Your marketing strategy is under scrutiny. How can you convince a skeptical stakeholder of its effectiveness?

Your data is always telling a story if you know where to look. If the stakeholders are uncertain, I would reinforce what the goals are, how we are measuring success and where the data is leaning in our favor, therefore minimizing the risk. Additionally, there should be regular check-ins to manage the effectiveness of the strategy with contingencies built in for when to pivot before the campaign ends. This ensures that if we are on the right track we can invest deeper in areas that are performing well and pull back in places that aren't giving us the expected results.

Begin with defining the goal and the metrics for success. What marketing actions have been taken towards achieving that goal? Initially I like to ask Operations how they track referrals, leads or new business. It’s not uncommon to find that clients do not track where their leads come from and they need help developing reporting systems. Once those are developed we can utilize all data sources. Compile in summary / simplified reporting. Utilize analytics where available, but be careful not to provide too much of the minutia data. It’s better to be prepared to provide the details, but executives typically want to know the bottom line. What was the cost to acquire a new client? How many leads or referrals did this marketing action generate?

1. Explain the importance of the marketing strategy and how it aligns the team to specific goals, ties efforts to business objectives, and allows for testing what resonates with the target audience. 2. Discuss the process of creating a marketing strategy, including research, goal-setting, and positioning, and how this process has been followed in your strategy. 3. Present data and expert tips on the critical components of a complete marketing strategy, and compare these with the components of your current strategy. 4. Use industry benchmarks and examples of successful marketing strategies to show how your strategy aligns with or outperforms these benchmarks.

Para convencer a una parte interesada escéptica de la eficacia de su estrategia de marketing, comience por reunir pruebas concretas. Presente datos y métricas que demuestren los resultados obtenidos hasta el momento. Utilice estudios de caso, informes de análisis y testimonios de clientes para respaldar su argumento. Las evidencias tangibles y verificables refuerzan la credibilidad y muestran el impacto positivo de la estrategia en los objetivos comerciales.

I present clear evidence and concentrate on past real-life successes in making my marketing strategy convincing enough to someone having some doubts about it. I do point out measurable results and I relate this strategy to business goals for it to become successful. I build trust by opening up on possible problems and showing a detailed plan on off achieving objectives for which my marketing strategies are based has the desired outcome thereby demonstrating its potential effect.

1. Goal-Setting: Setting a North Star goal jointly with sales and marketing teams helps to stay focused on the bigger picture. Determine the drivers that impact this goal and break it down into measurable goals for each department. 2. Marketing Strategy Components: HubSpot outlines the critical components of a complete marketing strategy, including brand objectives, target audience personas, marketing channels, and key performance indicators. A marketing strategy should align the team with specific goals and tie efforts to business objectives. 3. Marketing Objectives: Marketing goals must relate to the specific business objectives your company wants to achieve.

Asegúrese de que su estrategia de marketing esté alineada con los objetivos y prioridades de la parte interesada. Explique cómo cada componente de la estrategia contribuye al logro de las metas específicas de la organización. Al demostrar que sus acciones están en sintonía con las expectativas y necesidades del negocio, genera confianza y reduce el escepticismo. La claridad y la coherencia en la alineación estratégica son clave para ganar el apoyo de los interesados.

I hear you loud and clear. In this marketing game, being nimble is the name of the game. Think of our strategy as a roadmap, not a one-way train ticket. We can adjust course as needed to reach our destination – which is to crush our marketing goals, of course! Let me tell you a story. Remember the whole [insert brief, relatable marketing challenge you've overcome]? We had this whole campaign planned, but then [explain the unexpected twist]. It was a curveball for sure, but we didn't panic. We analyzed the situation, saw a new opportunity in [explain the silver lining], and boom! We reshuffled things, tweaked the messaging, and ended up with a campaign that resonated even better with our audience.

Resalte su capacidad para adaptarse y ajustar la estrategia según sea necesario. Explique cómo ha respondido a cambios en el mercado y cómo está preparado para seguir evolucionando. La adaptabilidad muestra que su enfoque no es rígido y que puede manejar incertidumbres y nuevos desafíos. Al enfatizar su flexibilidad y disposición para iterar, puede aliviar las preocupaciones de los escépticos y demostrar un compromiso con el éxito a largo plazo.

1. Develop a stakeholder communication plan that includes your goals, target audience, channels, strategies, allocation of responsibilities, timelines, and how you plan to monitor and evaluate your communications. 2. Use a communication plan template to determine current and potential problems, select key stakeholders who need to be involved, understand your audience, and brainstorm your ideal results. 3. Create a stakeholder map to plot people in terms of their level of support and impact, and develop a strategy for each stakeholder. Ask them directly about their expectations or use a peer or colleague to understand how they prefer to receive information.

In my experience, I’ve had buy-in success when I outline a summary of the data and research used to create the strategy, ‘connect-the-dots’ from data to proposed marketing initiative(s), use SME “testimony” and find supporting industry articles and/or white papers to support the initiative, and work on providing a forecast of what we can expect to happen with the strategy. And then I acknowledge and quickly address any of their concerns, any perceived gaps in strategy, and any holes that have been poked. I find that delivering with genuine confidence and passion also helps. If I believe in it, I can make a strong case for it. Finally, creating a path of proven successes to build upon fosters trust, making the next pitch easier & easier.

Imagine you're explaining your marketing plan to your cool aunt who's a whiz with finances but wouldn't know SEO from a UFO. That's the energy you want! Ditch the marketing mumbo jumbo and translate it all into plain English. Think of complex strategies like a delicious casserole - break them down into easy-to-swallow ingredients and explain how each part contributes to the final, sales-boosting dish. Focus on the "why" - how these marketing tactics will jingle more coins in the company register. Speak their language, business, and you'll turn a potentially confusing conversation into a collaborative brainstorming session where everyone's on the same page.

Setting clear goals and allowing stakeholders to have high-visibility to the objectives, measures and key results of the marketing organization is a great way to engage non-marketers. This approach demonstrates that marketing is results oriented. Another consideration is the enterprise view of marketing. Marketing organizations that are viewed as a "partner" to the business have a different (and better) relationship with the business than marketing teams that are positioned as service providers.

Forecasting is your best weapon. Gather the evidence and create a test. Once you have statistical certainty, it will not be an act of faith. Businesses need to invest money in failing to learn. That is the only way you can coordinate all stakeholders and help everyone prepare. In a former position, I had to assist the Call Center in hiring and training agents for the increase in calls that campaigns with new partners would generate. There's no time for skepticism to be successful.