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f reaching out to a demanding external business audience is tough, internal engagement and buy-in can often prove a B2B marketer’s nemesis. It’s all very well having the

next ‘big idea’, but if the person holding the purse strings is a sceptic, marketers will never get their activities off the ground successfully. In 2013, top-level support and endorsement from internal stakeholders has become more critical than ever.

So why is gaining internal buy-in often considered so difficult a challenge? What are the kinds of things B2B marketers are seeking buy-in for exactly – and who are they seeking it from? And, crucially, is there a secret weapon for dealing with this contentious issue?

Buy-in barriersGaining internal buy-in is not a new challenge and remains something marketers are often accused of failing to tackle. This may be the reason why historically the marketing department has been unsuccessful at aligning with other business functions.

“Few people like surprises in business and sometimes marketers have been guilty of engaging key internal stakeholders late or, worse still, not at all when seeking buy-in for major projects or change initiatives,” suggests Steve Revill, consulting partner at Positive Momentum.

“Reactively engaging colleagues at the 11th hour is rarely a recipe for success. It makes us look inefficient, disorganised and isolated from our colleagues across the business. Instead, we should adopt a more proactive and sustained approach to strategically managing our key internal relationships.”

Catherine Howard, head of private sector marketing at Fujitsu, also highlights some of the reasons marketers have struggled to gain buy-in in the past but suggests this is now an improving situation. She says: “The delivery of marketing activities typically requires money to be spent. With most private sector organisations, their main goal is to grow in terms of increasing revenue and, in turn, profit. And therein lies the conflict. Sometimes, internal business stakeholders can’t see past the ‘spending money’ that comes with delivering marketing activities. Over recent years, I

marketing excellence director at Brand Learning, advises: “In the first instance, they should ask themselves whether or not the problem sits at their own door. Is it clear that they connect with the business as a whole and with the agenda of the board and senior colleagues? If not, this needs to be fixed.”

She continues: “To build influence internally, marketers need to ensure they speak the language of their peers and they demonstrate how their plans deliver on the commercial objectives of the business.”

Internal targetsWhen it comes to who B2B marketers typically try to gain buy-in from, board members and the C-suite are primary candidates. Justine Arthur, head of communications and campaigns at BT Expedite & Fresca, and winner of B2B Marketer of the Year 2012, offers this advice for reaching out to the board in order to encourage endorsement. She says: “Demonstrate that a specific marketing activity contributed to a sale, whether that’s to an existing customer or new one – plus, achieve (and if possible exceed) what you committed to deliver on time and on budget. I also like to involve as many of the board as is relevant during the early planning stage of a campaign, and if it’s an event, make sure their diaries are blocked out well in advance so they are able to attend and can see for themselves the return on investment and what an impact marketing is having. In terms of nurturing them, it’s important to keep them informed, either ensuring you get a slot on the quarterly senior management meeting or informally over coffee or a short phone call from time to time.”

Howard’s top tip to getting on the radar of board members in order to win their support for a campaign or investment is to demonstrate a clear ROI from the outset. She says: “Within Fujitsu, we have a process in place where we complete a business case that outlines what the marketing programme is, what the expected ROI is in terms of new sales leads to be generated and expected revenue plus it outlines which business directors and sales directors have already signed up to supporting the programme. This process really helps in terms of illustrating how marketing spend can deliver results for the organisation.”

As well as board members, the finance director and sales department, in particular,

INTERNAL BUY-IN

Gaining internal buy-in remains one of B2B marketers’ greatest challenges. Victoria Clarke investigates the need for support from internal stakeholders and, crucially, how to get it

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have seen this change as CMOs take on a more strategic role in the business.”

Investment and endorsementOne such change initiative where B2B marketers are seeking the thumbs up to invest is marketing automation. In its 2012 State of Demand Generation Report, analyst firm SiriusDecisions predicted marketing automation adoption to increase by 50 per cent. However, while marketers may understand the benefits of marketing automation, persuading the wider organisation to come on board – and potentially part with a large amount of their budget – is another matter.

Head of marketing at Neolane, Martin Smith, points out: “One problem marketers face in seeking buy-in from top management and stakeholders is that, typically, they have an unfair reputation for not being able to quantify the return on investment from their marketing campaigns. This can make it difficult to prove the added benefits technology investments, such as in marketing automation, will make.

“Top management and stakeholders are very open to the possibilities of technology, and able to understand the concepts of marketing automation and how it can improve demand generation, lead management and measurement. But investing in marketing automation isn’t a cheap option and must be properly evaluated and presented in a solid business case proposal.”

Social media, video and mobile marketing are other key areas for potential marketing investment and, as in the case of marketing automation, something many B2B marketers are keen to exploit. However, despite the fact social media, for example, has been around a while, it still presents many board members and internal stakeholders with an element of the unknown and this consequently leads to huge resistance. As a result, these stakeholders often demand more justification for investment and upfront proof of a healthy ROI. In B2B Marketing’s 2013 Social Media Benchmark Report, recipients cited their biggest challenge in social media as ‘proving ROI’ (25 per cent) and ‘gaining internal buy-in’ (19 per cent) – second only to ‘engaging the target audience’ (27 per cent).

So what can marketers do if they encounter internal resistance? Linda Miller,

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are key targets B2B marketers should be reaching out to with a solid argument and sound business case in order to help align common objectives and win buy-in.

“Sales colleagues are definitely a marketer’s greatest ally and can really act as advocates for you, particularly if you can demonstrate clear ROI that benefits both parties. The other department essential as an ally is finance. If the CFO can support you in decisions and understands how the marketing spend delivers value for the organisation then it is much easier for the rest of the board to understand,” advises Howard.

Smith meanwhile highlights a couple of less obvious but equally valuable allies marketers would be wise not to forget. “Customer service is another clear beneficiary, since marketing automation allows customer interactions and transactions to be tracked in real-time,” he says. “When they have access to that data, customer service can very quickly grasp a view of the company’s up-to-date relationship with the customer.

“Procurement can [also] be a beneficiary, in that demand for products can be better forecast when a pipeline and timescale for possible customer orders can be predicted. This helps avoid under ordering and stock-outs, while reducing the risk of over ordering and having costly stock sitting idle on shelves.”

Interestingly, Arthur reminds marketers

not to overlook less senior colleagues when it comes to seeking buy-in. She reveals one of her key tactics to securing buy-in is: “knowing which team members from each of the sales and product teams my sales director and product director trust and respect. If I gain input from key members of their teams first, tweak and refine if necessary, achieving buy-in on a new proposition from these two directors is so much easier, and then even more straightforward if it needs approval from the wider board.”

Engaging colleagues needs to be the driver for any marketing activity or initiative in order to prove marketing’s worth and help align common business objectives. Just as marketers should consider the painpoints and language of their external audience, they shouldn’t overlook these factors when reaching out to board members and other internal stakeholders. A persuasive argument using common definitions and a sharp focus on revenue is the recipe to buy-in success – get these tactics nailed, and the board will turn out to be your biggest advocates.

INTERNAL BUY-IN

Top tips for internal buy-inHelp achieve that all-important endorsement with this three-step plan by Steve Revill, consulting partner at Positive MomentumWho? – Map out your key internal stakeholders. Not just the departmental and functional heads, but their key team members and influencers.What? – Spend time every week building a deeper understanding of their key business issues. What’s hot for them at the moment? How can you help with them? What parts of your team’s work are of interest to them? Which parts do you need their support for to be successful? Be genuinely interested and curious. How? – Use this knowledge across your team to map out an internal communications plan to proactively manage the relationships. Consider a range of touchpoints from one-to-one meetings and attendance at team meetings through to email updates and board papers. Make sure any communication is tailored to that particular stakeholder’s preferences (style, content and channel).

CATHERINE HOWARDHEAD OF PRIVATE SECTOR MARKETINGFUJITSU

“Sometimes, internalbusiness stakeholderscan’t see past the‘spending money’ thatcomes with deliveringmarketing activities”