In order to win the Marketing Game of today, tomorrow and beyond, there are four simple steps that you can follow.
- Goal Congruence: The most important step is to clearly define your Marketing objective which should fit in with your overall company goal. If your Marketing goal is to build brand equity, then you may engage in activities that do not result in immediate sales maximization. For example, if the Marketing Head of a Wealth Management Company goes to a local university to deliver a guest lecture on Wealth Planning, this will not lead to any sales in the short-run. However, such an activity will have a great impact on building brand equity (assuming the lecture was good of course).
- Accurate Tracking and Reporting: Marketing is not a game in which you can roll a dice and count on luck to get you the points. You need to accurately track which channels get you convertible leads and which do not. For example, with AvidTrak’s call tracking platform you can tell which of your marketing efforts are generating results and which are not working. This allows you to optimally allocate your Marketing dollar. Call tracking reports can further help you achieve your Marketing goals through precise targeting of keywords. You could generate a keyword level report telling you exactly which keywords attract the most clients. This knowledge helps you tailor make your ads for your target audience.
- Timely Action: A speedy response to customer trends is called for if you want to win the Marketing game. If you lose time in bureaucratic approvals, you will lose out to your competitors. Approvals are needed to ensure to optimize risk but there should be a clearly defined hierarchy and procedures in place with specific turnaround times for each approving authority.
- Fostering Teamwork: Marketing is all about creative thinking and speedy implementation. Ideas can come from across specializations in your company. Fostering communication across departments by specifically allocating time for creative thinking can help. Communication needs to be open and everyone needs to be informed of the overall objective of your actions. Off-site meetings can be great for generating fresh ideas and ensuring commitment from all stakeholders.
All in all, Marketing should not be treated as a game of chance but one of strategy and planning. The way to win the game is through careful analysis, co-ordination and communication.
