Bursting the marketing bubble

Save budget, ask yourself … does my business need this?
By Nicole Crump

For many companies a first foray into marketing can be an eye opening experience.
Often it requires those closest to the business to be more honest and objective about their own company than they have ever allowed themselves to be, with the result being a “bare-all” state of the nation-style report. I’ve seen more than a few clients leaf through the pages of one of these analysis reports with a look of genuine surprise on their face, seeing for the first time an outsider’s view of the market they operate in.
Certainly exploring the world of effective marketing has the potential to burst the bubble. In many cases, companies find they have been committing significant chunks of budget to marketing activities that don’t necessarily add benefit, bring brand awareness or ultimately lead to sales. It is a tough thing to take motivation from, but companies that are serious about increasing sales and ‘honing in’ on what drives the business will jump at the opportunity.
So how do companies without a dedicated marketing resource begin to tackle their marketing activities while keeping to budget? It’s all about identifying a set of honest truths for your business.

Now where did I put those customers?
Knowing where your customer interactions and communications should happen is marketing at its most fundamental. Even with the best campaign, communicating an offer to trump all others with a product streets ahead of its competitors is wasted if you’re not telling the right people.
Take the opportunity to talk to your customers and find out what they like, what they read, when they consume their media and what they like to engage with when they do.  This doesn’t need to be a lengthy and expensive market research piece – every customer interaction is a chance to gain a little insight.
Reaching the biggest possible audience is seldom a better approach than reaching the right audience. Focussing your communications and ridding yourself of the ‘scatter gun’ approach is the first step towards making your spend work harder for you.

SAVE BUDGET, ASK YOURSELF: Do we need a mass media advert, when all our potential customers read niche publications?
 
People would love our Facebook page!
As social media continues to grow as a medium for communication, more and more businesses are throwing resources into developing their ‘online voice’. Dentists extol the virtues of brushing twice-a-day, automotive engineers advertise cheap WOFs, and microchip makers release information on the newest and smallest silicon processor – all to a small audience which may not necessarily be reached by each communication.
It is so tempting to think that social media can be the cheap and easy answer to marketing communication. The truth is, social media marketing is not for everyone. Take stock of who you are, what you are offering your customers and where those customers look to find it. Developing a social media presence takes sound strategy, a lot of work to set up and to maintain the community, and in many instances a healthy injection of cash to launch to the market.
SAVE BUDGET, ASK YOURSELF: Can we afford to dedicate resources to creating, building and maintaining a social media presence? Will this social media presence achieve anything more than our website already does?
 
We just have so much to say
This is an understandable mistake to make, because let’s be honest we all make it. We have an opportunity to communicate with a market and we want to make the most of it. We have a lot to say, and it’s all incredibly good stuff, right? Well, maybe. While it may all be great information, ask yourself ‘Does it detract from that one overriding message?
It’s easy to get carried away, but very difficult to reign in the communication and boil it down to one core concept that will spark the interest of your audience. Focus on saying just one thing and you then ensure the customer is receiving that one unmistakable message loud and clear.
SAVE BUDGET, ASK YOURSELF: What is the one overriding message we want a customer to take away from this communication?
 
Integration is key
Nothing confuses a potential customer more than a brand that doesn’t tell the same story across all its communications, so when it comes to marketing nothing works quite like repetition. I repeat – repetition. You have ‘honed in’ on one key concept, you have identified your point of difference and you know which channels you are going to make use of to best contact your target audience – now make sure your message is consistent.
SAVE BUDGET, ASK YOURSELF: Can I save money by replicating the campaign look and feel across all channels?
 
Making marketing work for your company and your budget is about cutting through the clutter with a good, honest assessment. So dive in, burst the bubble and start spending that budget a little smarter!

Nicole Crump, Director
www.tactixnz.co.nz