Just imagine – it’s December of 2017.
The president or CEO of your company is looking back at the year. He is looking at what the company accomplished during the year.
He is thinking about the success the company has had. He also recalls the disappointment.
He looks at the challenges the company faced and how the company dealt with them.
He also looks at each department and how they did. Were they an asset and did they help the company get to where it is right now? Were they a disappointment and did they hold the company back from achieving goals set?
At the same time you are in your office. You also are looking back at what your marketing department did in 2017.
Did your marketing efforts help the company achieve or exceed its goals for the year?
What weaknesses arose and were they corrected quickly?
What unexpected challenges popped up and how were they handled?
Was the marketing department an asset to the company?
How closely does your view match your President’s or CEO’s? Was the marketing department an asset to the company during the year?
You and Your President or CEO
Have to Be on the Same Page
The president’s or CEO’s opinion and your view of the marketing department should be the same. If they aren’t, why aren’t they?
It’s unfortunate. Studies in the past have revealed the executives of a company and their marketing people normally are not on the same page. Most often the executives just don’t trust their marketing people.
You don’t want it to be that way at your company. How do you prevent it? Starting right now you have to make sure the goals for your marketing department are in line with those your president or CEO has. They can’t be different. You and they have to have the same objectives.
Whenever any major challenges arise you have to correct them quickly. You can’t allow them to fester and steal from the success you and the company expect. You also have to keep your president or CEO informed so they are not by caught by surprise if a goal will not be achieved because of a challenge.
The marketing department and the work it does must be viewed as an asset to the company and one of the keys to its success during the year.
Be Proactive – Start Now
You may have never done this before but take a proactive approach starting now. Continue it during each week and month in the coming year.:
After you set the goals for your department for 2017, sit down with your president or CEO and review the goals with them.
Update them monthly on where your department is at. This can be informally or in a report format.
Sit down with them at the end of each quarter and review with them the progress the Marketing Department has made.
If any problems or challenges arise which are going to prevent or delay your department from achieving goals set, let your president or CEO know immediately. At the same time outline the steps being taken to correct them.
Being proactive and taking these steps will build trust in the eyes of your president or CEO for you and your marketing department.
