Achieving high levels of growth is insufficient to have a great product or service offering. You also require compelling marketing to attract customers and sell the solution. However, what are the necessary ingredients to deliver exceptional marketing? How do you stand out from your competitors and cut through the noise?
In today's business world, data plays a crucial role in various processes and marketing efforts. For companies to survive, they must be able to manage and adapt to change effectively. Hence, it is imperative to identify the essential marketing capabilities that teams need to succeed in the current digitalised consumer landscape.
What is Marketing Capability?
Marketing capability refers to the comprehensive blend of skills, behaviours, tools, processes, and knowledge that marketing professionals need to execute a business strategy effectively. In essence, collective expertise and proficiency enable marketing teams to navigate the intricacies of the market, understand consumer behaviour, and strategically position products or services in a way that resonates with the target audience.
These capabilities are the building blocks that empower businesses to craft compelling campaigns, identify strategic opportunities, and adapt to the ever-evolving landscape of consumer preferences and technological advancements.
Steps to Define Marketing Capabilities
Understanding the functions of your marketing team is crucial to initiating the marketing capabilities. The process of developing marketing capabilities in your organisation involves three key steps.
Step 1: Define the Landscape
Initiating the development of marketing capabilities begins with understanding the need for them. This necessitates addressing three fundamental questions:
- What is the overarching mission, purpose, and values of your organisation?
- What role does the marketing department play in fulfilling that mission?
- What value does your marketing function currently and prospectively generate for the business?
A company must have a marketing strategy that aligns with its business strategy to succeed. Developing crucial capabilities ensures the right talent and resources are available to execute this strategy efficiently. Defining specific goals in terms of desired outcomes for the organisation helps build marketing capabilities more efficiently and effectively.
Step 2: Define the Purpose
The next step involves determining the purpose for each marketing capability, delving beyond specific roles to understand how marketing capability integrates into the context of your company mission.
Consider the following factors:
- Company strategy: How do these marketing capabilities contribute to business outcomes?
- Market demand: What is the market's need for these capabilities?
- Company resources: Does the company possess sufficient budget, personnel, or equipment to sustain the capability?
- Existing capabilities: Does your marketing capability complement or compete with current capabilities?
- Risks: What potential risks, such as financial or reputational, could arise from building the capability?
Step 3: Define the Outcome
Naming capabilities should reflect the desired outcome of your marketing function. For example:
- Digital marketing
- Increased customer retention
- Marketing automation
The names should communicate the essence of each capability, aligning with your company's brand and voice and enabling the team to grasp their functionalities quickly.
Key Steps on Building Marketing Capability
These six steps serve as a roadmap, guiding businesses towards a future where marketing capabilities are necessary and a distinguishing factor in achieving and sustaining growth.
Step 1: Define a Business Strategy
Business strategy is a high-level plan that outlines the long-term goals and objectives of a company. It involves making decisions on how the organisation will compete in its chosen market and how it will position itself to achieve success.
Key Components:
- Strategic Planning: Begin with strategic planning sessions involving key stakeholders to define the business's purpose, vision, mission, and values.
- SWOT Analysis: Conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to identify internal and external factors affecting the business.
- Competitive Positioning: Strategies to differentiate the company from competitors and establish a unique market position.
- Market Assessment: Thorough analysis of market conditions, including trends, opportunities, and threats.
- Customer Understanding: A deep understanding of customer needs, preferences, and behaviour.
- Growth Opportunities: Identification of potential avenues for expansion and sustainable growth.
A company must have a marketing strategy that aligns with its business strategy to succeed. Developing crucial capabilities ensures the right talent and resources are available to execute this strategy efficiently. Defining specific goals in terms of desired outcomes for the organisation helps build marketing capabilities more efficiently and effectively.
Step 2: Align with Marketing Strategy
The next step is developing a marketing strategy as a subset of the overall business strategy. It focuses on how the company will market and sell its products or services to the target audience.
Key Components:
- Target Audiences: Identification of specific customer segments that the marketing efforts will target.
- Messaging: Creation of compelling and consistent messages that resonate with the target audience.
- Channels: Selection of appropriate marketing channels to reach and engage with the target audience effectively.
- Pricing and Positioning: Determination of pricing strategies and the company's position in the market.
- Promotional Tactics: Planning and execution of promotional activities such as advertising, events, and content marketing.
Step 3: Go-to-Market (GTM) Plan
The Go-to-Market Plan is a detailed strategy that outlines how a company will introduce and deliver its product or service to the target market. It operationalises the marketing strategy and aligns various business functions to ensure a successful product launch.
Key Components:
- Product Launch Strategies: Plans for introducing new products or services to the market, including timing, messaging, and promotional activities.
- Sales and Distribution Channels: Identification of the most effective channels for selling and distributing products or services.
- Marketing Campaigns: Detailed plans for marketing campaigns, including the selection of channels, messaging, and promotional tactics.
- Timeline: Provide a timeline for the product or service launch, including pre-launch, launch day, and post-launch activities. Outline promotional events, campaigns, and key milestones.
Step 4: Capabilities Assessment
Conducting a thorough assessment of current marketing capabilities is crucial. This involves evaluating the existing skill sets, technologies, tools, and processes within the marketing function. It helps identify gaps and areas for improvement.
Key Components:
- Skill Sets: Assess the skills and expertise of the marketing team.
- Technological Infrastructure: Evaluate the tools and technologies used for marketing purposes.
- Processes and Workflows: Analyse the efficiency and effectiveness of current marketing processes.
- Resource Allocation: Understand the current allocation of resources and identify any gaps or redundancies.
Step 5: Capability Development
After identifying the gaps, the focus shifts to developing or acquiring the necessary capabilities to fill those gaps. This may involve training programmes, hiring new talent, adopting new technologies, or restructuring processes.
Key Components:
- Training and Development: Provide training to upskill existing teams in line with identified needs.
- Talent Acquisition: Hire individuals with expertise in areas where the team lacks proficiency.
- Technology Adoption: Implement new tools or upgrade existing ones to enhance capabilities.
- Process Improvement: Streamline marketing processes for better efficiency and effectiveness.
Step 6: Continuous Improvement
Building marketing capabilities is an ongoing process. Continuous evaluation, learning, and adaptation are essential for staying relevant in a dynamic market environment. Regularly reassessing strategies and capabilities ensures alignment with evolving business goals.
Key Components:
- Performance Monitoring: Continuously monitor the performance of marketing initiatives against set objectives.
- Feedback and Adaptation: Gather feedback from customers, stakeholders, and the market to make necessary adjustments.
- Agility and Flexibility: Be prepared to adapt strategies and capabilities in response to market shifts.
By following these key steps, businesses can systematically build and enhance their marketing capabilities, positioning themselves for sustained growth and success in a competitive market.
How gigCMO Can Help?
At gigCMO, we understand the importance of aligning marketing capabilities with your overall business strategy. Our Fractional CMO Service goes beyond conventional consultancy; we partner with you to navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape, ensuring your capabilities not only meet but exceed the demands of the future. Elevate your marketing game with gigCMO — where strategic growth meets exceptional capability. Contact us today to redefine your marketing journey and set the stage for long-term success.
