7 Challenges Faced by Marketing Teams Striving for High Performance

Marketing teams are at the forefront of driving growth and success. While marketing has always been pivotal, the ever-evolving digital landscape has introduced new complexities and opportunities. Enter the era of high-performing marketing teams, where excellence is not just a goal but a necessity.

Recently, during a marketing breakfast at The Financial Services Forum, Hideki Hashimura, CRM/CX Strategist and CMO at redk, shared invaluable insights on what it takes to create and sustain high-performance marketing teams. This blog delves deep into the challenges faced by marketing teams striving for high-performance status, drawing knowledge from the FSF event.

Download our in-depth guide: Achieving High-Performance Marketing Teams.

But first, what is a high-performance marketing team? 

A high-performance marketing team is defined as achieving 71% or more of the primary offerings for revenue targets being met. 

They emphasise an audience-centric approach, define market segments and outline clear processes and responsibilities. 

Now, let’s dive into the challenges faced by marketing teams striving for high-performance status.

#1 The Audience-Centric Approach is Demanding 

High-performing marketing teams prioritise an audience-centric approach. They understand that today’s consumers demand personalised experiences. To overcome the challenge of creating content for various segments, these teams invest time defining customer segments and crafting tailored content. This process involves diving deep into market research, analysing customer data, and creating detailed buyer personas.

“To build trust, you have to consistently communicate messages that are relevant to your audiences.”

Hideki Hashimura, redk

However, personalisation at scale can be demanding. It’s not just about personalising a single piece of content but ensuring that every interaction with a customer resonates with their unique needs and preferences. This can strain resources and stretch the capabilities of the marketing team.

To address this challenge, high-performing teams leverage marketing automation tools to personalise content efficiently. These tools allow audience segmentation, automated content delivery, and behavior-based personalisation. By automating repetitive tasks and using data-driven insights, marketing teams can deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.

#2 Incohesive Campaigns Will Fizzle Out 

Creating cohesive marketing campaigns is essential for seamlessly engaging and guiding customers through the marketing funnel. The challenge here lies in maintaining consistency in messaging and delivering a unified customer experience across multiple touchpoints.

It’s not uncommon for campaigns to start strong with a compelling theme but lose their way in subsequent interactions, such as landing pages and follow-up emails. To tackle this challenge, high-performing teams invest in customer journey mapping. This involves visualising every step of the customer’s interaction with the brand, from initial awareness to conversion. By identifying potential gaps and inconsistencies, teams can ensure that the campaign maintains a consistent narrative.

Collaboration among cross-functional teams is another key to success. Content creators, designers, developers, and other team members must work harmoniously from the campaign’s inception to completion. This ensures that every content, whether a blog post, social media ad, or email, aligns with the campaign’s central message and objectives.

#3 Data Silos Limits Adaptability 

Data is the backbone of modern marketing, but data silos can obstruct the flow of information and hinder decision-making. The challenge here is to centralise and structure data properly to make it accessible and actionable.

To address this challenge, high-performing marketing teams invest in data integration solutions. These tools connect various data sources, from CRM systems to web analytics platforms, creating a unified repository of customer information. With a single source of truth, marketing teams can confidently make data-driven decisions.

“High-performing teams not only measure their ability to bring new leads in, they also measure the ability to expand on existing customers and expand the portfolio.”

Hideki Hashimura, redk

Data governance practices are equally important. Establishing data quality standards, ownership, and security protocols ensures data remains accurate, consistent, and protected. Regular data audits can help identify and rectify issues within the dataset.

#4 Understanding Attribution is Crucial 

Attribution analysis is crucial for understanding the impact of marketing efforts on the customer journey. However, it can be a complex challenge due to the many touchpoints involved in a typical customer’s path to conversion.

High-performing marketing teams adopt advanced attribution models, such as multi-touch attribution. These models consider all touchpoints and interactions, providing a more accurate picture of each marketing channel’s contribution to conversions. By attributing value to various touchpoints, teams can allocate resources effectively and optimise their marketing mix.

Marketing analytics tools play a significant role in simplifying attribution analysis. These tools generate detailed reports highlighting each marketing channel’s influence on the customer journey. Marketers can identify which channels are most effective in driving conversions and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Continuous analysis and refinement of attribution models are essential. Marketing teams should regularly review attribution data to adapt and fine-tune their strategies based on insights. This iterative approach helps optimise marketing spending and maximise ROI.

#5 Building a Structured and Developed Campaign Process

Well-defined processes are the backbone of consistent campaign execution. The challenge is establishing processes that enable marketing teams to operate efficiently, even without constant communication.

High-performing teams develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for various marketing activities to overcome this challenge. These documents outline the steps, responsibilities, and timelines for each task within a campaign. SOPs serve as a guidebook for team members, ensuring everyone understands their roles and follows a standardised approach.

“High-performance teams have a way to produce campaigns that are formalised, written and has a method behind it.” 

Hideki Hashimura, redk

Project management tools, like Monday.com, also come into play. These tools facilitate task assignments, progress tracking, and deadline management. They help teams stay organised and ensure that campaign elements are executed on schedule.

Documentation of past campaign experiences is crucial for continuous improvement. By analysing what worked and what didn’t in previous campaigns, marketing teams can refine their processes and avoid repeating mistakes. This iterative approach fosters efficiency and effectiveness.

#6 Focus on Collaboration and Scaling

Collaboration and scalability are vital for high-performance marketing teams, especially in the fast-paced digital landscape.

Collaboration platforms, like Salesforce, are indispensable tools that enable real-time communication, file sharing, and project management. They bring together team members, whether in-house or remote, to collaborate effectively. Timely communication and collaboration ensure that campaigns run smoothly and everyone is on the same page.

“Marketing teams need to work together with sales teams and relationship management to be able to penetrate that organisation with your body of work.”

Hideki Hashimura, redk

Templates are a cornerstone of efficient scaling. High-performing teams create templates for various campaign types and marketing materials. These templates standardise the production process, making it easy to replicate successful campaigns and maintain consistency, whether it’s a LinkedIn campaign, a landing page, or a series of automated emails; having a predefined template streamlines production and reduces the need to reinvent the wheel with each new campaign.

Scalable resources are also critical. High-performing teams ensure they can access the right resources, whether in-house talent, freelancers, or agency partners, to scale their marketing operations as needed. This flexibility allows them to respond quickly to market changes and opportunities.

#7 Don’t Overlook Executive Engagement 

Engaging executives and senior salespeople is vital for aligning marketing efforts with broader business goals. Their input and support are essential for producing relevant and personalised content.

To secure executive engagement, marketing teams should provide regular updates and reports on marketing strategies and results. Executives need to be informed about the impact of marketing initiatives on revenue and growth.

In conclusion, the challenges faced by marketing teams striving for high-performance status are multifaceted. However, by addressing these challenges with strategic approaches and the right tools, marketing teams can elevate their performance and drive revenue growth while delivering exceptional customer experiences.