12 Simple Ways To Increase ROI and Overall Success as a Manager
With the pandemic in 2020 causing many things to be far from normal, many were forced to work from home for the first time in their lives. While some employees and companies are still working through the added stresses of being home, most are starting to go back to the office to work.
As this transition back to normal business begins to take place, it is important that managers lead with confidence and positively contribute to performance and efficiency. This positive, leadership mentality is important for all managers, it is even more important for marketing managers.
How To Empower Your Employees Through the Transition Back to Normal
As we have mentioned in previous articles, the marketing world is changing and changing fast at that.
With marketers not knowing what the future holds, many questions arise such as if they'll be able to utilize apps like Facebook to advertise and ultimately make money.
Titles like CMO, Marketing Manager, and even CEO, are worrisome to have at the moment.
With that thought in mind, we decided every type of manager, but especially marketing managers could use some help and guidance navigating the unknown future ahead.
So in addition to sharing our knowledge, we did a bit of research, talked to our peers, had some conversations with an awesome leadership coach (more on that later), scoured tons of LinkedIn articles, and checked out some surveys.
And here are the twelve qualities we uncovered that we feel are integral for successful marketing managers to garner the ROI they are looking for to not only survive but thrive.
12 Attainable Qualities Every Marketing Manager Should Be Capitalizing On To Generate ROI
1. Be Approachable
When it comes to management, you are directly responsible for your team's success no matter what level of management you are in. This means that if your employees are facing troubles of any capacity that might affect their performance, you should know.
The thing is though, your employees will only share these things with you if you are approachable.
In many cases, people have a hard time reaching out when they are struggling with work and ultimately it falls on the manager. Because at the end of the day, if your team is not performing well, it is the result of your shortcomings.
2. Recognize Others Success
Success is something that doesn't happen easily and everyone knows that. It takes hard work, determination, motivation and so much more to successfully accomplish something.
All the effort that a team member puts into gaining success is worth celebrating. And honestly, some people thrive by being recognized more than by monetary rewards.
All of your employees are different and understanding what they need to feel recognized is an important asset to successful management and leadership. (More on this later in another upcoming guest post.)
Learning what your team needs to succeeds and then following through with the recognition they need, is key to being not only a good manager but a great one at that.
And remember, it is important to not only give recognition once but continually.
One simple suggestion is to implement recognition on a monthly basis in an employee of the month type of reward.
3. Communicate Clearly
I'm sure everyone reading this has heard the saying "communication is key", at some point in their life. Whether it be throughout personal, professional relationships and just about every other aspect of life, the saying really rings true.
As a manager, a big part of your job is to communicate with your team, clients, and many other professionals you cross paths with. In order for that to be successful for not only your team but the business, you must not only communicate but communicate clearly.
One simple solution is to say what you mean and mean what you say, but don't say it mean.
4. Think Outside The Box
When everyone hears "think outside the box" obviously they know we are talking about being creative.
But there is another element to creative thinking that many managers never even realize.
As a marketing manager especially, thinking outside the box is uberly important because of how it teaches adaptability.
In the world of marketing, it is hard to keep up with the constant changes in business. But thinking outside the box will allow your mind to be open to that crazy new app, viral video, or change in Google processes.
Your mind will be used to being open and innovative when it comes to situations and creating solutions.
As a result, as a manager, you will be able to navigate the constantly changing world of marketing appropriately to encourage your employees' success.
5. Be a Leader
We would like to think that everyone in management understands the importance of being a leader.
Not only is effective leadership the key element of management, but it also clearly helps to optimize productivity, efficiency, and obviously achieve the goals of the business.
It is important that employees have someone to look up to and even look forward to going to for help and guidance.
Consider leadership training or even completing an E2L (Energized 2 Lead) questionnaire that takes just 15 minutes to get an idea of your leadership style and where you might improve.
6. Be Decisive
There is a quote by Andy Andrews that we love to always fall back on when we are at a standstill when it comes to making a decision.
"Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly."
It is important for all managers to remember this quote when trying to make difficult business decisions for their employees.
Successful managers quickly and effectively make decisions. And in case of failure, great managers are again, able to quickly and effectively fix the situation.
7. Trust Your Employees
Trust can be a hard thing to gain but it is an incredible tool to utilize once it is secured.
There are many different ideas behind trust and how to gain it, but we believe the best managers trust until given a reason not to.
Any type of management requires a certain level of trust in order for success to be achieved from the employees and for the business.
Marketing managers must trust their employees because sometimes a business's public image depends upon it.
Think of your employees as the wheels on a bus and you're the driver. If you can't trust those wheels to get you to where you need to go, there's no reason to even leave.
8. Be Compassionate
In the last year, with shutdowns and restrictions, many curve balls have been thrown at businessmen and women across the country and for that matter, the world.
Moving forward, there are many people who have gone through quite the tumultuous year. It is important as managers to work with those employees and show them compassion.
Although we know that some people thrive more under pressure, there are plenty of people, especially after this last year, who need a compassionate manager rather than a drill sergeant.
A great manager is one who listens and shows they care and value their employees. As a result, higher productivity will arise that is good for the employees, management, and the overall business.
9. Always Be One Step Ahead
The digital marketing world is constantly growing and evolving and it is important for every marketing manager to always be one step ahead. This means being up to date with the newest and easiest ways to increase ROI through marketing.
Marketing managers need to be curious enough to be able to know of the next big trend before it seemingly even happens. A great example of an easy way to do this is to sign up for weekly newsletters from some of your favorite marketing blogs.
If in 2020, every marketing manager would've taken this quality seriously many people would've taken their digital marketing efforts a little bit more seriously.
Moving forward, it is even more important to be a step ahead because 2020 has shown us to always be prepared for the worst.
These days, resiliency is the name of the game, and staying one step ahead will help keep you nimble.
10. Show Appreciation
With the pandemic in 2020, many people have been forced to work from home for the first time in their lives.
Working from home means children, pets, and many other distractions might be causing added stress for employees which ultimately decreases productivity.
As we work toward normal, it is important to take the time to show your employees your appreciation for all they have worked through and what they continue to work through.
As employees head back to the office or continue to work from home, now is a perfect time to give your work family a special "Thank you!" with customized promotional gifts.
There are literally millions of choices from rewards and promotional kitting from our friends at Superior, to inexpensive but impactful magnets and one of the most well-received promotional gifts, wearables.
Not only could you make those ZOOM calls even better for your marketing with your team wearing logoed wearables, but your brand will also garner exposure for years by making your employees walking billboards for your business.
11. Ability to Delegate
Even though we already talked about trusting your employees we wanted to put an emphasis on the importance of not only trusting, but being able to delegate.
Besides trusting, a manager must be able to delegate.
Knowing which projects to delegate to which employees is integral in order to achieve your business's goals efficiently and effectively.
The best managers out there realize that they can't do everything alone and that they need their employees to work with them and help to achieve max ROI.
It is important to value your time and focus your time where it will get the most in return without micromanaging.
12. Teamwork
We saved the best and most obvious for last, a successful manager knows the value of working with their employees as a team.
A marketing manager often never works without a team behind them as teamwork is a fundamental part of their job.
With so many moving parts that go into marketing successfully, a marketing manager must have the ability to work with other departments and employees even if they have a limited understanding of marketing or its importance.
It is important for everyone to collaborate and coordinate with employees, other managers, executives, and more that are surrounding them in order to be successful in the next year of unchartered waters.
Utilizing these Qualities and Still Not Generating the ROI You'd Hoped?
Are you utilizing these marketing manager qualities and still not getting to ROI expected from you by your superiors? Don't get discouraged because it might not be your management skills causing you trouble reaching your goals.
There have been many great managers who just don't have access to the tools they need to be successful in their positions.
Luckily, we have tools that can help jumpstart that ROI you are hoping for and complement your management skills at the same time.
Don't be afraid to reach out to us about our easy-to-implement proprietary tools that could be game-changing for your marketing career and for your business.
Contact us at Shane Shirley Media today and ask for a FREE 15-minute call with our founder.
Guest Post by Reece Smith, EVP
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