Marketing People - Advice needed on new role

[vitahelp]

I'm hoping to get some advice and perspective from anyone who works in Marketing related roles, particularly in a non-marketing business (e.g. Marketing Manager at Private Hospital for example).

I have worked in sales for my entire career but have recently had a role change to Sales and Marketing Manager. This means I will be handling all the marketing business for the company and also producing sales campaigns. I accepted the role because the direction the business has gone in meant my previous role wasn't as busy/required. Plus I saw it as a new learning experience and more strings to my bow.

Anyway, I'm struggling with dealing with other peoples opinions. I hadn't considered this until I started the role but everyone has an opinion on the style we are using/what we are covering etc. Of course they don't know anything about the budget etc which isn't particularly high. I just suddenly feel very vulnerable and exposed to the entire companies scrutiny. I accept this will come with the role, but I didn't realise how disheartening it would be. No-one has been rude or out of order but I still feel uncomfortable and not sure if this role is for me now. I also admit that in some cases the feedback I've had has been at my request and I've asked people for opinions. But have been surprised at just how opinionated people are.

I'm usually resilient but in this role it feels more personal. Is it a feeling I might learn to live with, and does anyone have any tips on getting over this?

I'm not sure why you feel the need to solicit others' opinions, they gave you the job because they want your experience and expertise.

Anyway, the first thing I'd do would be to create a standards doc with fonts, logos, colors, campaign layouts etc.

You drive the decisions, don't ask others.

I work as a designer and I think sometimes people say something just so they feel like they have an input and they feel like they have to say something rather than nothing! Anyway I have developed a thick skin to it after many years and it doesn't bother me at all. I think people just like to make themselves heard!

Thanks for the replies.

@BeardedLodger I think because I’ve never done marketing before I feel the need to ask for opinions but then the people I’m asking don’t know anything about marketing so probably aren’t any better placed to have a say.
I just worry I’m doing things badly and everyone in the company is thinking ‘what is this crap?’ so by asking I’m getting the chance to find out. I’m realising it is pointless though as one person will love it and the next will hate it so there isn’t any gain in asking around.
I am using a reputable design agency for materials so it does have a professional finish and can’t be complete crap. I just need to trust myself with it I think.

@Conniethecatapillar Yes true, I suppose it is one of those things that people can understand fairly easily and come up with an opinion (as opposed to say having an opinion on an engineering machinery design when you aren’t qualified).
It doesn’t help that there is another group of people who just don’t agree with marketing in general in our business, they see it as an unnecessary waste of money. Our industry is very behind the times when it comes to this stuff, and our company only started acknowledging marketing a year ago!

It's easy to feel vulnerable and/or overwhelmed when you take on a role that matches your intellect and style but you haven't (yet) been trained in, OP.

The great thing is there is SO much free education material available these days.

So my advice is to spend some time honing your knowledge in these areas. you'll find things start become much more comfortable when you have the frameworks to support your instincts.

For example,if you google 'how to create a marketing strategy' you'll get tonnes of templates and guidance.

If you google 'what type of analytics will help me see how my latest customer outreach is going' you'll get lots of guidance.

Meant to say then you can be more evidence-based.

"We are going down this route because it should provide XYZ. The results we get will help us see if it worked, and we can plan or adapt our next thing based on that'.

If you're audience is not too big there are plenty of free tools to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

Bring it back to the customer. What individuals like is always subjective but if you can justify your approach in line with what your market research tells you then use it to back up your decisions.

You need a clear marketing strategy that underpins the business strategy. This will inform your target audience, messaging and how you measure success. You allocate budget to activities and create KPIs to demonstrate achievements, cost of acquisition etc. The impact of those campaigns or activities is validation of success or failure. Often you have to try several different strategies before you find the right pitch. If nothings sticking you then go back to the drawing board.

@CantFindTheBeat Thank you for this. I do think I need to take the time to educate myself on it rather than just trying to figure it out as I go. I like reading and researching anyway, but just haven't taken the time to do it in this case.

@ReturnfromtheStars The audience is fairly small as it is a fairly niche industry sub-category. I enjoy gathering and analysing data, but I think I find this daunting because there isn't anything historical to compare it to. However I realise I still need to start understanding the data so I can eventually see which things are/aren't working.

@Moirarosesgarden Yes I do need to get to know the customers a bit better in this context. The trouble is our customers are businesses who are also in our outdated industry, many of the people we deal with in sales don't even work at a desk and a lot are overseas in underdeveloped countries so getting information/understanding them can be tricky!

@Remagirl You are right, however as a beginner in the space it is a bit 'chicken and egg' where it can be tricky to define a strategy until you have got to know the role, but at the same time you need one before getting stuck in. Having said that I have created a plan for the remainder of the FY and assigned the budget accordingly, and also identified a consistent 'house style' for marketing materials/merchandise. So I am part way there. Despite that I still struggle with what other people are thinking, in particular the naysayers.

My advice would be to get some training. Then I think you’ll feel more confident.

You can silence the naysayers with data and evidence. You could also hold some focus groups to gain customer insight. A key activity for me when working with a new client is holding a customer persona workshop. This is an opportunity to bring in some of the naysayers to provide input. Good luck, happy to send you some templates if interested. I'm a civil servant so not pitching for work 😊

@BitOutOfPractice I've enquired about training but we are in an industry lull at the moment so training is on a temporary freeze. However I will try my best to self-train using resources I can find.

@Remagirl Yes you are exactly right that data/evidence are the ideal way to silence naysayers, especially since some of mine are from the accounts department 😁I think you're right there about involving those people in some of the decision making processes to give them the chance to be part of it.

Hi @vitahelp yes there’s tonnes of great - and free - resources. Have a look at Google Digital Garage. Some great courses on there for all levels.

This is pretty common. I'd highly recommend the FB group "Mums in Marketing" - lots of peer support there.

The old saying 'everyone's a marketeer' 🤣 marketing is so subjective that everyone thinks they can have a say/opinion. I've dealt with it my entire career.

Get a strategy and plan in place, signed off by the right people and stick with it. If anyone tries to interject or offer up their own ideas then you can explain that you have an approved strategy and have to stick with it. Or just ignore them.

@ISeeTheLight Thank you for the recommendation, I'm glad others feel the same!

@Boymummyofone Wow that's a relief to know it such a common thing that there is a phrase for it!! It is hard working in a space that people can easily have opinions on, this didn't really happen when I just did Sales!
I think that is the solution, and I need to just be steadfast in my approach to it. I'm quite easily swayed when it comes to things I am new to, but if I go along with what every different person says I will end up with a very confused and jumbled marketing style.
I think as I learn to trust myself with this and believe that I am capable of it, a lot of my issues will resolve.