There's a strange affliction befalling vast numbers of B2B tech marketers right now.

CMOs, VPs and Heads of Marketing are all walking around right now blissfully unaware that they're infected with this silent (although not quite deadly) ailment. It's still a series condition though...

It's called R.A.M.S. and you too could well be a sufferer without even realising it.

If you're experiencing any of the following list of symptoms then you're probably coming down with (or have already been struck down by) a chronic case:

• You're feeling significant blockages (in both your inbound enquiries and marketing generated pipeline)
• You've got poor alignment (with the rest of the business. Especially sales, finance, and your senior leadership team. They just don't seem to "get" what marketing is all about)
• You're getting constant earache (largely caused by sales shouting for more "leads" and that the existing 'MQLs" (and they even do the air quotes to your face just to rub it in) are crap)
• Pounding, relentless headaches (caused by trying to work out how you’re going to do everything you need to by yesterday with no budget, no support, and no idea is anyone is actually going to recognise the effort you're putting in!)
• A consistent pain in the arse (from the never ending barrage of last minute “could you just…” style requests to man the stand at an event, jazz up decks, and/or order some branded golf balls).

Sound familiar?

Well, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re well and truly suffering from a bad old case of R.A.M.S.

But fear not, because you're not the only one. Far, far from it...

What is R.A.M.S.?

R.A.M.S. stands for “Random Acts of Marketing Syndrome” and we’re seeing more and more cases emerging every day. Nothing to do with male sheep. 

It's especially prevalent in the scale up world where marketing departments of 1 are tasked with covering the entire remit of what could/should constitute marketing. Strategy, research, planning, positioning, messaging, content creation, campaigns, events, social, etc. It's all on the job description.

Having to straddle EVERYTHING across both strategic and executional work means neither gets done fully or properly, as marketers are pulled from pillar to post trying to do the best they can against impossible odds and unrealistic expectations. [Been there my friends!] 

It’s largely driven by a short-termist, " growth over everything" approach to marketing that undervalues (or completely ignores) the brand-lead, value-adding approach that should be common place. Instead the focus becomes on solely driving "leads" (but what people actually mean is "deals") as quickly and aggressively as possible.

With the focus being on this bottom of the funnel sales activation marketing has to then mould what is done to support this with everything becoming far more reactive and "last minute" than it really should.

"Setting a proper strategy and then devising a long term brand building plan?! Pah!! We've no time for that when we've got an ARR target to smash and investors to keep happy so we can get our Series C round."

That's not to say it's only in the scale up world we see cases of R.A.M.S. Far from it. Wherever there is a stressed out and stretched thin marketer it's a case won't be far away.

But how can you avoid getting struck down by a case of R.A.M.S. and becoming a career-long sufferer?  

How to protect yourself (and marketing as a whole)

Feel like you're struggling with a case of R.A.M.S. right now or want/need to protect yourself (and our beloved discipline of marketing as a whole)? Here’s what you need to be doing:

• Step 1: Take a big old dose of Research. 

The clue with marketing is in the name. MARKETing. If you don't understand and/or can't communicate a clear view of your market - clients, prospects, competitors, and other operators - you need to rectify this post haste. And you do that via research to get well and truly under the skin of things.

You then use that deeper understanding to educate and inform the business on where they should really be placing bets and the opportunities that are there to exploit, which you'll do by defining an effective strategy [Step 2.]

• Step 2: Strengthen your strategic muscle.

Take all that goodness you've uncovered with your research and use it build the plan to exploit the opportunities you’ve identified. Uncovered an underserved audience? Identified a blind spot your competitors have missed? Found a new angle to use for messaging and positioning. That's strategic marketing gold.

Again, it all comes back to using that deeper understanding of the market you've built to then clearly articulate when, where, how, and why marketing should be showing up and doing what it does. 

Having that research and strategy in place also then makes it far easier to push back on those last minute, slap dash requests for random acts of marketing. Oh, you want to go to that event in Berlin next week do you, Steve from Sales? Well the research shows our target audience aren't going to be there and we have no German language capability or partners in the region, so sorry, Steve-O. It's a "nein".  

• Step 3: Activate your Activation, thickly.

With the research and strategy nailed in then becomes about bringing your brand, messaging/positioning, and products to market with on-point campaigns and activity (not just the doing of “stuff” ad hoc).

And "on-point" means in-market activity that it's consistent, coherent, and carefully considered. Less is definitely more, here. It's not about being all things to all and people and getting your brand everywhere.

It's about "fishing where the fish are" and ensuring your get the right eyeballs on things, the right audience engaged, and the right conversations started as a result. It's very non-random. 

Proper activation is often what suffers the most when marketers are experiencing R.A.M.S. Things are spread so thin that nothing feels like it's working. Instead activate thickly. 

• Step 4: Get a Creativity booster.

This is the step that gets missed a lot of the time (and is seriously hindered by R.A.M.S.)  

You need to find ways of doing things that truly differentiates your business from the rest and captures the attention of your target audience in a meaningfully different way. Getting your campaigns built and activated in market is great... as long as they're not so boring that your target audience struggles to stay awake when they see them. If they even see them amongst the sea of sameness.

It's incredibly hard to be creative when you're constantly having to be reactive and random.

Creativity needs time and space to breath and ferment (which is very hard to find when you've got everyone breathing down your neck and asking you for random stuff 24/7) but it also needs constraints to properly direct it. "Give me the freedom of a tight brief" as the legendary David Ogilvy said. 

But if you have done your research, nailed your strategy, and understand your thick activation you create that "tight brief" for yourself whilst also unlocking the time and understanding from the rest of the business to do what's needed. Win win. 

You can be R.A.M.S.-free

So don't suffer in silence.

Don't think you have to carry this awful affliction with you your entire life/career. You really don't have to, but you have to make the concious choice to do something about it. And that something is introducing a fully formed, strategic approach to marketing into your organisation (using those 4 steps we've outlined above)

You can - and should - be R.A.M.S. free. 

Stay safe out there you wonderful B2B marketer.