How failure to plan for marketing chi(r)ps at the bottom line

What has The Birdy Song got to do with marketing? Well, I like to use it to explain all about how I like to work and what marketing, well isn't. How does unplanned marketing end up chipping away at company profits?

I am often asked the question: “What marketing do you feel my company needs?” Well, I can understand the confusion when there are a multitude of marketing services available both online and offline, including design; strategy; social media management and websites. 

With so many specialists around, how can businesses decide which is the best for them based on their needs? 

Well, it often comes down to available resource in-house, budget and presence of that all-important STRATEGY. I often have clients that come to me after trying lots of bits of marketing in a rather piecemeal fashion; uncoordinated, inconsistent, unaligned random blasts of 'marketing fun'. When the budget is spent on a 'bit of this and that' all is left is a few branded promotional items like pens and other pointless 'tat' in the name of marketing.

Now, I'm a big fan of branded pens, however, on their own, they are pretty pointless. I rather like to think of this as the 'little bitty strategy' just for fun so I can reenact the little dance from my childhood days.

It's a sure way of wasting company resources, not just money but also time; worse of all is a failure to meet customer needs, take advantage of market opportunities and prepare for future challenges.

Avoiding the “Little Bitty" Marketing

A "little bitty" marketing strategy often happens in the absence of a plan, which leads to marketing activities being 'sporadic' due to the adoption of a ‘micro-view’ that focuses on smaller projects and general reactive 'firefighting' mentality. What do we need for our next event? (Kind of scenario).

This can result in the failure to see opportunities that could create a bigger impact. Through adopting a holistic approach to marketing, a solid plan can be developed that closely aligns marketing strategy with commercial objectives and attracts ideal clients or the most profitable work.

I describe the outsourcing solution I offer as “marketing management”, which can be compared to employing a marketing manager. That is someone who has a broad spectrum of marketing knowledge and skills, who can quickly ‘get to grips’ with understanding your company, help you define your strategy, develop a marketing plan that delivers your objectives and a schedule to make it happen.

Basically, everything your company needs in respect of its marketing activity is organised, so your marketing runs smoothly.

This is especially important if the organisation:

• Prefers to work with someone directly, who can best advise on the best strategy to follow and who feels part of the team.
• Would like to keep a tight rein on marketing costs and would like to employ someone who can deliver the best results for the budget.
• Prefers to have a dedicated account manager who can organise all aspects of their marketing, find and manage contractors, find and negotiate the best deals and take the hassle away.

 No Question is Ever STUPID

What is important to me is having an excellent working relationship with my clients. One where they feel they can tell me with total confidence their business plans, business and marketing issues, and ideas that may be borderline crazy. I like to think I can help guide my clients in the right direction and therefore no question is a silly one; and that works both ways. 

I believe it is always important to ask those questions no matter what, sharing knowledge and understanding is key to success. 

Honesty-based Marketing

When I work with a client, I am often asked to manage their marketing budget. They say to me I would like to spend ￡X about per year. My management fee may need to form part of this budget or will be additional.

We work together on developing a strategy and tactical plan, including a schedule of activity. The advice I give to my clients is always based on honesty and having their best interests at heart. But how can I promise that?

Before recommending a strategy, I ALWAYS ask myself “If this was my OWN company, OWN money, OWN time and resources would this be what I would do?”  Ensuring that marketing budgets are spent in the right areas is key to delivering the best value possible for my clients. This often results in steering clients away from what they thought they needed to a different strategy entirely, or by making improvements to the plan by putting our heads together – combining our knowledge is key to success.     

If you like the sound of this way of working and would like to know more, why not contact me for a free, no obligation, chat or visit: www.cleargoalmarketing.co.uk