How to Align Executives and Marketing Staff to Achieve Sales Goals
Even the most well-oiled corporation can suffer from one major issue: the gap between executives and employees, especially when it comes to their perceptions and approaches to marketing.
Given that leaders may not be involved in the day-to-day tasks and decision-making, they may have a vastly different opinion of the direction that a company’s marketing is headed. The two parties might not even agree on results: 69% of C-level executives believe that their organizations have a successful marketing strategy, but only 55% of individual contributors believe the same. That indicates a disparity that must be addressed. Check out the ideas below to align executives and marketing staff to achieve sales goals.
Further Dissonance
Here are other areas where execs and staff see things through different lenses.
31% of C-level executives believe that their sales and marketing teams are strategically aligned for success, yet only 17% of managers agree.
Even their opinions about how to market to leads varies: 40% of salespeople think that the best way to contact a lead is via telephone, but only 26% of C-level executives agree.
With such a discrepancy in thought, it’s important to get both sides of the business on the same page. Here are a few concerns to be aware of if that doesn’t happen:
1. Executives May Demand Results Prematurely
When the C suite wants results, they often don’t realize that sometimes those take time to achieve. Marketers may feel pressured to deliver, and therefore will fail, simply because there is a misalignment in expectations and reality.
The Solution: Involve both sides in the planning process. Explain how soon results should be expected. Keep executives apprised so they feel included.
2. The Message Delivered May Confuse Some
With too many cooks in the kitchen, it can be hard to actually create anything of value. Executives may want to weigh in on marketing messages, while sales and marketing teams struggle to do what they do best: actually create and deliver those messages. The result can be muddled messaging, which won’t do any good in trying to reach your audience.
The Solution: Encourage execs to be hands-off when it comes to the actual tactical work of marketing. After all, they trusted managers to hire the best people for the job, so let them do their work.
3. High-Level Views Often Can’t Reveal the Details
If C-level executives are not aware of what their marketing teams are doing every day or aren’t tapped into their customer base on a regular basis, it is unlikely that they will be able to truly understand what a brand’s audience wants, and yet they may still be keen to provide input.
The Solution: Draw the line between how executives can be involved (attending meetings, providing input) and where marketing teams take over (creating the messaging and campaigns). Also provide the data and analytics to any executive who is interested in learning more about your audience, and encourage them to be more in touch with what’s happening at the ground level.
Don’t panic if your firm is experiencing this sort of gap in understanding. Remember most B2B firms are facing the exact same chasm. But do take some firm steps toward bringing your organization together.
Strong communication, coupled with providing the proof of results and return on marketing investment (ROMI), can go a long way toward making sure that everyone is on the same page.
If you’d like help getting your marketing and sales processes, technology stack in place, or with executing your campaigns, contact us today!
