How to answer ‘The Question’

How do you make the big bosses see the big brand picture? Here are 7 steps to help you answer ‘The Question’.

You can download a copy of How to Answer The Question here.

What is The Question?

When it comes to brand building, there’s one question that marketers ask more than any other: how can I get my company’s senior leaders to invest in long-term strategies?

From here on in, we’ll call it The Question.

It’s a challenge that comes up repeatedly in this biz. When you want to move to a longer-term approach, you need a senior sign-off. And many of us marketers simply aren’t experienced at that altitude. Who you call your ‘senior leader’ might vary – be it the CEO, CFO, or even the CMO. But no matter who’s calling the shots above you, they’re usually focused on the short-term, ROI and results within the year.

What’s The Long and Short of It?

We know that success comes from a blend of long-term brand building and short-term sales conversion. Long-form, long-running content tends to be mass-targeted and more emotional. It works to build the brand with little or no call to product action. On the other hand, the short – aka several shorter campaigns – is used to target specific segments for immediate activation and results.

Every good marketer knows that the long and short are two connected games, they just need to be played differently. Of course, we all love an instant win. Who doesn’t? Still, we understand that long-term brand building, that’s consistent over several years, leads to greater overall success and profits in the long-run.

Understanding the Sceptics

Now, your finance, sales and senior management counterparts often have a harder time understanding The Long of It. But don’t be too hard on these people, they are not anti-marketing or irrational. They’re just from different areas of the business. They can’t see what we, the enlightened marketers, see. And that’s okay.

If you want to get someone on the bus, you need to understand where their station is and why they’re there. So, it’s our job, as marketers, to guide our senior sceptics. Only we can show them why investing in The Long is for the best in the long run. Only we can show our big bosses the bigger picture.

So how are you going to do it?

1. You Need the Remit

Start with a clear mandate. Being the new senior marketer helps. You’re trusted, and you’ve got the opportunity to point out the flaws in the current strategy.

If you’re not new, it will be tougher to push for change. But it’s not impossible. Either way, your first challenge is to…

2. Manage Up Properly

You don’t need to be part of the executive team to enact change, but you do need to know your way around the boardroom.

Your senior leaders likely don’t have marketing experience or the time to understand your day-to-day, but they don’t want to be shown up in front of the people they lead. So, hold off on dishing out surprises to your C-suite. Make sure you always keep them informed and seek their council.

Bear in mind, all board members are not created equal. Identify who the ultimate stakeholders are and gain their trust. And, when you’re showing them the value of brand building, you need to remember that…

3. The ‘Why’ Really Matters

We get so carried away in our little marketing bubble that we forget that senior executives don’t really give a hoot about either the long or the short of it. Or any hot-button topics we obsess over.

So, once you’ve identified the powerful players, you need to work hard to find out what it is that they want. Then, drop a long line of breadcrumbs from brand building to these unspoken desires. Remember, the arguments that convinced you won’t work on them. You need to tailor your approach to align with their goals. Market your marketing.

The great irony of the ROI-obsessed, short-term approach is that it leaves enormous amounts of potential money on the table. Make that point and make it aggressively. Evidence helps, so it’s important to…

4. Use All Kinds of Case Studies

You need to showcase other corporate exemplars to move the needle towards longer-term thinking. Highlight some big, impressive brands who have successful long-term marketing strategies. Think KitKat, KFC, Guinness. Then pick some that have paid the price of a short-term approach. Use data to make your point.

And once the bus starts to move, use successful case studies from your own organisation to demonstrate that it is being done, it is working, and it is the future. These internal case studies are a first step in ensuring you…

5. Brand Your Branding Like A Brand

Promote the shift to long-term brand building like a campaign. First, you need to lay out a perfectly plausible explanation for why your company has been so short-term. And then provide an obvious pathway to a more balanced approach.

You need a vision with a simple, compelling narrative. So simple that it can be summarised in one slide.

Even the best brand building approach might take up to four years to properly bear fruit. So, you need to make the goal and the process clear to keep the team on track until the rewards eventuate. And if you really want to see those rewards you will probably need to…

6. Allocate Two Pots Before You Pour

The long-term branding path is impossible to follow without influence and, ideally, control over the marketing budget. So, divide your budget into two distinct parts: long-term brand building and short-term sales. This prevents the short-term focus from monopolizing the budget.

It doesn’t have to be an even split, but it does have to be a consistent one. You need an amount you can hold onto for brand building over several years. And, to avoid any terrible turf wars, remember that…

7. Metrics

It’s not just about having metrics; it’s about using the right ones to track both short and long-term success. A company that only uses shorter-term metrics and basic ROI on all its marketing investments is always going to favour activation.

Consider using brand valuation to set your benchmark. You’ll need an advanced and accurate purchase funnel that you can measure at regular intervals. That way you can ensure long-term brand building is succeeding towards the top of the funnel and shorter performance marketing is doing the business down below.

The hardest thing about long-term brand building is that it takes time. You need the metrics to show the nature of the problem, to set the benchmarks for change and to chart the progress of the organisation before the money starts rolling in.

Win Over Your Sales-Obsessed Seniors (And Keep Your Sanity)

There you have it. Seven simple steps that answer The Question on everyone’s lips. Not ‘why should I invest in long term brand building?’, but ‘how can I get the C-suite on my side?’ Convincing your senior execs to invest in the long-term doesn’t have to be an ordeal. But it’s safe to say, patience pays off. Think of your approach as a strategic journey where you understand their perspective, present compelling evidence, and align your goals with their priorities.

So, what are you waiting for? Get on with it.

Learn more about winning over your sceptic stakeholders and become the next-best brand manager with the Mini MBA in Brand Management.