Avoid half-hearted marketing
Half-hearted marketing is obviously not a good thing. However, overemphasis on left-brain or right-brain thinking, skills, or efforts plagues many marketing departments.
Right-brain marketing is prevalent in companies that have historically valued advertising and marketing communications. Characteristics of the right brain: qualitative, idea-driven, free-form, creative, intuitive, emotional, non-linear. Marketing has always been expected to use creative talent to harness emotions and elicit responses from people, influencing their behavior.
Left-brain marketing is dominant in companies that have historically valued analysis and research. Characteristics of the left brain: quantitative, data-driven, systematic, designed, screening, logical, linear. For the past decade or so, the marketing department has been called upon to be a better corporate citizen by presenting more tangible business cases and showing clear results from managing its budget.
Why the half brain puzzle?
A kind of prejudice may be at play between those on the right and those on the left. If you are interested in marketing efforts on one side of the brain, you may find it difficult to understand or appreciate your passionate colleagues on the other side.
Left-brain marketers may be newer imports into the marketing function, sometimes overvaluing quantitative data without fully understanding the intangible impact of person-to-person (H2H) marketing efforts, qualitative reasoning, and marketing efforts. creative products. If you’re prone to left-brain thinking, you may see right-brainers as unrealistic dreamers.
Right-brained marketers can have a longer reign over the marketing function and sometimes overvalue sizzle and the latest trends without fully understanding the benefits of systematic processes to minimize chaos and waste or the potential for data to guide decision making. If you favor right brain thinking, you may see left brainers as limiting oppressors.
When marketing’s left and right brains aren’t in sync, it can be difficult to make a link between what motivates people both emotionally and intellectually. It can be difficult to connect the dots on everything the marketing organization is expected to do for the company. And without mutual appreciation, more waste and missed opportunities linger, missing out on the synergies of whole-brain marketing.
The Beauty of Whole Brain Marketing
Both left-brain and right-brain marketing have long been dominated by major consumer packaged goods companies facing intense competition with thin margins and one step (or more) away from consumers. In these companies, the marketing function seems to have a more important place at the executive table and a greater impact on the company and on customers.
Today’s challenges across all industries are universal: making the best use of limited resources in the quest to maximize revenue streams. We can only do that by abandoning left/right silos and collaborating closely through the rich sources of expertise in our marketing departments.
Here are some ways you can embrace both sides of the marketing brain:
- Recognize that both left and right brain talents are needed to tackle marketing challenges.
- Be careful not to accidentally kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
- Resist the urge to make up for a lack of left-brain marketing overnight. Over-engineering is not the answer.
- Keep an eye on your H2H needs as you search for analytics, automation, digital marketing, and more.
- Help both parties express what they value that is different from and common to each other.
- Offer both parties the opportunity to learn about each other through observation and/or cross-functional teams and assignments.
- Balance the limelight, tasks, and marketing scorecard by appreciating the contributions of left and right brain skills.
It’s time to harness all available resources (left and right brain) into a powerful, collaborative marketing function. Let’s use our whole-brain marketing tricks to extend that collaboration across company-wide silos, to have full brain power across all functions that create customer value.
