The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration Woes

The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration Woes Marketing teams have it tough. You’re one of the few departments that are expected to have a pulse on what every other department in the company is up to. From sales to support you need to be plugged in to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve. BUT, how are you supposed to master cross-department collaboration when your own marketing team is struggling to collaborate amongst themselves? Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone on your team, regardless of specialty, knew what was on tap and how they could contribute to each other’s success? Yes, it would. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not impossible. Here are the best, best practice tips for improving your marketing team’s collaboration. The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration WoesWhy It’s So Hard for Marketing Teams to Collaborate Silos are a big problem for marketing teams. We’ve got Content Marketing, Public Relations, SEM, Social Media, Marketing Automation, the list goes on. And each of these specialties has their own sub-department, which makes collaboration even more challenging. If you’re a Marketing Manager, you’re painfully aware that these silios cause major problems. Poor collaboration is likely causing†¦ †¦ missed deadlines †¦ underperforming campaigns †¦ last minute fire drills †¦ and tension between your team members. However, there is hope. With a bit of bravery, leadership, and a solid strategy in place, you can overcome these silos and start collaborating better. How to Improve Your Marketing Team Collaboration It’s clear that  *a lot* of marketing teams struggle to stay on the same page. But what are you supposed to do about it? *A lot* of marketing teams struggle to stay on the same page. Heres how to fix it.Set Clear Goals Wait†¦ what? You’re probably a little confused since this is a post about marketing team collaboration, not one about KPIs. But hear me out on this one†¦ You’d be surprised how many marketing teams have conflicting goals and no idea how their individual KPIs fit within the company’s wider strategy. In fact, 29% of respondents included in this study  said they found no clear relation between their role and the overarching company strategy. Each team/individual should undoubtedly have their own KPIs, but there should be clear and consistent communication regarding how these are all working together towards a common goal. Here’s an example: Company’s main goal:  $50 million in sales by 2020 Public Relations goal: Reach 2 million people per month Content Marketing’s goal: Bring in 10,000 prospects per month Paid Search goal:  $5 $8 ROAS Marketing Automation goal: Convert 15% of prospects into customers Simply giving everyone a clear idea of where the company is heading and how each team’s KPIs help contribute can lay the foundation for good collaboration. Sometimes it helps to have a visual to get everyone on the same page. Here’s an example of how everyone’s goals fit into the marketing funnel and contribute to the company’s overall goal. Improve Communication Research  shows that improving your team’s communication can increase productivity by a whopping 25%. Improving your team’s communication can increase productivity by a whopping 25%.Sounds great, right? But communication barriers are one of the biggest hurdles for any team to overcome. Why is communication so challenging? Here are a few theories Firstly, marketers rely on outdated technology like spreadsheets to manage project plans, due dates, and tasks. These spreadsheets spiral out of control and leave you wanting to wipe the slate clean and start fresh†¦ so you do. And it works for a while, but the spreadsheet inevitably returns to mass chaos. Secondly, each team has hacked together a way to manage their own projects without a central, cross-team tool. This exacerbates the silo effect. Responsibilities and daily tasks become murky because they are managed across multiple tools. No one knows what they should prioritize nor when things are due. And there are a ton of meetings to try to figure it all out. (Fun fact: An astonishing 62% of marketers say wasteful meetings get in the way of their work.) Yikes. So how can you improve the communication of your marketing team?

Plutarch Describes the Assassination of Caesar

Plutarch Describes the Assassination of Caesar The Ides of March was the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in the year 44 B.C. It was one of the major epoch-changing moments in the history of the world.  The scene of the assassination of Caesar was pretty bloody, with each of the conspirators adding his own knife wound to the fallen body of their leader. Plutarchs Caesar Here are the words of Plutarch on the assassination of Caesar, from the John Dryden translation, revised by Arthur Hugh Clough in 1864, of Plutarchs Caesar, so you can see the gory details for yourself: When Caesar entered, the senate stood up to show their respect to him, and of Brutuss confederates, some came about his chair and stood behind it, others met him, pretending to add their petitions to those of Tillius Cimber, in behalf of his brother, who was in exile; and they followed him with their joint supplications till he came to his seat. When he was sat down, he refused to comply with their requests, and upon their urging him further, began to reproach them severally for their importunities, when Tillius, laying hold of his robe with both his hands, pulled it down from his neck, which was the signal for the assault. Casca gave him the first cut, in the neck, which was not mortal nor dangerous, as coming from one who at the beginning of such a bold action was probably very much disturbed. Caesar immediately turned about, and laid his hand upon the dagger and kept hold of it. And both of them at the same time cried out, he that received the blow, in Latin, Vile Casca, what does this mean? and he that gave it, in Greek, to his brother, Brother, help! Upon this first onset, those who were not privy to the design were astonished and their horror and amazement at what they saw were so great, that they durst not fly nor assist Caesar, nor so much as speak a word. But those who came prepared for the business enclosed him on every side, with their naked daggers in their hands. Which way soever he turned, he met with blows, and saw their swords leveled at his face and eyes, and was encompassed, like a wild beast in the toils, on every side. For it had been agreed they should each of them make a thrust at him, and flesh themselves with his blood; for which reason Brutus also gave him one stab in the groin. Some say that he fought and resisted all the rest, shifting his body to avoid the blows, and calling out for help, but that when he saw Brutuss sword drawn, he covered his face with his robe and submitted, letting himself fall, whether it were by chance, or that he was pushed in that direction by his murderers, at the foot of the pedestal on which Pompeys statue stood, and which was thus wetted with his blood. So that Pompey himself seemed to have presided, as it were, over the revenge done upon his adversary, who lay here at his feet, and breathed out his soul through his multitude of wounds, for they say he received three and twenty.