At the beginning of each new year I lay out the “Must Do” Marketing Tactics for my clients. This year I’ll introduce some innovative new methods for your success as well as some tried and true tactics that have become increasingly overlooked as we speed towards communication automation. Ready? Great! Let’s dive right in!
Do some digging, get reacquainted with Uncle Sam
I’m not talking about taxes (that will come in a later posting), I’m talking about utilizing the data that the US Government compiles each year to help provide in depth analysis of each sector, industry growth/retraction, consumer data, Consumer Price Index and fluctuation in costs associated with imports, exports, manufacturing and tariffs. Now, one might wonder how this impacts your business if, say, your company focuses on the B2C sector. Here’s how; understanding what happens outside of your business provides you with a macro view of your business footprint. Understanding what areas are experiencing growth and retraction as well as knowing what geographical areas have felt the most impact from those changes provides you with a strong foundation for building a sensible marketing and communications plan. Most executive marketers I have worked with and consulted for don’t utilize this resource and therefore build their annual strategies from their “market insight”, industry trends from publications they subscribe to as well as internal data they collect. That’s a good start but unless your company specializes in data analysis on a macro and micro economic level then you simply don’t have the full picture. I think you’ll agree with me that every competitive company out there wants as much data to back their executive decisions and annual strategy when the time comes to explain the plans they have acted upon.
Know your markets intimately, your understanding of them can make or break your company’s growth goals
As the medians of communication expand consumers can pull content from a number of resources almost instantaneously. The messaging you use in Philadelphia won’t have the same impact in Seattle so gone are the days of using one message to reach your entire target demographic. A masterfully crafted marketing communications plan segments the country into similar sections based on factors including, prime industry contributors, demographic profiles of the population including political views, unemployment indexes, industry growth/retraction, housing starts, average annual income per household then overlay these findings with your internal data. You will start to notice trends, patterns and a story will emerge that can then be adjusted to align with your marketing and communications plan. If you understand that one area of the country you are marketing to that has a strong manufacturing base has been hit with higher costs for importing raw goods and their geographical unemployment rate has increased then your messaging should reflect value, cost savings and efficiency. After all, even the decision makers who do the P.O.’s have to report up the ladder. A well crafted marketing message replaces the underlying thought process of determining value and embeds your key message tied to your brand. If your message isn’t hitting home and your sales team is finding it harder to close deals then this is a key indicator that your marketing message must be refined.
Proper data tracking is your best friend, spend some quality time with this new best friend and reap the rewards
We are all familiar with the standard reporting processes we have in place currently and they usually provide us with what we need right? Not always. Some of the more experienced marketers have broken their reporting into segments of the country so they can see a much more accurate glimpse of what is occurring in their business. Sounds simplistic right? It is if you are drilling down to record all sources of communication based on these predefined geographical segments. This will be the litmus test for your marketing communications as they are aligned with your sales performance. Reviewing these metrics broken into segments will deliver robust results for you to quickly react either allocating more of your department’s assets or pulling back and refining the communication plan for that area. The ultimate benefit from this method is the ability to quickly pin point what is working where while taking the guesswork out of figuring out where the problem areas are. Hopefully you can now see why customized messaging has become so crucial and the troubles that are inherently tied to one unified message across the country.
Embrace technology, ask the folks in the IT department out for lunch
The world is changing rapidly and so are the methods of communication. Regardless of what industry your company specializes in has little impact on how the individuals in that business find their information. I’m expecting to get some feedback from this statement but let me present you with an example of mobile communications. Mobile phones are subsidized by the carriers therefore enabling individuals at nearly any income level to possess a smart phone. Even the most basic of models now tie into the Internet, email, instant messaging and RSS feeds. With this influx of information the CEO of one company could be using the same resources as the construction worker down the street or across the country. You simply can’t afford to ignore the facts – the current advertising standards are broken and have yet to be corrected. You must have your message everywhere and understand how much financial resources should be allocated for each median. You need to spend some time with your current contacts with whom you publish your advertisements and corporate communications with to get a better insight on where they can be found. For example, say you advertise with an industry publication that has a high rate of readership with your target consumer. OK, that’s a start but do you know if they offer an online version? Is their site optimized so it can be seen via a mobile device such as a Blackberry? If not then your readership base just dropped more than you know. Where does your company stand with search engine rankings on all three of the top sites? Is your website optimized and does your content remain fresh and dynamic? Do you have Ad Words programs running? Can you been seen in respected blogs, forums, and on industry specific websites? If not then, again, you are missing another large chunk of your target base. Finally, what about discreet branding? What has your company done lately with a charity that has a strong PR backbone to it? Is your company gaining press and mentions throughout the communities because of your involvement. These are “quick fixes” that many traditional marketers have not spent much time on which is a mistake because as you fail to do so one of your competitors is not. The fastest and most painless way to go about conquering this task is by taking some of those folks in the IT department out for a lunch and explain your marketing goals. Have them help define the requirements for what you need to ensure that your message envelops your target audience.
Daniel Bussius is a global marketing professional who has over 15 years of marketing and communications experience. He has worked with over 115 brands worldwide and has led many industry leading brands in optimizing their marketing and communications strategy. Daniel has owned his own agency, In The Mix Promotions for 11 years and has had the opportunity to work on over 4,000 projects with clients across all sectors of business. For more information on how Daniel Bussius and In The Mix Promotions can help build your brand please email daniel at daniel@danielbussius.com or visit www.danielbussius.com or www.itmpromos.com.
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