Typically, when business owners approach me to get marketing, they often start the conversation by asking me if I will do an email campaign for them, or write some blogs, or post for them on social media. My response is always the same: why?
For busy CEO’s and owners who don’t specialize in marketing, it’s easy for them to see when they get emails from their competitors, or other companies. Or they’ll scroll through social media channels and see posts done by other businesses. I often hear senior executives say “we should be doing this” or “we should be here.”
Their goal and intention is perfect – it’s always important to heighten a brand’s visibility and drive more awareness and sales. It’s typically the tactics they latch onto that I question.
And there is a difference, as I’ve about blogged before.
I’ve become acutely aware that all of the messaging that’s out in the U.S. is about how to do marketing: how to build a better marketing mousetrap, how to get better results from specific marketing tactics, etc. I get the daily newsletters and I read the blogs.
What doesn’t seem to exist – outside MBA programs – is the strategic approach to marketing. Perhaps that’s what keeps those MBA programs going – as they’re the place teaching how to think about marketing as part of an overall business – not as a stand-alone activity.
The best way to plan your marketing is to approach marketing in a way that aligns with your business goals. And, hopefully, your business goals are specific – for example, do you want a 5 – 10 % lift in sales? Or do you want to increase overall brand awareness? Do you want to increase your market share overall? By how much?
In addition to looking at your marketing, what else are you doing in your business in order to get to that new goal? For example, from a sales perspective, are you hiring more sales staff? In a B2B world, are you tracking leads so you know which ones close?
From a product or service delivery perspective, are you making more products ahead of time? Or after the sale? What’s the delivery time for the new products? Do you have the staff to deliver on increased sales?
There are a host of questions to be answered – from a business perspective – before deciding exactly what marketing tactics to use. Because marketing campaigns and channels vary in what they can achieve.
Are you deciding what marketing should be done for your organization? Or are you working with your marketing agency or team to create the best campaigns, based on your business goals?
If you’re not sure how to start, contact me and let’s talk.
