How to transform your marketing process - 5 steps
Just like so many things in life, you can ask 10 people to define the same word and you will get 10 answers.
This is very much the case when it comes to “marketing”. Whilst navigating around that is meaty conversation enough, when we add on “transformation” well, you can understand why many just run the other way.
Marketing as a business process
With so many businesses being focused on incorporating elements into their business model such as sustainability, social values, business vision, team motivation, innovation, profitability and efficiencies to name just a few, you could be forgiven for not aligning the role of marketing with being the fundamental connecting process to support all of that.
Starting with total transparency around what marketing is – a business process, then we can start to explore how transformation could be more achievable than perhaps thought.
5 steps to marketing transformation
Experience has shown us that being able to see the same thing and understand purpose is the foundation to accelerating change and transformation. We can clearly see why from the start and we can avoid headaches, misunderstandings and issues down the line.
Marketing is a process that is all about how and why we use knowledge, insights, data and technology to connect so that we can bring together people and business functions such as operations and sales.
We need to nurture our “market”, our selling space, and everyone in a team has a part to play in that, so everyone is in marketing!
Now we can see how marketing transformation can take place and support growth and success.
Here are the ways to begin transforming marketing so that it can deliver on the points made in paragraph 3 and more!
Start planning your marketing strategy with a connected framework – your marketing process will be successful if it's built with the right support from the start
Develop your people and offer training and upskilling in key marketing processes
Maximise the right technology to support your team and business
Use your strategy to help with your daily plan and keep to essential outcomes identified in your planning framework – this helps best practice, saves time and keeps you on track
Use your framework to measure and track performance – marketing is your performance process so plan it that way and involve your community
Summary
Following these steps will put you in the place for transformation and allow it to act as a catalyst for change and success. Consider what is keeping the wheels of business turning that offers you agility.
Marketing is not a pick up and put down process – if it is seen like that then transformation will never happen. It's about setting out with the fundamentals that encourage, empower and excite your people and purpose. Consider this, how can you change something that you can’t see, touch and feel? Visibility is the way to start and clear definitions give you scope and space to move, refine, transform and succeed.
If you've enjoyed this blog and want to chat some more about marketing transformation for your business, why not get in touch?