "Brand Champion" of the project. What is the date of your first milestone, and why is it so important? Can you have a happy hour after to celebrate? Think of fun ways to help brand the project, and to rally and encourage your team. Change management projects are often thought of as daunting and overwhelming. While there are certainly challenges involved, creating an atmosphere of excitement and collaboration will help build morale and develop change agents among your team.

Learning:

You also want to make sure there is a learning plan in place. Do you have an internal learning coach or trainer who can help coordinate some training sessions to your entire team?  Ask your team to subscribe to relevant blogs to your sector, download white papers and articles. If they find a good pre recorded webinar, get them to share the link or get together over lunch, play the webinar and lead a discussion on the topic. Providing resources in conjunction with some formal training will build the confidence of your team, and provide them with the knowledge needed to successfully drive change. Frequently there are some real issues within or between teams or managers who engage in unconstructive behaviour. This is a dangerous situation and will threaten to derail your project. At g2m solutions we use the excellent team development programs from Human Synergistics, to assist with change projects. If managers need development we use the Life Style Inventory (LSI) also from Human Synergistics.

Share:

As with any major project or transition in an organization, communication is key.  Keep everyone who is part of the change involved and informed. If your team lives within the same office space, dedicate a free whiteboard to your change management project, where people can post updates, announce contests, brainstorm, and share questions.  Hold a weekly status meeting, and plan review and contingency sessions around key milestones. Keeping the lines of communication open is vital.

As with any change, a complete transition does not happen overnight.  Keep these 5 tips for setting change management goals in mind as you champion the change program in your organization, and don't burden yourself by thinking everything has to happen all at once. At g2m Solutions we work with many firms to plan and then deliver marketing change programs. We help firms roll out tools that change the game in terms of cost per lead, reduced costs and increased effectiveness. But working closely with our client's teams is what makes the project a success. What have been your experiences of marketing change programmes? Does the G.O.A.L.S. acronym stack up in your opinion?