Who doesn’t love that line from the iconic Johnny Castle? When you firmly believe something deserves to not be dismissed, raise your fist high and repeat it with us: "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"

As a marketing manager or director, you should feel confident in your marketing, especially if you have a partner like Zimmer Radio and Inside Columbia by your side. But when it comes time to present a marketing plan or advertising campaign that you believe in to owners, do you go after it full force? Or do you hold back?

Maybe you’ve had a plan rejected in the past and your confidence has taken a hit. Perhaps you hesitate to share new ideas or don’t present them with the gusto they deserve because you think you already know that owners will respond negatively. If any of this sounds like you, we have a message we hope you’ll hear: It’s time to stand up for what you believe in.

Stop stepping back, and start stepping up to defend your marketing.

Why Push for Your Ideas

When you allow your marketing strategy to be held back by second guessing or a lack of enthusiasm for an idea, it undermines more than just the success of that one idea. It continues to undermine your confidence and your team.

Here are some things to keep in mind about the importance of defending your marketing ideas:

• You have this job for a reason. That makes you part of your company’s competitive advantage. You’re well trained and you work hard, and your instincts have been honed over time and experience. If you love an idea — whether generated internally by your team or through a partner like Zimmer Radio and Inside Columbia — then you need to trust your gut and go with it.
• You believe in your team. When you hired people to get the job done — including your media partner — you made your decision for a reason. If you partner with Zimmer Radio and Inside Columbia, you know we get your target audience and offer the right solutions to reach them, and we stay up to date on marketing best practices and innovative opportunities. But we can’t drive your marketing success alone. It’s up to you to go to bat and ensure what’s best for your brand moving forward.
• Ideas are only as good as their execution. In other words, if you never try, you’ll never know. (Or, sticking with the theme of our title, your marketing baby can’t soar if you never give it a lift!). Testing and research are critical steps, but at some point you have to actually pull the trigger and execute to see if something works — and then take what you learn and continue to apply it for better and stronger marketing campaigns.

Tips for Presenting Marketing Ideas with Confidence

When you’re not used to defending your ideas, you may not be certain how to begin doing so. It all starts with confidence.

Focus on the “Why”

You’re not in marketing for the fun of it, no matter how much you enjoy your job. The marketing plan or campaign you present ought to be designed to achieve specific business goals. Be sure to highlight these goals and how the plan presented addresses them. This helps give owners context about what it really means for their business.

Also keep in mind why you care — namely that your team developed a good plan, and you’re excited about it. This sort of enthusiasm is infectious. The more you obviously love an idea, the more likely owners are to trust it. That means you can never approach these kinds of meetings like they’re just one more item on your to-do list.

Soundboard Potential Objections with Your Team

“Knowing is half the battle” is a truism for the ages that’s fully applicable here. As the person bridging the gap between business owners and your marketing team, you understand how the owners think. Channel this insight into uncovering owners’ potential objections, then work through those objections with the help of your team.

When you partner with Zimmer and Inside Columbia, we can help you formulate answers or solutions for each potential concern you think owners will have, and we’ll talk through them to make sure you’re ready to overcome potential hurdles and move your campaign forward.

Develop a Culture of Open Communication

In order to foster the type of atmosphere that gives birth to bold but successful ideas, you need to encourage communication, trust, and openness. Regular communication keeps everyone on the same page and inspires more constructive feedback. It also helps establish a deeper sense of unity between departments, and between you and the owners. When you work with a media partner like Zimmer Radio and Inside Columbia, give them exposure to business owners where it makes sense. Help owners get to know the team you trust, so they can establish trust, too.

Bring Stakeholders to the Table

It can be valuable to invite owners and other key decision makers to marketing discussions like creative presentations or campaign planning meetings. While they likely can’t (and shouldn’t) be at every meeting, following this tip can encourage better communication and marketing results. Keeping owners more involved — or at least inviting them to participate — can ameliorate any potential concerns, give them the opportunity to ask questions, see your media partner’s expertise, and witness your and your team’s enthusiasm first-hand.

Remind Them You Were Hired for a Reason

Some owners need a little push-back to their push-back. Defending your plan may require firmly reminding owners that they hired you for a reason, and they need to let you do your job for the betterment of the company. This is amplified when you’re working with a media partner like Zimmer Radio & Marketing Group and Inside Columbia Magazine. Owners need to trust your leadership as well as the experts you’ve hired. 

Get Out of That Corner of Marketing Doubt

Don’t let your marketing ideas die before you’ve even tried to launch them. The overall success of your marketing depends on your ability to get your ideas out of the corner and into the spotlight, where they belong.