Maintaining momentum in your marketing efforts

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Watertight’s fourth Foundation, “Maintain Momentum,” is about keeping the enthusiasm and drive necessary to sustain long-term marketing efforts. Our definition of this is “Maintaining enthusiasm is made possible by a compelling business vision that is translated into a clear plan.”

To achieve that enthusiasm involves not only creating a compelling business vision and clear plan but also communicating both to staff in a way that means something to them. What often happens is that the plan and milestones are shared purely in terms of numbers. Staff are more engaged if those numbers are enlivened with narrative.

| See: Do you have a compelling narrative for your numbers?

From there, it’s up to the marketing team to ensure the vision, values and milestones are threaded through the marketing strategies and activities.

The data from the research we did last year showed that only one third of respondents were crystal clear on their business vision, values and milestones. This is usually an internal communications issue. The MD, CEO or founder might be clear; what’s in their head isn’t always shared with staff. In fact, we found that questions relating to internal communication of goals and plans were consistently scored low, with none exceeding an amber rating.

The other thing that we often see is that even when there is clarity, the vision and plan are not being used to prioritise actions or inform strategic marketing decisions. In other words, they’re not being translated into the marketing strategy and plan and not informing goals and milestones for teams and individuals. People want to know what they actually need to do in the business to contribute to the plan.

We were chatting to a client recently who shared with us that they had quite a few staff who were not that engaged with the vision, values and plan. Why should they care? Whilst it will always be true that you have some staff who are happy to turn up to work, do a job and go home, it is preferable that in the main, your people feel motivated by what you’re trying to achieve. You want them to be proud of the company and the work they, and their colleagues, do. It will result in more discretionary effort, their best work and there’s good research that shows values-driven businesses where there is good staff buy-in are more successful and profitable.

Maintaining momentum in marketing – and the business more widely – ensures that your efforts don’t wane over time and that they keep alive the enthusiasm for the vision and plan. It helps in keeping your marketing strategies fresh and relevant, which is crucial for sustaining customer engagement and driving business growth.

Strategies to Maintain Momentum

• Vision and Motivation: Clearly communicate the business vision and goals to your team. This helps in keeping everyone motivated and focused. Regular town hall meetings or Q&A sessions gives people a chance to see progress against milestones and ask questions.
• Thread through into marketing strategies and plan. Look at how to articulate the vision, values and plan in practice, both internally and externally. You could do a marketing piece around each of your values and ensure they’re mentioned on your website, in proposals and visible around the office.
• Continuous learning: Encourage your marketing team to stay updated with the latest trends and best practices. This can be achieved through training, workshops, and industry events. At a strategic level, regular market landscaping and talking to customers will help keep you abreast of what’s happening in your marketplace. Continuous learning will create energy that the team can then bring to maintaining the momentum in marketing as well as to the business vision, values and goals.
• Innovation and experimentation: Foster a culture of innovation by encouraging your team to experiment with new ideas and approaches. This helps in keeping your marketing efforts dynamic and impactful.
• Regular feedback: Implement a system for regular feedback and performance reviews. This helps in identifying areas for improvement and celebrating successes, which boosts team morale.