In a recent Thinkerneur Strategy Session, Nontokozo Madonsela, Group CMO at Momentum Metropolitan shared her game plan on making decisions. During her presentation titled ‘The Power of Making Good Decisions, she shared the five (5) critical enablers that are vital in every decision-making process.
1. Have A Purpose:
The first enabler is Purpose. She describes purpose as the glue or the GPS that guides all the work done and assists the brand in being consistent for longer periods. She mentions that purpose can be broken down into three:
· The first being what the organization stands for. The overall company purpose needs to filter through in all departments and be known by all employees, furthermore the organizational purpose should be motivating and drive decision making.
· The second way to break down purpose is to figure out what the brand stands for. A brand’s purpose contributes towards achieving the organizational purpose.
· The Third way to break down purpose is to answer the question; ‘Why we are doing this? This question assists in ensuring that any marketing activity integrates with the brand strategy, essentially contributing towards the bigger picture.
2. Have One plan:
The second enabler that is critical in making decisions is having One Plan. Which is a plan that can be filtered through across all marketing activities. Having One Plan ensures that there is no confusion or a mixed bag of marketing activities that achieve nothing for the brand.
Nontokozo adds that it is important to always have a master brief that all suppliers; including advertising agencies and media buyers can have access to, so that they know what the brand plan is. In a world that is fast paced and complex, there can be a lot of briefs from different marketing departments such as CSI, Reputation Management, PR, etc. Which is why it is crucial to always refer to the master brief to determine if it aligns with the one plan.
3. The Power of Repetition:
The third enabler is the Power of Repetition, that is; repeating the brand strategy / purpose at every engagement with the company employees or marketing team, in order to instill it within them and the organization. Whether it is at a conference, sales rally, interdepartmental meetings or even exco meetings; repetition helps the marketing team make a decision every time there is a new good idea that is proposed. It also assists in reminding everyone what they are working towards.
4. Asset Creation:
Asset creation is the fourth enabler that Nontokozo uses in the decision-making process. Creating assets occurs when a brand is inspired by a human truth to propel and care. Assets can be created via sponsorships, passion projects or the use of social media as a platform to help drive the brand narrative. These assets need to be aligned with the brand purpose and contribute towards achieving the goals as set out in the strategy.
5. Stick To Your Guns:
The final enabler in making good decisions is, “Sticking to your guns”. Nontokozo explains that a brand does not need to aspire to be like other brands, because they did something right, relevant or that is trending. She then adds that there is no need to be an FNB or a Nando’s because even for those brands, the aim to be clearly distinctive from other brands.
There are ideas that will come up in the boardroom or even from the C-suite, for marketing, but it is up to the CMO to ensure that any ideas that are implemented are in accordance to the brand strategy and purpose.
Nontokozo Madonsela is the Group CMO of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings.
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