Last month on the Revenue Rehab podcast we were joined by talented marketing leaders who transparently shared their experiences, and enlightened us with insightful strategies and learnings. All this was brought to you in May on the Revenue Rehab. Here is a summary of our recent discussions:
Your Company Rep Matters
In this episode, Ali Jawin, VP of Global Marketing and Lexi Taylor, Director of Content Marketing at RepTrak joined our host Brandi Starr to discuss company reputation. Ali and Lexi discussed the definition of reputation, outlining how companies need to clearly communicate their actions to customers. They both underline that action is a non-negotiable requirement for companies, particularly regarding social justice issues. Promises and performative social media posts just aren't enough. If companies don't execute on their promises, they are jeopardizing their reputation. Ali and Lexi take us through Global RepTrak Report: The 2022 Global RepTrak® 100. This report, created by RepTrak, is the definitive ranking of corporate reputation for the world’s leading. The report discusses company conduct and perception. It mentions that one of the major drivers of reputation is conduct, which is consistently sought out by consumers across cohorts and age groups. Findings from the report indicated how company ethics are important for the vast majority of consumers. Companies need to understand the impact of Gen Z’s purchasing power and ESG criteria (environmental, social governance). The data in the report outlines consumers’ high expectations, and a downward trend of public perception on how companies are performing. Ali, Lexi, and Brandi discuss the impact and how can CMO’s act to improve their company’s ESG and effectively communicate messaging to their consumers. To wrap up the episode, our guests shared a great tip to help CMOs and marketers improve their company reputation. The best first thing to do is communicate! Have a conversation with your social media manager, and figure out how to celebrate something your company has achieved (or is working towards), that you can share publicly. The work is never done! Celebrate the small wins, talk about tweaks within your DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategy, and communicate clearly and honestly.
The People Part of Leading Marketing
In this episode, our guest, Maja Hurst, VP of Marketing at Forward Thinking, discusses the importance of nurturing employees versus focusing on revenue, metrics, and KPIs. She believes that people, relationships, and legacy are the most important - in marketing, in business, and in life. Maija believes that new employees, particularly interns and marketing newcomers, need to be nurtured and invested in. Although it might be a timely process, the ROI this time generates is priceless. Leaders can take pride in building their employees' careers. Furthermore, they can reap the rewards that well-looked-after employees offer: stronger retention rates and a stronger company culture. Maija explains the importance of soft skills and personality traits such as a positive attitude, a hunger to learn, and a desire to problem-solve. These soft skills far outweigh technical skills. Hard skills can come with time and effort, but soft skills are often innate. Due to this, Maija believes in hiring individuals with the right soft skills, and investing time to teach them hard and technical skills upon hiring. Brandi and Maija emphasize that although marketers can get hung up on KPIs, ultimately, marketing efforts boil down to relationships. Internal relationships build company culture, and external relationships (between customer and brand) are the ultimate sources of revenue. The more marketers work on relationship-building, the more their organizations and careers will thrive. Therefore, Maija advises marketing leaders to focus on relationship building to enhance their company culture. Take some time, stop by and ask, ‘’hey, how's it going?’’. Talk to your people, shoot them a message, and offer them some help. You’ll be surprised at how encouraging these simple acts are.
Conscious Uncoupling for CMOs
In Conscious Uncoupling for CMOs, Adam New-Waterson and Brandi Starr discuss professional role transition. If you’re a CMO or Head of Marketing who is considering new opportunities, this episode can help you determine the best time to move on and confidently transition away from your current role. Adam and Brandi talk about the phrase "Conscious Uncoupling." It refers to leaving a job in a way that will help the company and doesn't hurt your professional relationships. Adam explains how career diversity and being fractional are one and the same. Communicating with other departments and creating and executing projects improves your CV for future opportunities. If you set up your job choices and projects with this goal, you will succeed. “It’s important to find out your superpower,” Adam says. He believes his superpower is empathy. Adam has been able to hone in on empathy to improve his marketing career; recognizing what might work to influence customers, and understanding his company’s positions in greater detail. Learning to focus on your superpower is a key element to conscious uncoupling at work. Adam leaves us with a thought-provoking takeaway: have radically candid conversations with the other executives you partner with. “Don't burn bridges,” Adam says, “stay in good graces with your board, but when it's time to go, it's time to go”. Take stock of yourself and your conversations. The information gleaned from your conversations will give you enough information to trust your gut, and ultimately make brave decisions.
Celebrate Your Small Wins
In this episode, Avnita Gulati joins our host Brandi Starr to discuss the importance of celebrating small wins and how it leads to creating a collaborative culture. Brandi and Avnita discuss work culture and why alignment between employees and companies matters. Avnita describes the connection between culture and diversity in hiring. In recent years, more and more prospective candidates have been inquiring about company culture during the interview stage. It’s becoming increasingly apparent how critical it is for companies to enhance their culture. Avnita also explains how celebrating wins helps build teams. Sharing wins can help a team by acknowledging project success and re-orienting the conversation. As a result, team success can transition away from being task-orientated to forming deeper connections within the team. Avnita underlines the three categories of wins: alignment, collaboration, and communication. Using these categories helps you to speak to your wins. There's a tangible takeaway, something that others can relate to. And that's one of the positive outcomes of sharing. Avnita leaves us with a key takeaway: document and communicate your wins, whether weekly or monthly. Use the three categories discussed to help frame the problem. Encourage your team to share their wins within meetings and beyond.
Whether you are a fractional CMO or a full-time marketing leader, we hope this month's recap brought you some perspective and direction to support your journey. You can listen to the full episodes and discover a variety of diverse topics on the Revenue Rehab website. If you’d like us to cover some other areas of discussion, reach out to us and let us know!
Happy Revenue Rehabbing!
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