FOCUS BRIEF
We're all setting New Years Resolutions right now, and your marketing budget probably should too. If you haven't already been asked to do more with less, why not play the role of hero and tell your CFO you're putting your marketing budget on a diet?
There are countless ways to do this, here are five to consider for starters:
1. Combine PR and social media
Effective public relations has always been about building awareness and intent among your target audiences. Traditionally the best way to do that has been through third-party media. And many of those channels still exist.
But today, you can create and publish your own media. You can engage more of your targets directly, with and without the need for a media intermediary. With that in mind, why not combine PR and social media into a single cohesive strategy? I've seen this done many times in 2009 quite effectively.
2. Hire your customers into the marketing team
Are your best customers singing your praises to their own networks and communities? Are you using them as reference accounts for your best new prospects? Are their testimonials prominent on your Web site, and in a variety of formats - print, audio, video?
The more you can mobilize your customers to help tell your story for you, the less you have to do it yourself. Plus, your customers (let's face it) are far more credible than you are with your prospects. But even your best customers won't always talk about you unless you give them a reason to do so, and an occasional reminder to do so. Think about how you can more actively do that in the weeks ahead.
3. Use content to attract & engage inbound prospects
What are you offering prospects in exchange for lead registration? Are you paying each time for new leads? If so, why not switch to a lead offer that you pay for once, and that can scale across an unlimited number of new leads, prospects and other future customers and influencers for your business?
Most businesses are already successfully using packaged content (in a variety of formats) to attract the right kind of prospects to their business. If your content is relevant to the prospect, it can be more effective than thumb-drive giveaways and other offers that have an incremental cost each and every time a new prospect walks in the door.
This strategy works for online, retail and virtually any business. Think about what your customers need - not stuff, but information. That information is highly valuable, and is likely already in your head just looking for a way (and a format) to get out.
4. Join and participate in communities
Yes, you could pay to advertise in a trade publication's email newsletter. You could pay to rent a list from an industry association or consumer group. But most of those organizations also offer an opportunity to directly engage the same prospects in a community. For example, take that email newsletter. I bet the same trade publication you're spending money with today hosts an online discussion forum, or has a Facebook fan page, or a LinkedIn Group. Why not become a part of at least one of those, and start talking with community members?
Don't get up there and start selling. Talk about their needs, their issues. Answer their questions. Become a trusted expert and adviser, build credibility, then watch those same prospects start asking you want you do, and how you can help them.
This does take time to build and foster, but can be done at a fraction of the cost of for-free advertising to the same audiences, and with the same or better output in new leads and closed business.
5. Build and launch remarkable products
The best marketing is always a great product. It fills a clear customer need, does to in a remarkable way, and compels customers to tell others about it. No matter your role in your organization, you have a responsibility to your customers to ensure their voices are heard every day to affect how the product or service is created, serviced and improved upon over time.
You don't have to boil the ocean or completely reinvent your product to get this customer reaction. Change a policy, introduce a new feature, do something unexpected. Small things that delight your customer can have a bigger impact on impacting, mobilizing and converting new customers than a whole slew of paid advertising.
So what makes sense for your business? How can you put your marketing budget on a diet in 2010? Or even just Q1?
Matt Heinz brings more than 12 years of marketing, business development and sales experience from a variety of organizations, vertical industries and company sizes. His career has focused on delivering measurable results for his employers and clients in the way of greater sales, revenue growth, product success and customer loyalty.
Matt has held various positions at companies such as Microsoft, Weber Shandwick, Boeing, The Seattle Mariners, Market Leader and Verdiem. In 2007, Matt began Heinz Marketing to help clients focus their business on market and customer opportunities, then execute a plan to scale revenue and customer growth. He launched Heinz Marketing formally in late 2008.
BEST OF FOCUS RESEARCH
Check out the research that readers are downloading most often.
2010 Enterprise Phone Systems Comparison Guide
Updated for 2010! Take the guesswork out of selecting an enterprise-class phone system with our comprehensive Comparison Guide.
Cisco vs. ShoreTel: Who Really Delivers Value for Large Enterprise Companies?
Get the side-by-side comparison of industry’s leading Enterprise PBX solutions and vendors. Our Focus product specialists evaluated big players, like Cisco Systems and ShoreTel, across various feature categories.
2010 Enterprise Phone Systems Buyer’s Guide
Our updated Buyer’s Guide will help you fully understand both your business phone system needs as well as the purchase process.
5 Comments
Add a comment
Yes, making your marketing program more efficient is always a good idea. And if you can cut your budget before being asked to, you may get some extra brownie points — for a couple weeks, or until the people upstairs ask you to cut some more...
BUT — if you want to change your status quo and start carrying some real clout in your company, I suggest that your Number One objective for 2010 should be to start demonstrating what your marketing is actually ACCOMPLISHING for the company — real data, real numbers. That's what will get you respect in your organization. And, yes, that's doable.
(0) (0)
Flag FlaggedGood points. Especially number 5. There is no more compelling marketing program than excellence in design. That starts with meeting the needs of your chosen segment better than anyone else.
(1) (0)
Flag FlaggedGreat stuff Matt! These are all things that should be fundamental principals of any marketing strategy.
(0) (0)
Flag FlaggedPhenomenal advice Matt. I definitely think you summed up ways to put your marketing budget on a diet and achieve better results. None of these ideas are difficult to implement either. Now if only all these businesses would listen to your brilliant advice.
(1) (0)
Flag FlaggedGood stuff Matt. I'd make step 5, step 1, and would humbly acknowledge that it is actually very hard to create "remarkable" products and services that provide value and meaning to others. But if done well, the entire brand experience --meaning everything that you do---should be a designed extension from what you offer, continually reinforcing the promise.
(0) (0)
Flag FlaggedAdd a comment