Over the years, I’ve worked with all kinds of brand managers. Indeed, my first ever job in marketing was as a brand manager at Nestle. This is what it takes to be great at the job.
1 Write Inspiring creative briefs
Brand managers work with a range of agency partners. The best - indeed the only way - to get great work from your agency is to write an inspiring brief. It must be clear what you’re asking them to do. It should enable them to deliver the best work possible. Agencies often complain about never receiving decent briefs. Make sure you’re not one of those brand managers.
It also makes creative judgement and the feedback process easier. When your agency delivers work, you can use the brief to guide you. Have they met, missed or exceeded what was in the brief?
2 Know your numbers
Numeracy is a key marketing skill. Many people become brand managers because they love advertising and communication. The creative side of communication. But knowing your numbers is critical. How are your sales doing? What’s happening to your marketing share? How are people responding to your communication? We’re inundated with data nowadays. Keep on top of it.
When you meet up with your senior managers they always ask about the numbers. Make sure you’re able to respond. Brand managers are often accused of lacking commercial acumen. Don’t be one of them. Demonstrate the impact your marketing efforts are having on business success. Especially to non-marketing audiences. Otherwise, you’re not taken seriously.
The numbers help you make the right decisions on where to invest your marketing budget. You can justify your expenditure or make the case for increased marketing investment.
3 Engage with your consumers
Reading marketing research reports and engaging with the data can only get you so far. You have to speak, observe or hang out with your consumers. Always look for opportunities to meet them face to face. This could be at an event, in-store, during focus groups or simply chance encounters. Ask them questions, listen to what they say. If they’re critical of your brand, don’t be defensive. Take on board what they say. Use it to gain additional understanding.
An important part of your job is representing the consumer within the business. If you don’t know them intimately, then you’re not able to do this effectively.
4 Become best friends with the sales team
In most organisations, there’s tension between different departments. This is particularly the case between sales and marketing. Getting and holding distribution is fundamental to the growth of your brand. The sales team can help you. If you have a frosty relationship with them, you won’t get their attention or support.
Work closely. Go on trade visits. Pitch together. Often, there are other brands in your company’s portfolio they need to sell. Make sure yours gets priority. Also when customers play hardball with your brand, the sales team will support you if they like and respect you.
5 Develop your project management skills
A brand manager is responsible for making things happen. A new product launch, a new campaign, a promotion. You’ve got to be a good project manager. Speed of execution is vital. People will look to you for direction. The best brand managers I worked with were always on top of the details. They’re great internal communicators. They got things done. There are a lot of project management tools to help you nowadays. Use the ones you feel comfortable with.
6 Think long term
A typical tenure for a brand manager is two to three years. Your job is to leave the brand in a better shape than when you started it. This requires long-term thinking. It’s tempting to focus primarily on brand activation and chasing short-term sales. You’re keen to make your mark.
Spend time on the long term. It means getting deeply involved in strategic planning. It means developing communication that focuses on brand building as well as activation. Growing awareness, attracting new users, and creating equity takes time and may not yield immediate results. But they’re fundamental to your brand’s long-term health. Don’t neglect these elements.
7 Always Remain a Student of Marketing
There’s always more to learn. Marketing continues to evolve. You need to evolve with it. You need to understand how to use new channels of communication, the impact of AI, new ways to conduct market research, the latest academic thinking on how to grow brands.
Read books, follow your favourite thought leaders. There are lots of agency publications, podcasts, magazines, trend reports, free webinars. Continue to add to your accumulated knowledge. Incorporate the latest thinking into the way you manage your brand.
Summary
Being responsible for the success of a brand is a great honour. Particularly brands that play an important role in people’s lives. I look back on the brands I worked on with pride and great affection. Being a brilliant brand manager requires a diverse set of skills. Numeracy, creativity, project management, data analysis and critical thinking are all important. Skills that will stand you in good stead throughout your brilliant career.