Lack of Team Consensus and Direction
Great business ideas often fail because not enough effort is placed into breaking down, line by line, each aspect of how the overall idea should work – and how it should be marketed.
From the moment a new business idea is initiated, you should schedule a “meeting of the minds” for a big pow-wow on what the business goals and objectives are and how each department can best work together to realize them.
Lack of a shared vision across relevant teams can lead to disjointed efforts that result in confusion and sub-par end products and results. The marketing team has to coordinate with the social team, the development team and the legal team – all need to be a part of the conversation.
How can this “kill” a campaign?
The absence of a clearly defined, clearly understood business strategy makes it almost impossible to develop a clearly defined, clearly understood crosschannel marketing strategy that all departments will buy into and help support. As a result, marketing efforts can quickly devolve into chaos.
How can you avoid this campaign killer?
Come to a consensus on what your company’s business objectives are, map out how your crosschannel marketing efforts will help achieve those business objectives, and share that information with departmental teams to gain buy-in before embarking on a new initiative.
Your marketing campaign goals should be outlined upfront. Examples are:
- Driving awareness
- Increasing leads
- Generating additional revenue
Any parties that have a vested interest in the initiative should have buy-in on the overall plan. This means making all parties aware of:
- Possible opportunities
- Any associated risks
- Giving the authority to provide final approval/sign-off before proceeding or moving forward
Real World Example: How to Build Your Digital Marketing Strategy provides an excellent outline of how to pull a marketing plan together.
