The Role of the President in Marketing

In this issue

• ON STRATEGY: THE ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT IN MARKETING
• OUTPUT VS. OUTCOMES: THE IMPORTANCE OF mROI
• QUOTES TO LIVE BY

STILL TIME TO REGISTER!

STAMATS ONLINE SEMINAR - Marketing Your MBA Program

With increased competition for MBA students, this program is designed to help you more effectively market your programs. This will begin with a review of recent trend data by type of program (full-time two-year, part time, online, and EMBA). We will then discuss the role of image and rankings in MBA choice and outline strategies to help recruit more or better students. Finally, we will also discuss how to market your program to women, students of color, and international students.

When: Thursday, November 18, 2004 from 1:30pm-3:00pm (Central)

Click here to register for this $249 program.

ON STRATEGY: THE ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT IN MARKETING

You might be surprised that I ordinarily do not suggest that the president be on the marketing team. I make this suggestion for two reasons. First, presidents seldom have the time required to participate fully. And second, when presidents sit on the planning team they have a dramatic, and not always positive, impact on the direction of the conversation.

While the president may not sit on the team, as chief marketing officer, she or he does play a major role in the plan's success. For example, the president appoints the planning champion, provides an initial rationale/direction for the plan, and finalizes the team. These are fairly obvious responsibilities. However, the president must also:

• Have a vision for how marketing can help the institution. Without this personal vision there will never be personal commitment
• Commit his or her power and prestige to the marketing efforts
• Commit institutional time, talent, and treasure to the planning process
• Provide authority to the chief marketing officer, department, and or team
• Convey that marketing is an institution-wide commitment and responsibility
• Clear away organizational and policy roadblocks
• Insist on shared goals and resources among senior administrators/staffs
• Go toe-to-toe with recalcitrant administrators, administrators who adopt a wait-and-see attitude, and administrators who are hostile to the idea of marketing
• Demand departmental and even individual accountability
• Be the champion's sponsor

The last bullet is worth a bit more commentary. Most people are familiar with the idea of a "champion," the individual who serves as the catalyst for the planning process. What is sometimes less apparent, however, is the sponsor; the person who helps clear the way so the champion can be more effective. In most instances, the sponsor is the president.

Remember, the signals that the president sends to senior staff, middle managers, and faculty will telegraph whether or not marketing is a legitimate institutional commitment.

OUTPUT VS. OUTCOMES: THE IMPORTANCE OF mROI

As we make the case for brand marketing and integrated marketing, we need to remember the difference between output and outcomes. Output tends to focus on what we did (lots of news releases, billboards, publications, etc.). While showing output is useful (we generated 15 percent more news releases this year than last), measuring output alone will likely not increase the value proposition for marketing on your campus. Rather, we must take care to show outcomes. Rather than stressing the number of publications we produced, we must indicate, clearly and defendable, what those publications did for us. Essentially, this discussion is the domain of mROI - measuring marketing return on investment. It takes more time to measure outcomes, but if you can show success, then it is highly likely that your request for additional resources will be seen in a new and better light because it is at this point that marketing expenditures shift from being a cost to an investment.

QUOTES TO LIVE BY

Like many of you, I relish the clarity and inspiration provided by a good quote. Here are some I have come across recently. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

• If things seem totally under control you are not moving fast enough - Mario Andretti
• Slow is a death wish
• Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored - Aldous Huxley
• If you sit at the crossroads too long you will get hit!
• The greatest tragedy in life is people who have sight but no vision - H. Keller
• Success comes from exploiting opportunities, not solving problems - Peter Drucker
• Vision + Communication = Shared purpose
• The reason that most change efforts are derailed is because they focus on processes and not people. Systems won't change if people won't cooperate. People are the gatekeepers of change
• The greatest thing by far is to be the master of the metaphor - Aristotle