Hot Take, Ep 3: Marketing Is Not An Instant Coffee

By Stephen Osomba

I once had a hospital as a client at one point during my seven-year stint as a communication and marketing specialist. This client wanted us to fill the inpatient wards to the brim and have the sickbay teeming with outpatients. All this was to be done in 90 days. It was a herculean task for me as well as the rest of the team because we were mainly marketing the institution to largely healthy people. Even so, our goal was to entrench the brand in the minds of the public. In the long run, they can always consider the hospital whenever they fall sick or even refer their friends and family.

Regardless, we took on the challenge. But as you may have already guessed, it wasn’t practical to meet the objectives set considering also we were relying on only one channel: digital. Yet, for your marketing to stand any chance of success, you need a presence in at least three channels, with television being the most credible medium. Later, we had budgetary constraints and had to stop the engagement.

Return on marketing investment

From in-house departments, consultants to agencies, marketing professionals have often found themselves on the sharp end of the spear. Charging at them are clients, internal or external, who accuse marketers of failing to deliver instant sales after spending several thousands of dollars in marketing campaigns. The feedback is usually a mixed bag of feelings, ranging from dissatisfaction to regret. In extreme cases, contracts are terminated, and heads roll out the door. It’s a natural, human reaction. Certainly, for every investment that you make, you always expect to get a return from it, often sooner rather than later.

Return on marketing investment has been a slightly controversial topic between marketers and their clients for some time now. As a native professional in the field, I feel that the voices and perspectives of marketers are drowning in the entire conversation. I would like to provide a bit of context to allow any category of clients─small business entrepreneurs or members of the C-Suite─understand the viewpoint of marketers. Make no mistake, though. This is not a rationalization for poor performance or an attempt to whitewash the profession for genuine lapses in executing marketing programmes.

As with any investment, various marketing activities have different time horizons. Some are short, medium, or long term. While we would all wish to have immediate results in the form of increased sales revenue, it is often not possible.?Allow me to me explain.

Why marketing takes time, patience, and money

The key to a successful business is brand awareness, fostering positive attitudes, and influencing purchase behaviours. All these elements need considerable time to achieve.?Most consumers buy from companies familiar to them or recommended by people who are already familiar with the brand.

I do believe that there is a fundamental aspect that is often overlooked during the marketing process, as the starting point. This is the knowledge of the actual positioning of the brand or company they are looking forward to delving into. Think about it this way, we don’t always market to the loyal clients. Instead, we look for new customers while keeping the existing ones through various retention strategies.

Loyal customers are a brand’s advocates by “default’’. Whether it’s by word of mouth or through testimonials, the word gets out either way. We extend our marketing campaigns to the potential target audience that have no clue of a certain brand and if they do, they need more conviction. So, what’s the awareness level of company A or brand B? What percentage of the market share does it constitute? Is it 30%? Is it 60%? ?We now need to bring the other potential customers into the fold.

What follows is for marketing professionals to educate the target audience about the company’s products and services. The goal is to move a product or brand from the land of the unknown to a considered (evoked) set. It’s only when the brand is pushed to the fore conscience of the customer that a sale is likely occur. This stage alone can go on for a long time because you must reinforce the brand message so that they don’t forget whilst nurturing them to become customers.

Promoting a brand over time would mean that the messaging of the company’s products/services is aligned to not only fit the customer’s needs but also the company’s core values and objectives. Designing and customizing products/services with the appropriate messaging highly promotes the memorability of the brand which ultimately translates to the desired call to action.

Remember, you are not the only brand scrambling for customer’s attention. There are others, too, competing for the mind share. In the end, we want them to select our brand whenever they have a need and head to the shop. Even so, there’s no guarantee that they will always pick it from the myriad choices available. Therefore, beyond successful marketing, there’s little one can do but wait.

Once the lead converts, the next step is to build strong relationships that lead to unwavering brand loyalty. To move the customers through this journey, marketers need to consistently promote the brand over a long period via various brand campaigns. These efforts should be measured by mutually agreed metrics that are tracked continuously. Results are often realized several months after conclusion of a campaign. Rarely do they happen in an instant and if they do, it usually involves promotions with incentives. ?

Final Thoughts

Seeing real and lasting results from your marketing activities takes time and effort. A bigger marketing budget won’t necessarily produce high sales. Overreliance on performance marketing (lead generation, sales promotions etc.) may be very costly in the end. Probably, you will run out of cash before building your brand to connect with customers. The key is to have 60% of your marketing budget dedicated to brand building activities and 40% to performance marketing. This way, you will get customers to keep your business going in the present while, at the same time, develop future demand. It is also important that as a client you understand the current brand position of company before the commencement of the marketing activities. All said and done, the magic for successful marketing, repeat business and brand awareness is time. So, execute right, continuously optimize and be patient.

Stephen Osomba?currently serves as the Lead Partner, Communication & Marketing at SMD Consulting Associates where he helps SME clients deliver value by adjusting the solutions to each company's mission, product, strategy, and industry.