Do you make these mistakes in marketing? Part 11 [ ] Changing marketing personnel too often – Some companies allow corporate memory to walk out the door when they churn their marketing staff for whatever reason. It can take 12 months to learn an organisation’s capabilities. What is the average lifetime of a marketing manager these days? 30 months? They leave for opportunistic reasons or because the role is unfulfilling. A good marketing chief has the corporate DNA embedded in their genes and knows where the bodies are buried. Marketing is one role that needs stability. Otherwise your customer facing operations take on the stop-start, knee jerk personality of an organization that is unsure of whjich way to go.

[ ] No metrics in marketing plans – Nothing meaningful can be done in marketing unless it is measured. How can anyone be held accountable for their decisions without metrics? How can ROI be calculated? How can a marketing manager assess the value of an activity and apportion budget? Everything a marketing department does can be measured one way or another. Even dodgy metrics are better than none at all.

[ ] No plan (nothing meaningful written) – Some organizations believe that simply having a marketing function is enough. But a meaningful written plan is essential – so everyone can know the direction and where the goal posts are. The word ‘meaningful’ is meaningful in itself. See the next entry.  ¶ 9:05 AM