Aligning strategy and marketing is not a luxury—it's a necessity

Mind the gap – An all too common issue

“We are just the colouring in team!”

This was a comment from a recent client conversation. We were in the crunch moments of a project. Hours away from heading into the final decision by the exec to redefine the organisations brand story. To realise its full potential, there were some clear implications for the business and its corporate strategy. The work had demonstrated a clear position for them to own in the market. It resonated with customers (we’d spent hours testing with them), it carved out space between them and the competition (we’d spent hours researching them) and it was something their employees believed in (we’d spent hours getting and acting on their feedback).?

Although the work had considered their existing corporate strategy, it was clear the marketing team had no remit to influence it given what had been learnt and the direction the brand needed to go. It was this moment that cemented a point of view we, at Stratinn, have been building for a while. The disconnect and the gap between marketing and business, was real.

This article delves into the intricate relationship between strategy and marketing. Highlighting why aligning strategy and marketing is not only desirable but essential for achieving success and how the gap can manifest in different ways to hinder progress.

What is the gap?

It sounds perfectly logical that your business strategy and marketing efforts should be in perfect harmony. These crucial elements should be inseparable partners. The yin and yang, the best of bedfellows. What you do should manifest in how you talk about yourself and vice versa. What resonates with your customers should shape what you do and the choices you make.

But, often, rather than being in harmony they clash akin to the Gallaghers in ‘09 - butting heads, falling out, and going nowhere fast.

And it’s this exact gap we see all the time. Simply put, the strategy marketing gap exists when what a business says doesn’t align with where the business wants to play or how it plans to win.?This can be either because tactical marketing efforts don’t align with the strategic direction of the business or as in our case above, there is no recognised voice for marketing to steer business strategy.

This disconnect is further compounded by the stereotypical views from both sides of the fence. Strategy can be viewed by marketing as overly analytical, all numbers, providing nothing that properly informs actionable marketing execution. On the flip side marketing is seen by strategy as fluff, noise making, logos and pretty colours.

It doesn’t matter how big the gap is or which way around it occurs. If marketing and strategy don’t work coherently it’s a recipe for going nowhere fast or, at the very least, grossly inefficient working, wasted effort, and missed opportunities.

Failing to mind the gap and the consequences

Take Bud Light as an example. For years, Bud (the proverbial ‘King of Beers’) ploughed a furrow in sports and music. Think of drinking a Bud Light, what’s the image that pops into your head? I bet it’s tailgate parties at sports games or a bunch of men-children ‘Waaasssssupppp-ing’ each other. Like it or not, Bud’s best marketing ties into quintessential American values. Guess what, it works because its main demographic are true blue Americans.

So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that things started to go pear-shaped when Bud Light engaged the transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, to front a marketing campaign. The backlash from Bud Light’s core, conservative drinkers (which included Kid Rock shooting a case of Bud Light) saw sales slump by a year-on-year drop of 25%. This was an extraordinary drop for a stable category. 3 months after, Bud Light had lost its long-held market share leadership position in the US beer market to Model Especial. ?

I’m certainly in no position to comment on the political and societal issues this case created. But looking at it through the lens of strategy and marketing, the gap couldn’t be clearer. By trying to appeal to a new demographic, Bud Light unintentionally alienated its core customer base. It takes years to build brand reputation, but if strategy and marketing aren’t aligned, it can be destroyed in minutes.

This is only one example of how the gap manifests. Not all examples will have such publicity and the consequences may not always appear so obvious or extreme to the top line.

• Customer confusion. As consumers, we love feeling part of a tribe but if suddenly we see a favourite brand trying to be something else it leaves us confused. We’re more likely to shop somewhere else and we’re far less likely to champion the brand to our friends.?
• Over (or under)-promising. The disconnect risks marketing ‘making stuff up’. Trying to differentiate based on things that can’t be substantiated by what the business does well/will do. This results in disappointing customers by delivering an experience that falls well below expectations set by marketing. The alternative is to be left with no inspiration to inform distinctive campaigns/messaging. Delivering very generic messaging that fails to get cut through.
• Lower ROI. Inconsistency and confusion results in low ROI on tactical marketing activity. Marketing campaigns won’t pack the punch they are capable of if the brand is diluted. Inconsistency also impacts sales teams. Poor quality sales collateral means sales teams lack clarity on what to say to who and when.?
• Operational inefficiency. When there’s a gap, we see duplication of time and resources across business functions. Rumelt in ‘Good Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters' emphasises the importance of coherence in choice but also between planning and execution. When strategy and marketing aren’t working together, both time and resources are wasted, leading to ineffective action.
• Cultural impacts. A gap divides and siloes the business. This can become a negative spiral. The more disconnected they become, the less value each team sees in each other, and the more disconnected the business becomes.

Building the bridge or closing the gap

If you know there’s a problem and the strategy marketing gap exists in your organisation, the question should be how it can be closed or at least, bridged.

In his article ‘It’s time to accept that marketing and strategy are one discipline’, Roger Martin focuses on the benefits of converging marketing and strategy functions to overcome the duplication, inconsistencies and inefficiencies that arise from having both.

Making one discipline is an extreme option. However, this way everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. With everyone aligned, it becomes much easier to execute marketing campaigns that follow the strategic roadmap. It also ensures marketing and voice of customer is included in strategic planning.

We know this might feel like a big leap. A step too far for most given how entrenched most traditional corporate structures are. Thankfully, a more incremental step can be taken to bridge rather than close the gap. This bridge is built through your proposition. Unifying marketing and strategy at every level, brand, business, sub-business, and product. It creates a consistent view of how value is created, delivered, and messaged. Each level informs and supports the other. It becomes the glue between the two disciplines (you can read more about the power of proposition – here ).

This proposition hierarchy should be built based on robust insight and research on the 3 Cs - competitor, customer, capability. The interplay between them brings in points of view and research from across the organisation to create a coherent strategy. It provides the guidance to leaders and people on how to take action. It does however, need exec leadership and sponsorship to reinforce it and communicate to the business.

In terms of businesses that do this incredibly well, it’s worth looking at Intuit Mailchimp. They have crafted a distinctive brand proposition (and combination of business strategy, brand messaging and creative execution). This means the team and internal agency have clarity on the story the business wants to tell, who they are speaking to and why they can tell it better than others. From that, whether it's witty activations or educational material to share, it all hangs together and makes sense. It gives the licence to push the creative which would otherwise feel pretty random...at best!

Another great example is the insurance company Beazley. They have created a strong proposition at the intersection of the three Cs. Their message is well aligned to its strategic intention and its core capabilities?(delivering authenticity), as well as being consistent at all levels of the organisation (Capability). They focus on customers’ more aspirational needs not product functionality (Customer), and they carve out a distinctive position in the market (Competitor). This has led to growth and superior performance when other, larger players have contracted or flat-lined.?

Recognising the gap

In the intricate dance of business growth, the alignment between strategy and marketing is not a luxury - it's a necessity. A small gap between these two can be manageable. Left unchecked, it has the potential to widen, creating a chasm that can engulf your business's potential.

It's crucial, therefore, to regularly evaluate. Ensure that your strategy and marketing efforts are not running parallel but interwoven. Always checking if they’re helping you maximise the opportunities you have to win.

When you’re in the middle of it, it’s no easy task. Taking a step back to ask…

• Is our strategy considering the insight and feedback from the people who should be the loudest voice of our customers (marketing)?Do our communications support what our strategy is aiming for?
• Does our messaging ladder up and is it coherent across the business?
• Are we collectively working to maximise our ability to win rather than tripping each other up?

Remember, you don’t necessarily have to close the gap, a bridge will do the job. However, if the answer is no to any of the above, it’s probably time to act.