Every CEO in South Africa should read this

That is a truly sad indictment on the part of those individuals the CEO's have tasked with understanding their customers, and making sure new ones keep joining the company.

Luckily, this chilling statistic has an upshot... And that is the lessons we can learn from the remaining 20% of CEO's, whose marketing teams are getting it right!

© Dmitriy Shironosov – 123RF.com

Where the dissatisfaction stems from

Firstly, marketers fail to align their efforts with the short, medium, and long-term financial realities of the business. Secondly, these CEOs feel that their marketers have lost sight of what their main job really is (ie: To generate customer demand for their products/services or ideas).

Leading to the third cause, namely: the tendency for marketers to be more absorbed in the "brand building" aspect of marketing, and less concerned about performance.

So, conversely, you will find that the marketing teams who work for the remaining 20% of happy CEO's are all "ROI-centric marketers." So, what are ROI-centric marketers doing that sets them apart?

To illustrate this, I will look at two well-known South African brands, Budget Insurance, and Capitec Bank.

1. Aligning their efforts with business goals

Their marketing teams place a high premium on sound business decisions. Instinct, guts and creativity are still in place, but channelled appropriately, so as to maximise the returns they see on any marketing or media spend.

The business units and marketing teams work hand in hand to lead the industry with their products and services, and how they are taken to market. The brand works for the business, and the business strengthens the brand - this is synergy. This is marketing heaven.

Both companies are growing in size and market share, with no signs of stopping, and when one looks at the media they purchase, and strategies they pursue, it becomes clear that they are very conscious of how to maximise the number of clients their advertising brings them.

This goes against the conventional wisdom that advertising tends to always be "Huff and fluff, or pie in the sky". Every advert, and every form of media that advert runs on (whether it's a billboard, or the back of a milk carton) should have a positive, measurable, impact on the business' bottom line.

This is common sense. This is good business practice. Marketing teams very often tend to lose sight of the value of common sense and solid business decisions.

2. The way in which they generate customer demand

This is where all that marketing data comes in handy. We're drowning in information about our prospective customers, but if we can't take the right message to them, on the right advertising platforms - all this data amounts to naught.

The longer I am in the industry the more I am dismayed by this type of "Analysis paralysis". Many marketing teams have a wealth of data about current and prospective customers, but neither the common sense, nor chutzpah to do anything exceptional with it!

As the old maxim goes - it's not about being everywhere, it's about being everywhere that MATTERS, in a way that matters! Generating customer demand isn't as opaque and mysterious as it's often made out to be. Develop the right product, for the right market and take it to them on the right platform, with the right message!

Make it easy for them to buy it, and just as easy for you to measure the success of that campaign. Then treat your customers like gold. That, dear readers, is when the magic happens.

3. Getting brand building right, for a change

The story your brand tells needs to resonate with your audience, but what is JUST AS IMPORTANT, is the media you use to tell that story. Too often we see this misguided tendency of competing brands choosing the SAME media channels, like some kind of corporate pissing contest.

I will give you an example - Not long ago, TOTAL booked out most of the billboards at Gautrain station platforms. Not long after, SASOL starts advertising right next to them, instead of choosing to go where TOTAL is not advertising, and thereby get better bang for their buck.

Why would you want to play on the same field as your competitors, when you can rather own a different space, dominate it and make sure your competition cannot reach the audience you're reaching?

Imagine if you could have industry exclusivity on every TV channel, radio station or billboard in the country? It would be amazing, but it will never happen, and marketers continue to crowd the same platforms, vying for perpetually diminishing returns.

And this is why Budget Insurance in particular, are starting to move away from these horribly crowded advertising platforms and seeking out tactical media opportunities, which provide these advantages (Like advertising on the back of Clover Milk)

Now, don't get me wrong. Having a strong brand is crucial. But you don't build a strong brand by telling people you have a strong brand. Or projecting a strong brand. In short, when it comes to choosing the stories your brand tells about itself, and the media you use to tell that story - remember this - YOU NEED TO BE DIFFERENT, AND BE GREAT, BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE PAYS.

And then, a final word to any CEO reading this

Do not underestimate your own role in building a great brand. You cannot build a great brand without building a great company. And a strong company is built by leading from the front. (That's you, Mr. or Mrs. CEO).

Your marketers should merely be the glue that holds a brand together, but it's definitely not something they can create, reinvent or reinvigorate.

So, in closing, do not lose faith in your marketers, or take accountability off their shoulders. Instead, look to this piece as a roadmap, and ensure your marketers plot the course to greatness, hand-in-hand with the rest of your organisation.