‘Its About Trying To Be Better: Marketing Leaders On What Profitability Means To Them
Marketers must consider three things when evaluating profitability: people, products, and technology. At an event hosted by Drum Network and productivity software specialist Skoro, company executives discussed why it's so difficult to balance profitability.
As the economy faces increasing volatility, the definition of profit will inevitably change. What was once a purely financial benefit now looks like a smart business idea.
According to Chris Jones, CEO of Space & Time, there is a clear moral imperative to change the business model and protect the workforce. "I think we haven't found a silver bullet yet, if we're all honest," he says. "There's still a lot of interactive work going on, a lot of late hours, a lot of start-up compensation, and a lot of cost compensation." It's a learning curve, but it's imperative for organizations to stay afloat and value their employees without devaluing them enough to quit.
Fred Krieger, an advocate for the need for work-life balance and indeed a valuable resource, is the CEO and founder of the work management platform Skoro. “To be profitable, you don't just need to cut costs and increase revenue; it's not about maximizing utilization, it's about optimizing utilization,” he says. “We need to understand the profitability of every customer, every project [...] because the only way to avoid burnout Long-term is to find ways to deal with this. To work more efficiently. To try."
How do you make marketing attractive?
As the co-founder and global CEO of Iris, Steve Bell is well versed in the elements that drive profitability. He believes there is a lot of work to be done to attract new talent as well as win the trust of clients.
“The minute you think [increasing revenues and reducing costs] is the answer, you underestimate how complex or multi-layered the industry is,” he says. “For me, it's a combination of the talent [...] and how the industry attracts the best talent, because I don't think it [attracts the best talent] right now. I don't think we're as interesting as the industry.”
Hana Kimoyo, CEO of Brave Bison, agrees: “Most of our employees live in London and the salaries are insane now. The question is ‘How do I find the right talent?’ But at the same time, ‘How do I save this? It's all about people, which requires the marketing industry to be a space that people still want to enter.
We must continue to do what customers cannot do themselves; Brands need to be able to justify their marketing spending now more than ever. "Customers say, 'We're going to do it ourselves because we think we can do it cheaper,'" Bell says. The third important element, he says, is technology, and we have to make sure we're using it right.
Krieger is a firm believer in technology that delivers quality service, although this doesn't always have to be synonymous with availability. “The irony is that there are a lot of technologies out there that are supposed to help us improve communication, but are secretly making things worse. We have come to call these tools “weapons of mass dispersal,” he says, referring to the professional instant messaging platform Slack. To be very careful about what we use it for and how much we allow it to interfere with and disrupt our workflow."
Return on investment for a good reason: Sustainability is a key differentiator
In Space & Time magazine, Jones claims that they are no longer just looking for profit, but are rethinking their entire business model. At Good-Loop and B-Corp, an advertising agency that connects global brands with charities, they also think about the bigger picture: specifically, how to justify their social impact and “return on investment in good causes.” Its founder, Amy Williams, is optimistic about the brand's collective commitment to sustainability.
"The truth is, sustainable living is often a privilege," he admits. “It costs more to make decisions like this, and it's unrealistic to expect people to put the planet first when they think of their families. But we see brands betting on sustainability in a cost-effective way and at the same price. It's the [number one] reason why a customer chooses trade mark ".
Sustainability is a key driver of talent and an important contributor to company culture. Space & Time has introduced “carbon recovery” by ditching long-haul business trips and offering clients free strategic time over Zoom instead, while Good-Loop has created an entirely new role for assessing the company’s overall sustainability. These initiatives are recent motivators for both customers and employees. How is that? Because "people see that we care more about what we try to do with our customers," says Kimeau.
Have your marketing initiatives failed?
If time is money, organizational leaders must spend it wisely. Bill believes strongly in this idea and argues that a lack of leadership can often lead to losing clients. "There's an interesting relationship between CEOs," he says, "they spend less time with customers." “[They] are spending less and less time with clients and more time doing what board members, CEOs and key strategic managers think they should be doing.”
Bell comments that agencies must first review their business structure if they want to be more profitable: "If they don't spend time with your clients, they're a huge burden on the business and they're just a drain on your resources."
It's important to remember the two-way dialogue in client relations, "not just to give people an opinion, but to shape what the proposal will be," says Jones, reminding you to stay close to your clients. At this point, customers develop these relationships in the way that best suits your business. While what you do and how you do it is key, the "why" really matters.
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