How Do You Ensure Marketing Alignment With Business Goals?
To help businesses align their marketing efforts with their overall objectives, we’ve gathered insights from six industry leaders, including CEOs and business owners. From comparing marketing messages with business goals to starting with a direct call to action, these experts share their top strategies for ensuring marketing alignment.
- Compare Marketing Messages with Business Goals
- Establish KPIs for Marketing Initiatives
- Employ Audience-Focused Content Pillars
- Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Involve Marketing in Operational Planning
- Start with a Direct Call to Action
Compare Marketing Messages with Business Goals
One way I check to make sure my marketing fits with my business objectives is by looking at the messaging in my marketing and comparing it side-by-side with a list of my business goals. The message should complement my goals and reiterate them. It’s easy to shift away from your objectives when trying to come up with new marketing ideas.
Sometimes, trying to be innovative moves you away from your core objectives. That’s why you must compare your marketing campaigns to your written objectives to see if they work well together.
Baruch Labunski
CEO, Rank Secure
Establish KPIs for Marketing Initiatives
One effective strategy I employ is to establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that directly link marketing initiatives to our business goals.
By setting specific, measurable, and time-bound KPIs, we can determine how well our marketing campaigns are working in terms of business objectives, such as revenue growth, customer acquisition, or brand awareness. Monitoring such KPIs leads to data-driven decision-making in the marketing campaigns, thereby helping to align the marketing efforts with business objectives.
Faizan Khan
Public Relations and Content Marketing Specialist, Ubuy UK
Employ Audience-Focused Content Pillars
Behind every successful brand’s marketing efforts are content pillars that hold it all together! Content pillars are the key to running marketing campaigns that bring results. Part of that is understanding the importance of at least one audience-focused pillar.
One major pillar for our brand is “edutainment” (yes, that’s a real word we didn’t make up). It’s educational content delivered in an entertaining, engaging way. Not only do we educate our audiences on the keys to a great social presence, but we do so in a way that gets them excited about the new information they just learned.
Chelsea Evans-Flower
Owner, Scott Social
Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration
One key strategy to ensure marketing alignment with business objectives is regular cross-functional collaboration. We facilitate open communication between marketing, sales, product development, and other departments.
By staying in sync with each team’s goals and challenges, we can tailor our marketing efforts to support broader business objectives. For example, if the sales team aims to penetrate a new market segment, we align our campaigns to generate leads and content that resonate with that audience.
This collaborative approach ensures that our marketing activities remain tightly integrated with the overarching goals of the business, driving greater success and cohesion across the organization.
Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission
Involve Marketing in Operational Planning
One way I ensure our marketing efforts hit the mark is by making sure that the marketing team is involved in the operational planning process from the beginning. Being in the loop from the start is fundamental. At ZenMaid, we’ve realized that if you’re not involved from the beginning, there’s no way you can be aligned. By embedding marketing into the planning process, we not only understand our objectives better but also see the bigger picture.
Here’s a tip: marketing isn’t just about promoting. We often find ourselves intertwined with various departments, from communication to operations. This makes it crucial for us to grasp how each piece fits into the jigsaw puzzle. By staying connected and in tune with all departments, we ensure our strategies are in sync with the overarching business goals.
Amar Ghose
CEO, ZenMaid
Start with a Direct Call to Action
Start with your call to action. This is usually the end of a marketing piece, whether it’s an ad, blog article, or social media post. But it’s really the one thing you should start with. If your call-to-action doesn’t lead directly to your objective, then you need to change it. Once you know your CTA, you can develop your marketing content around it.
Alli Hill
Founder and Director, Fleurish Freelance
Submit Your Answer
Would you like to submit an alternate answer to the question, “Share one way you ensure that your marketing efforts are aligned with your overall business objectives.”
