Many of us who spent the summer of 2020 at home streamed the Broadway hit Hamilton: An American Musical, demonstrating that the format can be modern and vibrant no matter the external circumstances. This experience introduced many people to musical theater — a new audience that may very well support it into the future.
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Like the characters in Hamilton, portfolio marketers today are being asked to lead. They must help their organizations find the new opportunities, identify the trends that can give their organizations lasting success, and ensure that buyers are kept top of mind. Here are three keys to success for portfolio marketers who want to guide their organizations toward the future:
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• Driving market intelligence. Portfolio marketers must be on the forefront when it comes to gathering insights about what is happening in the market today, what is expected in the future, and what buyers will demand. They need to gather and analyze data to identify new market opportunities and help the organization align on a go-to-market strategy to take advantage of those opportunities. They also need to understand their organization well enough to compare opportunities, identifying not only the biggest opportunities but also those with the best shot at achieving success.
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• Leading the organizational revolution for buyer knowledge. As the organization’s experts on buyers, portfolio marketers need to convey to the rest of the organization what buyers care about and how they want to buy. This means not only helping to enable sales with that knowledge, but also ensuring that everyone who directly or indirectly interacts with buyers has the insights they need to be successful. Content teams, demand teams, channel marketing and sales, and campaign teams all need to know what’s driving buyers, as well as how to engage with them and respond to them. Portfolio marketers are instrumental in conveying that knowledge to ensure that every interaction a buyer has is a positive and meaningful one that guides and supports their journey.
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• Negotiating the organizational terrain. To help the organization through these revolutionary times, portfolio marketers must develop positive leadership, presentation, and negotiation behaviors. Organizational alignment is a necessity and portfolio marketers need to work closely with executives as well as marketing, product, sales, and customer success leaders to understand their needs. Meaningful stories can be used to help members of the organization understand how best to work together. Portfolio marketers need to master the art of negotiation. They must listen closely to their leaders, addressing their concerns while keeping the organization’s direction true.
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Portfolio marketers must not throw away their shot at helping their organizations not only survive but thrive during challenging times. Forrester SiriusDecisions members can learn more about what portfolio marketers must do to be successful by reading “Portfolio Marketing: Planning Assumptions 2021.  Not a client? Visit our Planning Assumptions hub.

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