CEO Marketing Wish List

Business executives want three basic performances from their marketing department:

• A strategy that clearly justifies the marketing expenditures, not just a list of tactics
• Effective execution of the tactics while managing the costs and deadlines
• Adequate review of the results to determine if the marketing investment is or is not delivering the intended impact

Missing any of these elements will cause your marketing process to fall short of delivering it full potential.

1. Redefine Your Marketing Vision - When CEO’s turn to their marketing department for visionary opportunities, often the responses they receive come from the tactical perspective, not the visionary level. To deliver what the CEO desires requires the unique ability to blend:
   
   
   • Vision for future possibilities
   • Discernment to identify true opportunities
   • Application of business principles to plot a realistic course to achieve the new vision
     
     
2. Break Out of the Routine Marketing Plan - The "We’ve always done it this way" marketing plan delivered positive results in the past, but not any more. So new tactics are tried without clear results. That's not surprising since the marketplace is constantly changing. What needs to be transformed is the marketing strategy, not necessarily the tactics. Trying new tactics without looking at the strategy is treating the symptom and not the problem. Breaking out of the routine marketing plan often requires resources from outside your company that can bring success principles that have been proven with other businesses and industries.
   
   
3. Execute, Measure, Review - Marketing is a fascinating combination of science and art. You can chart ROI, but the emotional response to marketing tactics is subjective. CEO’s can be confident that their marketing efforts are on track by monitoring these performance elements:
   
   
   • Effective Execution requires the marketing management team to know when to approve a tactic in development for launch. The development of the last 5% of a project can push deadlines so that the launch opportunity is undermined.
   • Managing Measurement requires deliberation during the development stage. Today’s technological advancements have created the opportunities to track individual ROI by tactic. To be effective, the measurement element must be addressed during the development stage.
   • Regular Review gives the CEO the opportunity to quickly assess the overall effectiveness of the marketing plan. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are very helpful to the CEO and can determine or predict future trends.

Sometimes, all that is needed is an experienced marketing strategist with an energetic perspective and new ideas to jump start your current marketing performance. Other times, a CEO may realize that the skills required to move to the next level of success are not currently available. Teakwood Marketing’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) services can deliver results quickly in both situations. CMO services are available on site one day a week/month and remotely as needed. Contact Drew Dinkelacker today to discuss how to quickly bring clarity and results to your marketing situation.