A key thing I have learned in my career and my own work experience:
"Bad Marketing Managers tell Marketers what to do, Good Marketing Managers explain why they need to do it, but Great Marketing Managers involve them in decision making and improvement."
There might be more to Marketing Management, but I think that is a pretty good start to "Learn Marketing" or the Total Marketing system, encourage Marketing Leaders to live in that "Good to Great" range (with apologies to Marketing guru).
Bad Marketing Managers bark orders. They are directive and tell Marketers what to do, without any explanation or context. I saw a lot of that style of Marketing Managers quite often during my first two years in Marketing business (read my books on Marketing and Motivational) and my write up on Facebook, Twitter and Linkin for a follow up.
There are top-down, "command and control" Marketing managers in every type of workplace, unfortunately. Marketing Managers who are controlling and have all the answers want their Marketers or Marketing officers to "check their brains at the door," and often say so quite explicitly — or they spread that message in more subtle ways.
At GM Marketing meetings, front-line Marketers complained that they were "hired for their legs and their beauty, not their brains." In Banking, Telecoms, IT Firms, Insurance, Oil and Gas, hospitals, healthcare professionals (even those with master's degrees) have complained, "They just want us to do what we're told." This is not a recipe for quality, productivity, or good Customer Retention.
One example of "wrong selling" was the Marketing manager telling Marketers that the doors to the resident Marketing must now be kept closed at all times. For years, previously, the doors had been left open unless a resident wanted privacy and chose to close them.
Then somebody asked one of the Marketers, "Why are the doors to resident marketing closed all of the time now?" The Marketer replied, "I don't know, [the Marketing manager] just told us to."
It is not right to just give directives without letting people understand the reason(s) why. There might have been a very well good reason why the doors were now to be kept closed. Had it been that the Marketing manager taken just a few minutes to share the reason why, the Marketers would feel better about themselves and would more likely keep the doors closed.
If Marketers are following directives out of a fear of being "laid off," they are not in a position to provide great service.
A good Marketing manager would explain why the doors now need to be closed. And, if there wasn't a good reason why, they would not force the change on a sudden desire.
A great Marketing manager would involve the Marketers in coming up with solutions to whatever problem is being solved by keeping the doors closed.
The Marketers, when being posed with the problem, might come up with the idea of "close the doors" or they might come up with something better. Either way, they would feel a greater sense of ownership over the idea since they were involved in its creation.
During your time as a GM Marketing, the best of the two Marketing managers you should work and teach your Marketers, Marketing skills (in the style of Marketing leadership) this will always explain to them why something must be done, in those rare instances when they have to give a directive.
There is dynamic changes from "thou shalt Sell all the products (because I'm the boss and I told you so) " to " you must Sell all the products (because it's necessary for your promotion and we want your business portfolio to get bigger, even though you might think that it is a little bit ash on you now, you will still be happy to do it )."
Bad Marketing manager and Good Marketing manager explain why.
Great Marketing manager go beyond this.
Great Marketing manager might engage the Marketers in figuring out how to increase their Business portfolio, which makes their increase in sales necessary in the first place.
A Marketer may suggest a different, but equally effective, Marketing Strategy. We don't know unless we engage our Marketers.
In 90% of workplace situations, I'd guess, the Marketing manager shouldn't be telling people what to do, even if they are making the effort to explain why.
Great Marketing manager engage Marketers in designing their work and they continue to engage them in ongoing improvement. As I learned from my former Marketing employer and many books of Marketing Strategic Management.
Marketing procedures "should not be forced down from above but rather set by the Marketers themselves."
This mindset and approach requires that the Marketing leaders set aside their egos and century-old habits. of top-down management.
Marketing Managers won't have all of the answers. Instead of dictating how things get done (and expecting obedience and compliance), Marketing managers need to work together with Marketers to define how the work is done.
Marketing managers need to ask Marketers what ideas they have for improving the sales.
Our Marketers are adults and they deserve our respect. They deserve great Marketing leaders who can work together to help everybody succeed and do what's best for their customers (or clients).
By
Kolade Kehinde (Don Akkot)
Don Akkot is a Marketing Trainer and consultant, writer, Author, and Speaker in the line of Marketing, Leadership Building, Poverty eradication, Business Planning and Motivational.
He is the Chairman, MD/CEO FactFocus Akkotian International Limited. He also the founder of PUSH (Prospect Until Something Happen) the Number One Marketing Solution in the whole world.
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