It doesn’t matter at what stage of growth your business resides; napkin idea, start up, emerging enterprise or seasoned business, it will always need your attention. When it comes to growing your business, are you insane? What I mean by this query is there is a saying (attributed to Albert Einstein, by the way):
Doing the same things repeatedly but expecting different results is akin to insanity.
So, when it comes to marketing your business, are you insane or are you innovative and creative? Do you repeatedly implement the same marketing and sales tactics expecting an upturn in lead generation and new business creation, or are you varying your approach?
It wasn’t that long ago we were all summing up the successes and shortcomings of 2012, with an eye toward the future, and the hopes for improved business success. Now we have reached the middle of the year 2013, and there are some mid-year questions you should be asking yourself and your interested stakeholders.
In a nutshell, here are a few to consider:
- What were the marketing and sales strategies and tactics that worked last year?
- What were the marketing and sales strategies and tactics that failed or produced only marginal results?
- Are any of either list above part of your plan this year?
- Why or Why not?
- Did you perform A/B testing on every advertising and marketing tactic deployed?
- Why or Why not?
- Which strategies and tactics produced an ROI that met your pre-established goals?
- What size investment will you make to reach your pre-established goals for the remainder of the year?
Obviously, the answers to these queries are critical to the overall success of the remainder of the year, if you are good with strategic planning (especially as it relates to marketing). Your analysis of your actions and their results are the only scientific method of gauging success or failure, and hopefully you don’t fall into the group that uses the WAG analytical modeling method. Wild-Ass Guessing simply doesn’t work in any professional organization. Using goals and objectives, combinbed with some analysis, is the proper way to run a business regardless of size or scope.
There are several other thoughts and observations that come to mind
When speaking about mid-year strategies and tactics there are several mother thoughts and observations that come to mind and I thought I would enumerate them for you. This may be surplus information of which you are deeply aware, but it’s worth mentioning.
Are you aware that as many as 93% of adult U S consumers are actively utilizing Facebook? It would seem to me that unless your target audiences fall into the 7% that are not on social media, you should have an active presence on Facebook.
Marketing evolution is at a rapid pace, and therefore marketing strategies and delivery methods must evolve rapidly as well, lest we fall behind and out of mind. Are you aware that search online using a hand-held device like a Smartphone or tablet is outpacing desktop search? Online search by mobile device is changing the way marketers are attracting leads. As many as 86% of all CEO’s use a Smartphone as part of their every day lives. Whether B2C or B2B, marketers must adapt (see image below for a complete breakdown by age). By the year 2016, as many as 80% of all U S consumers will use a Smartphone.
Recent studies by CMO magazine reflect the statistic of as many as 25% of all email addresses on the typical business database become invalid every 12 months. Consumers will change their email access based on several factors, which include excessive messaging, changing vendors, too much spam and other considerations.
Companies without a written and actionable marketing plan that is monitored and adjusted based on results have a significantly higher failure rate than those with planning in advance. Due to the deployment of cross-channel marketing tactics, those companies who have pre-established goals and objectives tied to strategy and tactics will generate significantly more leads and revenues than their “fly by night” counterparts.
I thought I would share some additional questions whose answers will impact your goals and objectives, mid-year strategy shifts and provide opportunities to shore up your success rate for the remainder of the year.
- Are you incorporating social media marketing in the marketing mix?
- If not, Why not?
- Are you maintaining an updated and active email database?
- What are you doing to increase lead generation?
- What mobile marketing strategies are you presently incorporating into the marketing mix?
- If you have yet to incorporate mobile strategies, why not?
Start Planning Today
If you have yet to think strategically about your marketing, or if you need a sounding board for what you have planned for the remainder of the year, contacting Zen Marketing (or any reputable marketing firm) for a no obligation consultation may be in order. As for Zen Marketing specifically, we are happy to evaluate your recent and present marketing against your goals and assist you in the development of a strategic inbound marketing plan to finish the year at a more profitable and successful outcome.
Feel free to call us today, and we will happy to help.
