Let it be defined who will execute the strategy, in which channel, with what authority and what budget
The marketing channel strategy answers the question “what will we do”; the organization answers “who, where, and with what.” Every channel should have an owner, a team, a budget, the agencies and suppliers it works with,
an approval mechanism, and responsibility for measurement. The team managing digital channels and the team managing trade fairs and events, the regional structure running dealer marketing and the team running central brand communication
serve the same strategy, but do different work with different authority. Marketing channel organization is defining channels and sub-channels as a structure, and attaching responsibility, budget, and authority to every node of that structure.
When the organization is not defined, marketing work is distributed according to people. One channel ends up with two owners, another with none; who manages the agency relationship, who approves the campaign, and
which budget the expense is charged to become unclear. Marketing carried out at the regional and dealer level proceeds independently of head office’s plan; in the same period, one campaign runs at head office and a different one at the dealer for the same product.
When staff change, channel knowledge and the agency relationship leave with that person. The result is a strategy that stays on paper, and execution that proceeds the way each person sees fit.
In Minerva, marketing channel organization is defined on the management organizations and operational organization structures. Channels and sub-channels are set up as a hierarchical structure; to every channel are attached the responsible user
and team, the budget item, the records of the agencies and suppliers worked with, and geographic region and business partner relationships. Campaign and activity records are opened through this organization; approval flows, spending limits, and
task assignments run according to channel responsibility, and role-based screens show each user only their own channel. Because marketing at the head office, regional, and dealer levels sits in the same structure, plans do not collide;
channel-based budget usage, activity intensity, and results are reported at every level of the organization. When the management structure changes, the channel organization is updated as a separate layer; historical campaign data is not corrupted.
Build your marketing channels not around people’s areas of interest, but as an organization with defined responsibility, budget, and authority.