Presentation by Adam Sulley (Chartered Institute of Marketing-Ghana,CIMG).
ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MR. ADAM SULLEY AT THE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE PROGRAMME ON HOW BUSINESSES CAN SURVIVE THE ECONOMIC MELT DOWN FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE AT CLEAVER HOUSE, ACCRA ON NOVEMBER 30, 2022
SALUTATIONS
I still remember my exact words when your invitation was forwarded to me by Mr. Kwabena Agyekum the Chief Executive Officer/Registrar of Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana. “This looks interesting and irresistible to pass on”
Let me start by admitting that in all honesty and humility, I consider my self as privileged to have been given this platform to share my thoughts with captains of industries and other critical stakeholders on how businesses can survive but preferrable grow from a marketing perspective in the current economic situation which has affected businesses in diverse ways. I am tempted to approach this conversation from both a perspective of why marketing is affected in the context defined or proactively what marketers should be seen as doing to earn their respect. But most importantly the practice of Marketing Accountability
by Marketers will enable Senior Executives to measure the impact of marketing activities against the goals of an organization as well as empower Marketers to justify their actions to both the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and their Chief Finance Officers (CFO). This is the only way that Marketers can make any meaningful impact in the C-Suite. It is certain that no CEO or CFO would like to hear that a marketing investment was a gamble, so greater accountability should be one of the critical issues facing Marketers today. I would like to situate Marketing and how it relates to this morning’s conversation in the right context before proceeding by attempting to define Marketing for the benefit of our none marketing audience. I can imagine the number of
Marketing definitions in academic literature but permit me to refer to the profound CIM professional definition of Marketing.
This definition remains unmatchable and has stood the test of time for about four decades. It is “The Management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably” and indeed it puts Marketers in the right frame of mind to be professional and not wanting in the discharge of their duties. The definition focuses on responsibility of whole company, future trends, understanding what customers value, customer needs and business sustainability or profitability. The big picture and big idea are that as Marketers – “we run after new businesses but leave old customers always satisfied”
Allow me to take you down a certain memory lane. Deloitte in 2007 made a critical observation between the functions of CFOs and Marketing. The historic rift between Marketers and the Finance Department, caused by marketing’s reluctance to be accountable for what they do, is as marked as ever. A tense relation between CFOs and Marketers are dividing Boardrooms over the value of marketing and one in three CFOs said they did not believe marketing to be crucial in determining strategy. It
was also observed that Marketers have constantly hidden behind a fog of measures that are based purely on tactical marketing activity, rather than solid financial metrics that are relevant to the business.
ADAM SULLEY – CIMG
Now let me fast forward to another recent spotlight on the Marketer’s dilemma. In a Harvard Business Review (2018) on “Why CMOs never last” – it was reported that 80% of CEOs don’t trust or are unimpressed with their CMOs. A good number of reasons account for this among which are no mutual understanding of job descriptions, not linking job descriptions to the traits necessary to perform a job successfully, the interview processes and confused or mismatched key performance indicators.
The danger for the Marketer occurs when outputs are not linked to desired outcomes which is because of certain marketing actions or inactions. Marketers can easily be lost in jargon, but communication should aim for clarity and simplicity. Former US President Thomas Jefferson said, “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” David Ogilvy said jargon was the “hallmark of a pretentious ass” – not truthful. In respect of cost centres or revenue generators when you ask a Marketer about their role, one of the first aspects they often reference is the size of their budget. The recent interest in dubious metrics is becoming a concern Marketers must address because digital technology has brought with it a plethora of new metrics (Telcos, Banks, Insurance, Airlines) are using to monitor key performance indicators on their dashboards. The last but not the least is awards versus profits since there is an inherent danger in setting targets around winning awards. Often given the short tenure of some CMOs, awards are treated as proxy metric for success. There is not a single element of the marketing mix that has not been impacted by the current economic situation. Marketing most often becomes disadvantaged because in times
of economic uncertainty and great precarity, the first instinct for many businesses is to cut spending to survive. The marketing budget is often the first expenditure to go without much hesitation by the C-suite executives in most companies but that in my view is not absolutely the right way to go but rather the need to rethink Marketing practice. Marketers need to become more responsible and accountable because the new approach promises to be a required way of life without which the Marketers significance will not be appreciated among C-suite executives and in the Boardroom due to business disruptions created by COVID-19 and others.
The question is what new actions can Marketers take to reinvigorate their practices to justify budgets allocated to them, serve, and grow their customer base and keep their companies profitable? There are four core marketing activities that could be seen as the
catalyst. The first is positioning customers as first choice. Marketers will need to win the hearts of their CEOs to be able to achieve this deliverable in difficult times like the current economic situation, even though customers will continue to remain the primary focus of marketers they need to spend enough effort to keep that on top of the business agenda. This is likely to become increasingly difficult because as company budgets get tighter marketing becomes the first target. The second is ensuring action-based strategy. Marketers in the current economic situation will not have a choice but to ensure that all their actions are supported by strategy. The actions that marketers attempt to push without strategy would likely be resisted by their C-
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ADAM SULLEY – CIMG
Suite executives as luck of strategic choice and accountability. The new norm is ‘no strategy’ ‘no action’ for Marketers to continue earning their recognition of contributing to the corporate goal. This approach will also enable Marketers to understand better what they are trying to achieve. The third is delivering accountability at all levels. In the current economic situation delivering accountability in business will become the only basis for survival and Marketers will have to adjust to this as the new reality. They will be expected to accept that measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. The golden rule for Marketers will be – ‘What is important, and what is easy to measure, are not always the same thing’. (Binet and Field, 2007).
The fourth is valuing the most significant brands. Some brands are struggling for attention post COVID-19 and in the current economic business situation so Marketers will have to respond appropriately within the new business context. Most companies will not give their current brands all the budget support they enjoyed before COVID-19 and customers are also likely to resist paying extra for brand value. It will be difficult for Marketers to make a case for brands with poor financial performance and declining net present value (NPV) irrespective of what anybody thinks. But what is also prudent and strategic to do is to create
and leverage customer-based brand equity. What also happens to brand believability and the tradeoffs in a meltdown economic situation like this is a great concern such as the Fast- Moving Consumer Goods industry and downsizing of products, the Telecommunication industry and drop in service delivery, the Banking industry and digital banking solutions and investment in soft skills training for the people who deliver the brand. The true value of marketing in times like this is for Marketers to continue to focus on being more strategic in what they do by building trust, delivering value and protect brand reputation. It will also require open honest communication to bring your customers with you to recovery and Marketers today must combine ambition, competence, and warmth
(CIM – CMO Report 2022).
The answer to what type of decisions companies make the most is arguably marketing compared to Investment, IT, Finance, Procurement, People and Regulation. “It is the duty of every professional Marketer to speak up and to promote high standards and demonstrate the impact on the bottom line” The choices will have to be strategic and the outlook
accountable. Marketers will be expected to approach several marketing activities different from the norm.
In conclusion marketing and measuring business performance in companies in no uncertainty should make Marketers to rethink their strategies and this is going to be overwhelming in many ways. There will be winners and losers in the new approach to
marketing practice which could become the norm for many years. In times like these and especially for conglomerates or organizations with sister companies there must be a deliberate effort to ensure greater coordination internally and with partners, customers, and vendors to achieve greater results.
ADAM SULLEY – CIMG
Outputs of value-creation, marketing, sales, value delivery and finance through business process integration as the ultimate. The quick wins or low hanging fruits could also be a strong intra cross selling effort. Marketers can be the lead strategist in their organizations once they have a growth mindset and not a fix mindset but that also to a large extent will depend on the organization’s orientation of either growth or fixed. If Marketers are inspired by the growth mindset such as failure is an opportunity to grow, I like to try new things, I can learn to do anything, I like challenges, help me grow, my effort and attitude determine my abilities and I am inspired by the success of others marketing becomes better positioned in the organization. And
more than ever before emphasis is on the customer journey and customer lifetime value. Unless a close partner is a CIO you won’t have a very competitive organization. Marketers have the responsibility to unluck value, not only to their own bottom line, but also to society and the environment. A conversation that earns recognition for marketers is ROI, Growth, Revenue, Brand Equity, Value addition, ROA, ROE, Balance Scorecard, Balance Sheet and Evidence-based. When the marketing effort is connected to the real KPIs in the company there is no doubt about marketing’s value and impact.
An African Proverb “When the root is deep, there is no reason to fear the wind”
