"THE GROWTH BLOG" - A RESOURCE FOR B2B LEADERS, MARKETERS, SALES & SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

The customer experience is no longer just the realm of marketing – it has become a key competitive differentiator. As a recent Forbes article states, “The customer is in control. Brands need to be more accessible and marketable and so do company boards, not just in terms of corporate governance, but when executing their business strategy and ensuring they are maximising shareholder value”. Marketing must sit at the heart of business decision-making if organisations want to stay ahead of the competition and embrace ever-higher customer expectations. Moreover, the availability of data and analytics has made it possible to assess the impact of marketing strategies on commercial performance, and marketing is increasingly being recognised as a core driver of the business as a result. It’s now in the CEO’s best interest to build a strong relationship with the CMO, and grant him or her a seat at the executive table.

Being the head honcho of an organisation means you probably don’t get the recommended eight hours of sleep. As a leader, your basic responsibilities fill up much of your workday, but your larger-scale responsibilities and concerns are undoubtedly on your mind well into the night. So, what are the things that CEOs worry about the most? 

The shift to the "as a service" world is accelerating. Marketing is no stranger to working with agencies to deliver specific skill sets, such as creative and PR. But now Australia's small and medium business sector is seeing the rise of whole-of-function outsourcing applied to marketing. Firms are recognising that marketing is undergoing a fundamental transition and they aren't able to keep up. Paul Roetzer, author of the marketing performance blueprint  calls it "the marketing performance gap". He talks of three gaps:

Some business leaders are hesitant to embrace digital marketing, believing it to be a complex and costly exercise that requires a complete overhaul of traditional processes. But this doesn’t have to be the case. You can effectively modernise your marketing with a few tweaks here and there. The key is to develop complimentary tactics that enhance your existing strategies and improve the way your business relates to consumers.

Outsourcing isn’t for every organisation, but if you are increasingly finding that you are pushing marketing further and further down your to-do-list or that your current marketing strategies aren’t performing well at all, then it might just be the perfect solution for you. Used correctly, outsourcing your marketing can bring plenty of value to your business. Have a read of this blog post to see if you are the right candidate for outsourcing and to see the benefits of moving your marketing out-of-house (as well as some top tips from the experts):

Content marketing has been around for long enough now that most businesses are practising it in some form. According to a 2015 report on the state of content marketing in Australia, 89% of respondents said they are using content marketing, defined as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action”. Out of this figure however, only 29% believe their content marketing is effective.

Those of us in the inbound world know that the buyer’s journey has drastically changed. Buyers today have more control than ever before ­– they are self-educating and empowered by the information they can find online. The salesperson doesn’t dictate the sale anymore – buyers connect with brands when they’re ready and on their terms. This change in buyer behaviour means that now, more than ever, it’s imperative that the sales and marketing functions are aligned.

Here at g2m we are great advocates of continuous learning. We think there is always more knowledge you can acquire and there is always room for improvement, and not just within the marketing teams – it is just as much on C-suite executives as it is on those carrying out everyday tasks to stay on the education ball. A recent TEC article, Top 5 leadership books for CEOs, heralds a great starting point for those looking to ramp up their leadership skills. Here are our three favourites out of the five suggested by TEC.