• by Teresa Caro , September 14, 2009

Someday our kids will become marketers (at least that's the plan for mine) and we will marvel at how easy they have it. And yes, the day will come when we hear ourselves say, "Kid, in my day..." and then we'll know we are truly old. 

Alas, in my day (today) I see customer-centric organizations becoming more commonplace and individual departments asked to work together through leadership consolidations or task forces. Don't get me wrong, this is great news. Yet, as the groups come together and compare notes, I see them confronting the reality of a multitude of agencies, platforms, reporting and monitoring tools. They are finding disparate customer databases and missed monetization opportunities. They are receiving more reports and yet having less confidence in the findings. And yes, they are being asked to streamline their workforces -- and whoever is left is expected to be the expert in everything.

This shouldn't be the end of the story we tell our children. Why not take inventory of what causes you (or your resources) to walk up that very big hill everyday to get anything done? And then why not lay out a plan to fix it?

Not certain where you should start? Following are the top 5 "hills" we have observed recently:

1.     Multitude of vendors/partners/contractors. Have you taken a full inventory of all the external resources you engage to run your marketing organization? Have you taken a close look at the steps needed to get a campaign out the door and to evaluate the results? What have you done to streamline these efforts?

2.     Disparate databases. In this day of "clicks and bricks," do you know where you are storing all your data? Do you have a single view of the customer? Do you have a desired profile and a plan in place to gather this data over time? Do you know how you plan to leverage that data -- cross-sell/up-sell, grow, migrate, retain, winback?

As you embark on your customer data integration (CDI) effort, remember not everything needs to be consolidated in one place. Chances are it will take too long and you'll forget why you needed all this information when you get there.

3.     Disparate agendas. Has word gotten out that your Web site and email efforts drive a ton of revenue? Do you have all the brands, sectors, and/or departments vying for the same real estate on a Web site, email, or newsletter? Are your results declining because your customers are struggling to find what they need or to understand the core message?

As you struggle to make everyone happy, know that you can tackle this challenge from top down and bottom up. Personalization and targeting has come a long way - and if you engage your technology and data resources from the beginning, you can build landing pages and emails with dynamically generated content meeting each customer's unique needs and expectations.

4.     Platform paralysis .Do you long for a tool that would allow you to get a campaign out the door without manually updating spreadsheets, to-do lists, and sticky notes? Do you have a tool that you grew out of a year ago and is more trouble than it's worth? Have you tried to find something new, yet keep running into problems, so it's easier to just keep going the way you're going? This is a great time to pop your head out of the sand and look at new hosted solutions that are available in many areas: eCRM, analytics, targeting.

5.     New channels. Are you holding back for fear of disrupting a well-oiled measurement machine? Are you afraid you will lose control of your message?

There was a time not so long ago when existing channels were not so easily measured, yet people moved forward and reaped the rewards. So, what can you put in place to appease these fears and figure out how to support it? Consider allocating a certain percentage of your budget to the tried and true and then a smaller percentage allocated to testing, within parameters.  If you don't squeeze from existing budget to fund new opportunities, you always stay below the radar.