4 Ways To Improve The Wellbeing Of Your Marketing

When was the last time you checked in on the wellbeing of your marketing strategy?

While it has been a hot topic internally across most companies, there’s been a missed opportunity for marketers to join the conversation and ensure that external messaging is also meeting consumer needs.

A recent NIH study looked at how consumer behavior and people’s willingness to buy changed during times of uncertainty. The data suggests that marketers consider psychological factors to meet actual consumers’ needs and feelings.

And given that we know marketing directly affects consumer behavior, boosting the wellbeing of your marketing could also boost your audiences as well. To help you do that, and in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we identified four ways below.

1. Expand your representation

One of the most critical areas marketers need to focus on is representation—both on your teams and in your marketing. According to Forbes CxO Growth Survey 2.0, CMOs have five critical marketing focuses over the next 24 months. Two include building a more diverse marketing team and elevating diverse voices and perspectives in campaigns.

Representation in your ads is key (especially when you consider that 64% of customers were found to have taken some action after seeing an ad they considered diverse or inclusive). Still, representation on your team—and the opportunities you give them—is also imperative.

What may sound like standard advice isn’t necessarily standard practice. According to For(bes) The Culture’s Black and Brown in Corporate America survey, 63% of Black and Brown professionals say they’ve not been given the same opportunities as their white peers.

Without authentic representation, marketers risk losing customers, employees, or both.

2. Consider affirmational marketing

For years, marketing has tended to be aspirational and show consumers what they could be. Yet empowering your consumer for who they are today could be a better strategy. Just look at Aerie who was one of the first brands to ditch supermodels and show everyday people in their campaigns. Even Schick, a men’s razor brand, recently turned to affirmational marketing to celebrate their customers’ individuality.

Affirming your customer and embracing authenticity can help you connect to your consumers, as well as build brand resonance and trust. Turning back to the earlier mentioned NIH study, consider your consumer’s pain points and their needs—but in the context of who and where they are in today’s world. From there, focus less on showing your consumer’s desires and more on affirming your consumer.

3. Lead with (valuable) feedback

According to Forbes’ research, more than half of CMOs (57%) agree that compassionate, empathetic marketing campaigns resonate more with consumers than campaigns that focus on highlighting features of products or services. Yet, there’s a disconnect on how to do this.

In the same survey, when asked what they believe consumers value most when purchasing a product or service, over half (58%) of CMOs pointed to quality. In comparison, less than a quarter (24%) said the sense of community they associate with the brand or product.

Even more interesting? Only 8% of CMOs pointed to consumers’ set of personal values that align with the brand they’re buying from. To fill in this disconnect, consider seeking data and feedback from your customers on what they want and what they value and then let that data lead your marketing.

You can get feedback from your teams too—as only 29% of CEOs say they routinely seek employee feedback around what is and isn’t working and act on that feedback. After all, your employees are consumers too. (See our Storyteller Spotlight below to see how leaders use empathy to build successful teams.)

4. Audit your teams’ wellbeing

Employee wellbeing can boost everything from productivity to creativity to employee engagement, which is vital given that 35% of CxOs agree that employee engagement is integral to measuring the success of digital transformation initiatives.

The good news? When asked what actions CHROs were taking in response to labor shortages and workers leaving jobs in record numbers, 42% said finding ways to reduce employee stress and anxiety and 33% said offering more competitive benefits packages (e.g., healthcare, time off).

Thankfully, the rest of the C-suite also agrees—43% of CxOs said that improving employees’ mental health and general wellbeing is a top priority. But is your current wellbeing strategy serving your marketing team? Considering checking in, as one in four CHROs believe their organization’s biggest talent gap will be in marketing and sales in the next year.

And if you need help revamping your wellbeing strategy, take these tips from SAP.

Bonus Tip: Align your compensation

Show your commitment to building a wellness-driven team by tying executive compensation to a higher order of business. According to our data, 64% of CHROs agree that organizations should tie executive compensation to delivering on DE&I and environmental sustainability commitments.

Read also: 4 Ways To Build Trust & Drive Inclusivity By Realigning Your Marketing Budget

Storyteller Spotlight

Atlassian and Forrester surveyed more than 750 IT and engineering executives and found that while most respondents acknowledged just how important collaboration is for business performance, only 35% considered it a top priority.

As a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software, Atlassian wanted to communicate to business leaders that an open collaboration model—a leadership strategy that prioritizes employee experience—is a smart way to enhance teamwork.

They looked to Forbes to create and distribute engaging content to C-suite leaders so that executives could see the power and potential of open collaboration.

Atlassian and Forbes launched a Premium Post on how to foster open collaboration to help teams thrive. Atlassian’s research served as the backbone, and animated illustrations helped showcase the key findings in a way that tied them closely to the subject matter.

Add to this a strategic distribution strategy, and the Premium Post successfully engaged senior-level readers around the globe with data-driven storytelling.

See for yourself: Atlassian’s Open Collaboration Blueprint

Top 6 Reads You Can’t-Miss

1. Meet America’s best employers for diversity for 2022
2. How leaders use empathy to inspire successful teams
3. Check out the possibilities for healthcare in the metaverse
4. What is healthy growth, and how can your business achieve it?
5. How to beat overwhelm and relax more, according to a health coach
6. Could teletherapy be the solution to America’s mental health pandemic?

Virtual To-Do List

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