Repositioning the Role of Marketing

As organizations continue to grow and change, marketing teams need to move along as well. In case of uncertainty of how to proceed, it might be necessary to ask for help.

In this article, we discuss how to move forward when changing to a different marketing strategy or transforming how the marketing function is positioned within your organization.

Insights confirm to Case study on BECU, presentation by Toby Travis, VP Marketing, BECU in the 5th Annual CULytics Virtual Summit, 2020, where he shared BECU’s experience in repositioning the role of marketing.

What to change?

• Ask your people- Talk to people daily, ask for feedback to support the organization.
• External Evaluation- Talk to external providers to understand modern marketing models and best practices.
• Existing Talent Assessment- Take both findings and analyze the existing talent and identify the scope and areas for development.

What did BECU learn?

By using the methodology briefed above, BECU learned the following-

• Perspective needed change.
• The Approach needed to evolve.
• Habits were deeply carved within the teams. There was a need to break them and develop.

Below, we briefly describe how these changes were made at BECU. </p.

Perspective | Inside Out V Outside In

Before, the decisions emphasized the organization's need, instead of being member-centered. The focus shifted towards being a member-centric organization and using data to work on an area where the members expected BECU to work.

Perspective| Become Consultants

The team had to become objective-driven from being order takers. It was important to understand objectives, understand the audience, and understand how marketing could solve the problems.

Approach | Built Around Members

From having an intermittent approach, the approach shifted towards being continuous, with a focus on optimizing, aligning, and measuring. This was necessary to stay relevant.

Approach | Strive for Constant Improvement

Instead of looking for 'big bang' or 'a silver bullet', improvements needed to be small iterative, and adaptive. It was a constant push to be better.

Approach | Limit the Guess Work

The approach needed to be more data-driven and validated, instead of relying on opinions and conventions. The point of view with data is a much better conversation.

Habits| Hiring a Team

It was crucial to look beyond functional experience and consider whether the values are aligned so that employees are able to grow with the organization.

Habits| Creating New Examples

Instead of forcing new habits within the organization, it was much better to model behavior, where employees could collaborate, adapt to, learn from, and grow.

Habits| Setting Up New Systems

Existing systems and bureaucracy were a big challenge. Instead of BECU focusing on what, it was crucial to focus on how. For example- rewarding desired behaviors so tat positive practices can grow.

CONCLUSION

In any organization, process, or function, change takes time. It is a necessity to be patient. Also, of more importance is to focus on the trajectory you are on instead of your pace.