Mortgage Industry Marketers: 8 Reasons Why Your Strategy Can Fail
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Many mortgage industry companies do have a strategy set forth for the 2013 calendar year. But there's a problem...many of these strategies fail to achieve the desired outcomes. Why is that? Here are 8 reasons...
1. Strategy does not exist in print, just in a board room discussion. Sure, this is an obvious problem, but many plan to plan (in print), then get caught up in the day-to-day and the plan doesn't get written until the end of the 1st qrtr or worse. Meanwhile, all you've done is put out fires and get caught up in the "me too" syndrome, following your competitors.
2. Goals are poorly defined. Before the strategy gets written, there needs to be an agreement on your primary goals. If you don’t have this agreement, then your strategy has likely become a list of tactics or busy-work.
3. Unattainable goals. There’s nothing worse than working a strategy where the goals are not even possible. Set realistic marketing goals that can be achieved if the marketing plan is executed well.
4. No buy-in.Something often forgotten is that everybody in the organization is essentially executing the strategy. This execution plays a role in the branding of your organization. Once there is buy-in from key execs, everyone must play "follow the leader" and do their part. The worst thing is when the execs buy in but the individuals on the front lines don't deliver the brand promise for your organization.
5. No clear responsibilities or accountability. Strategies die because of lack of accountability and specific assignment of responsibililities.
6. Wrong people working the strategy. Do people assigned to work on the strategy have the skills to execute their part?
7. Lack of time or lack of money. Nothing is more frustrating than writing a marketing strategy and then finding out that there’s no budget to cover it and/or everybody is too busy to execute. I can't tell you how many companies I visit...both on the business-to-business and the business-to-consumer sides of the mortgage industry, that run on zero-based budgeting. With this, every line item is debated and scrutinized before being approved typically by someone not schooled in marketing, PR or branding to begin with, corners are cut and then goals are compromised. Even if the budget is small, it's good to know up front so you can set reasonable goals and design the strategy that fits the budget.
8. Changing market conditions. Things change...sometimes quickly in this economy. Make sure your strategy is ready to adapt to these changes as you move forward.
A strategy should be a fun, motivational process for all involved!
Can you think of any other reasons why strategies fail? Let me know in the comments section!
Seroka is where CEO’s, CMO’s and anyone responsible for their corporate brand and communications strategies in the mortgage industry can come to receive useful information, advice, insights and inspiration for growing their business.
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