Thoughts.

Why your marketing team can’t make its case to the board

Marketing is an easy target when budgets tighten. Documented, measurable processes will help you show the board how activity is translating into income, and to make the case for the budget you need. Read more

Why your marketing needs a diagnosis, not a prescription

A leader who knew her numbers and had a credible commercial plan. A marketing team doing stuff. Pressure from the board to show how the two were connected - but no clear way of knowing whether they were. Read more

The hardest question to ask

Thirty episodes of The Impact Files podcast. Thirty conversations with smart, purposeful business leaders. And one question I've never quite managed to ask straight. The pattern in their answers surprised me. What it revealed about the scale of the opportunity surprised me even more. Read more

Put down the newsletter, your marketing needs a revenue target.

Busy marketing teams can produce plenty of events, newsletters and social media content without impacting revenue. Linking your revenue targets to a clear marketing brief gives marketing a job to do - and stops it being just a cost. Read more

Why sustainability is good for business, and how to sell it to your board.

It’s going ok at home. You’re eating less meat, flying a bit less, and you’ve moved your banking and pension to responsible businesses. You’ll probably get an EV or hybrid when the car finally dies. But the story at work is different and that’s beginning to grate. Read more

Learning about Sustainable Marketing at CISL – the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership

I recently completed the 'Sustainable Marketing' short-course at the Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership. What did I learn? Read more

Three surprising differences between charity and commercial marketing

When Melissa Fretwell asked me to write an article for White Camino (whitecamino.com/en/blog) comparing marketing for charities with marketing for businesses, I thought it would be quite straightforward. But the further I got into it the more nuanced my points became and the more exceptions I found. Read more

Mastering your charity’s marketing: Five top tips

Good marketing is critical to the success of any charity. But when it comes to planning, there’s an almost endless list of things to consider. And knowing where to start isn’t easy, especially if you have limited in-house expertise or a small team juggling a million-and-one other things. Read more