Many marketers I speak with at recruitment companies lack confidence when trying to articulate their contribution to the business. This is put into even clearer relief by how obvious the contribution of individual consultants is. It is as frustrating for management as it is for the marketer.
Quantifying marketing's contribution to the recruitment company
1. Set targets - targets are not scary, they are a security net. Without them marketing will be rudderless. Write down what marketing needs to achieve both in terms of outcomes and outputs.
2. Ensure accountability - marketing needs accountability both on a day to day basis and at board level. Ensure that the person looking after your marketing day to day has a clear reporting line, clear accountability and a weekly meeting with the director responsible.
3. Regular reporting - make sure that the marketing department is communicating what it does with the wider business. The marketing executive should be providing a weekly report of past and future activity to the director in charge of the team and potentially circulating this to the wider business.
4. Report against a dashboard of KPIs - the board should receive a monthly report of how the company is performing against key metrics.
It may sound inflexible and uncreative, however marketers I have worked with have found that this approach is actually an enabler. It gives them the confidence to focus on and see through core activities that will deliver results. Not embracing this structure will leave most marketers drifting.