9 Ways to Build Awesome Relationships Outside your Department
Assistant Director in marketing, Rhian shares her wisdom on building vital and successful working relationships and make a difference in your job!
1) You need people to succeed
However brilliant a marketing strategy is, a marketing department alone can very rarely execute it in isolation. You need a collaborative approach!
2. Internal stakeholders are your best brand ambassadors
If you are able to get your colleagues fully on board with your brand values, they will be the best advocates to external stakeholders, bringing your brand to life.
3. Feel your way
When you are new to an organisation, feel your way….first impressions count for so much that getting off on the wrong foot with a relationships can have catastrophic affects long-term. It might be worthwhile biting ones tongue initially, ‘feeling’ and seeing how the land lies. Establish the politics and existing relationships at play before wading in with ideas and suggestions. You might have to grin and bear some bad sh*t happening before there is the appropriate space to show them how it’s done.
4. Four heads are better than one
Never assume you know it all and other people won’t have good suggestions. Always remember that relationships are a two way thing and you get out of a relationship what you put in.
5. Build relationships for the hell of it
When was the last time you just built a relationship for relationship’s sake? How many of us are guilty of focusing on only building relationships with people where a business transaction is involved? In my experience developing relationships that have no other purpose than getting to know someone are often the most fruitful in the long term.
6. Internal colleagues understand the customer base.
Internal colleagues often have a better knowledge and understanding of a company’s customers and can help marketing departments reflect this in their work.
7. Unified message
Without the buy-in and understanding from internal colleagues, it is virtually impossible to ensure that an accurate message is conveyed to existing and prospective customers. If you can’t land your message accurately with your own staff, you’ve got no hope with the external world.
8. Internal colleagues can help you in a crisis
Internal colleagues often have the potential to ‘unlock’ barriers to the success of marketing projects. In the face of a hurdle, having effective relationships in place that can help you overcome them is crucial. Trying to build a relationship at the time of a crisis is much harder than building them when people aren’t under pressure.
9. Know the people, know the organisation.
The only way you will truly understand how an organisation works, is if you get out there and get to know ‘it’. People should be at the heart of any organisation, so without them, it will be a thankless task.
