Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 7, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS How marketers can become more relevant to the C-suite "T he 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader: How to Succeed by Building Customer and Com- pany Value" by Thomas Barta and Pat- rick Barwise (McGraw Hill, $30). Most marketers think of themselves as consumer- and product-oriented. The authors' studies show that "being good at marketing" makes marketers a one-trick pony. To achieve better marketing results, they need to expand their leadership influ - ence within the organization. Why? Market- ers have a unique place in the "Value Zone (V-Zone)" where consumer needs and com- pany needs overlap. Their product, consumer and trend connections make their expertise valuable to those involved with company strategy, product development, sales tactics, customer service, etc. — all of which affect the customer experience. To work in the V-Zone, marketers need to master "12 Pow- ers." Here are some of the key ones: Power 1, "Tackle only big issues." "If you work on things that don't matter to top man- agement, you may be 'busy,' but you won't be listened to internally." Live in the V-Zone. How? Identify the main customer issues and where the top priorities of the company inter- sect. Then look at your marketing priorities to see how they add value to achieving the company's top goals. Figure out ways to align the overlaps and make a business case (i.e. price tag and ROI, cost-benefit) for them. You'll need some help with making and selling a business case. Executing power 5, "Walk the Halls," addresses the task of find- ing allies. With allies, there's always a way to accomplish what seems to be too difficult, too complex and too expensive. Undoubt- edly, there are non-marketing colleagues with a stake in the V-Zone overlap. Their perspectives create insight and alternatives. Craft a customer-to-company priority story for them — much like you'd craft a marketing message to consumers. It should explain to these potential allies how mar- keting can help them in dealing with their customer-related issues (i.e. what's in it for them), and sketch out how to work together. The authors make the point that "walk- ing the halls" isn't just something you need to do when you're tackling "big issues." Cultivating and maintaining non-market- ing relationships will provide opportuni- ties to create conversations about what's happening in their areas and the firm. Think of the conver- sations as ways of listening to internal customers and provid- ing feedback. Power 6, "You go first." While stories are great at engaging "first followers," "the language of action" fleshes out ideas and turns them into approved plans. Speak and write in terms of dollars [e.g. revenue, profit margins, cost savings, ben- efits to other areas of the firm (your allies), etc.,] and how the customer will be affected. When the higher-ups see that your ideas can increase the bottom line, improve opera- tional effectiveness and please customers, they will pay attention. Power 7, "Get the mix right," relates to ensuring your marketing team lives in the V-Zone, too. Like you, they have conceptual and creative skills. They have to develop and marry "dollar" skills to trend-spotting skills. As the leader, you are their "marriage counselor." Dollar skills involve pricing; trend-spot- ting skills deal with brand definition, posi- tioning, sales promotion and product inno- vation. The V-Zone marriage initially focuses on increasing margins through customer retention and looking for opportunities to better serve customers in certain markets. The authors' advice: Start with an expanded definition of marketing in terms of the V-Zone. Encourage them to take initiative in finding overlaps. Provide learning oppor- tunities by assigning exter- nally focused tasks on a rotating basis. This con- nects them to others. Work with your allies to rotate mar- keting personnel into their areas. Sales, customer service, finance and operations experi- ence broadens their perspec- tive of the business. Key takeaway: Working in and expanding the V-Zone gives marketers a seat at the table where key busi- ness decisions are made — and a voice in those decisions. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak EXPERTS CORNER 5 ways to make strategic planning more successful By Brent Robertson F all is the season of strategy for many organizations. If the mention of stra- tegic planning causes your leadership team to start muttering about "useless meet- ings," "wasted time," and "nothing chang- ing," and if the rest of the team gets excited because the boss will be out of the office for a few days, perhaps a redesign of how you approach strategic planning is in order. Strategic planning can feel futile because, in fact, most strategic initiatives fail. But they don't have to. Here are five ways to own your future and ensure that the plans you make now will become reality for your organization. 1. Start with a foundation of objec- tive inclusivity: Strategic plan- ning typically begins by establishing the current state of an organi- zation's physical health: growth, P&L, promo- tions, capital improvements, etc. Just as impor- tant, but rarely considered, is the health of the organization's relationships — specifically, those with employees and those with clients and partners. Without insight into these two relationships, any strategic planning is based on an incomplete picture of your organization- al environment. Examining those relationships allows you to: • Give everyone who matters to your success — employees, clients, partners and suppli- ers — a hand in creating it (inclusivity). • Establish a real picture of where your organization stands and how it is perceived (objectivity). 2. Be clear about the intention of the strategy: Are you looking to become more com- petitive and grow within the current reality of your industry, or are you looking to create a new reality for your organization to grow within? The answer will determine who is part of the strategy team and the kind of mindset you need to be successful. If you feel your growth is going to come from selling more of what you already pro- vide through greater efficiency, you want to involve people with a continuous improve- ment, evidence-based mindset. However, if success requires generating more valu- able services and market relationships beyond anything you have had before, you need people who are willing to get creative, think beyond what they know and have a test-and-learn mindset. 3. Create a shared image of success: As leaders, we tend to have a pretty clear picture of what success looks like for our organizations. But how often do you share that vision with your team? How well does your team understand your personal commitment to the organization? Fear of disagreement or per- sonal vulnerability are often barriers to clarity. This fear is in large part unfounded. When people have the opportunity to share and dis- cuss how they see success, it is generally more aligned than the group expects. Take the time to establish a shared image of success. With- out it, your strategy will be ungrounded and progress will be impossible to measure. 4. Identify a reason to care about the strategy: Most strategy vision statements use language that is impossible to feel or imagine. Phrases like "to become the best," "to be the biggest," or "to be the most sought after," sound good on the surface, but they are not inspiring at a human level. What rarely gets articulated — and can't be communicated with graphs and spreadsheets — is why. Why do we want to grow? Why are we being asked to work harder? Exploring those questions with your team will point to big ideas and inspiring ambitions. Sharing the outcomes with every member of the organization responsible for executing the strategy can make all the dif- ference between a team ready and willing to implement the strategy, and one that needs to be pushed at every step. 5. Commit to help each other grow and develop: Leaders have been taught to believe they always need to know the answers. However, the uncharted waters of a new strategy require being comfortable with uncertainty. Leaders have to evolve the way they express their lead- ership. They need to provide the development resources their employees need to be success- ful, as well as create an environment where it is okay for leaders (and their teams) to be vulnerable and ask for help. Apply these five ideas to your strategic planning and give your team the best chance of success creating a better future for your organization. n Brent Robertson is a partner at West Hart- ford creative consulting firm Fathom. Brent Robertson ▶ ▶ Working in and expanding the Value Zone gives marketers a seat at the table where key business decisions are made — and a voice in those decisions. ▶ ▶ Take the time to establish a shared image of success. Without it, your strategy will be ungrounded and progress will be impossible to measure.

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