Typically, when business owners approach me to get marketing, they often start the conversation by asking me if I will do Google Ads for them. Or write blogs. Or post on social media. And my response is always the same: why?
CEOs tend to focus on marketing they see from their competitors: they sign up to receive emails, 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 to heighten a brand’s visibility and drive more awareness and sales. But it’s the tactics they latch onto that I question.
And there is a difference, as I’ve blogged about before.
All of the messaging I see and receive about marketing agencies and experts is typically about how to do it: how to build a better marketing mousetrap, how to get better results from specific marketing tactics, etc. I get the daily newsletters. I read the blogs.
What I don’t see a lot of is a strategic approach to marketing. And being strategic about your marketing – looking at it as a game plan, instead of a list of marketing activities (social media, ads, videos) is what actually creates results (marketing leads and sales).
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? Do you want to increase overall brand awareness? Do you want to increase your market share? By how much?
In addition to looking at your marketing, what else are you doing in your business in order to achieve that goal? For example, from a sales perspective, are you hiring more sales staff? In a B2B world, are you tracking your leads so you know which ones close? Which leads are the best ones? 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.
And sometimes Google Ads isn’t the right fit, for any number of reasons, including your budget, the competitive situation for keywords in that market, or the type of product or service you’re selling.
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 strategy – and then marketing campaigns – based on your business goals?
If you’re not sure how to start, contact me and let’s talk.
