Ongoing training, CPD, and qualifications only go part way to meeting this need, because training courses – at best – only provide a time-limited snapshot of knowledge and skills and can quickly become out of date. Courses designed five years ago, or even two years ago, may no longer represent the cutting-edge of marketing technology and practice.
For businesses looking to cultivate an environment of growth and innovation within their marketing and sales teams, therefore, a book club provides up-to-date information, combined with a fun opportunity for building team cohesion and engagement.
Picture this: your marketing team, all gathered around a table, discussing the ins and outs of the latest business book or marketing title! There are plenty of thought provoking books to choose from, and not only is this a cost-effective way to support ongoing learning without spending thousands on training, but it also provides a structured and collaborative way for your team to engage with new ideas and share different perspectives.
The benefits of a book club also go beyond reading – it’s the discussion, analysis, and debate sparked by a book that makes a book club so valuable for marketing teams. The shared experience of reading the same book can unite your colleagues, provide common ground for discussion, and increase team cohesion, which can improve communication and even team productivity when working on shared projects.
The work of a marketing team is intrinsically linked with sales, customer service, product development, finance, and other departments. This being said, it’s easy for a silo mentality to develop when colleagues are engrossed in their own work. A book club can serve as a bridge between teams, helping to break down barriers and encourage greater understanding and teamwork. A good way of doing this is to invite colleagues from across your business to take part in the book club, using the club to cultivate greater understanding and appreciation of the various roles and responsibilities within the company. From humble beginnings, a marketing book club can make a strong contribution to a more unified and inclusive company culture, encouraging shared values and strengthening company identity among your departments.
Marketing teams that carry out the same tasks in the same way, day in, day out, quickly become stale and unmotivated. To encourage your team to develop fresh perspectives, they will need the ability to think outside the box and adopt a playful approach to the challenges of marketing. By exposing your team to a wide array of books – outside the standard marketing blogs and journals – you allow them to challenge their assumptions in a safe environment, and test out new solutions to common tasks, project briefs, and pitfalls.
Founded in 2004, JDR Group are a HubSpot Elite Partner Agency and one of the UK’s leading digital marketing consultancy businesses. To find out more about our marketing and business development services and how we can support you, please get in touch with one of our team today by clicking here.