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How to be a successful marketer (marketing director) Part 7. Creative problem solving

26th August 2009

 In the seventh of this occasional series, Guy Tomlinson and Tim Arnold, marketing consultants, directors and authors of The Marketing Director’s Handbook outline some of the prerequisites to be a successful marketing director.

 The marketer will often have a reputation for being creative, although may be mainly linked to developing advertising and promotions. Yet this is a strength to leverage to help your colleagues. If the CEO’s role is to manage the big picture and the financial director’s is to manage the numbers, then the task of generating creative ideas to solve the organisation’s problems lies with the marketing director. Creative problem solving is an area where you can carve out a truly distinctive role versus your peers. This is entirely consistent and justifiable in context of the marketer’s main challenge: to ensure that products and services stand out and appeal in the market place.
 
So to solve problems in your business, don’t shy away from demanding and creating genuinely differentiating solutions to build your business. Take the lead to work with your colleagues to create new solutions to problems. The more knowledge and understanding you can call on the more creative your solution can be, will be. Learn all you can and remember that in real terms new ideas are essentially new combinations of old ideas. To establish credibility as a creative problem-solver requires skill, tools and bravery. Skills and tools can be acquired, and many are outlined in our book. However, remember that bravery is a state of mind - it comes naturally to some and less so to others.
 
To judge creativity give yourself a framework to work from, for example, as a specific and detailed a brief covering the desired business outcomes, the strategic plan and the brand. One simple tip to judge creative ideas is to ask yourself if someone has thought of it before.
 
Also remember that no amount of problem solving will have any value unless you use it to make a decision. Three principles are worth bearing in mind.
1. The more you know (and this is where research can be invaluable) the better will be your decision
2. Trust your instincts. What is wrong is probably wrong and what’s right is probably right. Those will more experience should be more able to trust their instincts to make decision. However those with less experience will have valid opinions too – so seek the opinions of others to help contribute to better decision making
3. If in doubt, sleep on it. There must be a Darwinian explanation why decisions always come better in the morning after a good nights sleep, but they do.
 
The Marketing Director’s Handbook has been acclaimed as the most comprehensive guide to help marketers improve their marketing effectiveness. To find our more and order a copy follow this link to The Marketing Directors’ consultancy website. www.themarketingdirectors.co.uk/the_marketing_directors_handbook.htm
 
© 2009 The Marketing Directors


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