Is your marketing investment or an expense?

Is your marketing investment or an expense? My opinion is immaterial; yours is an important one.

Across the globe, SMEs want to maximise their revenues and reduce their expenses. Marketing will fall into that category if there aren't robust criteria that would turn it otherwise.

In economic turndown, the first thing that would be affected is the marketing budget, if sales drop or any change in the market dynamics the same would happen.

If we look into the causes, we will notice that they fall under different categories:

• Lack of vision, or self-limiting belief, inability to take timely decisions
• The absence of learning, from previous situations/seasons, failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
• No testing and measuring criteria to understand what works and what doesn't
• Product issues/improper distribution/Product inconsistency
• Customer service, or lack team training
• Inappropriate supply chain
• Blame rather an accountability

The result is alarming, and causing companies to shrink, make redundancies, and even close down with whatever that means to owners in specific and the economy in general.  

Saying this I have also worked with partners who have taken advantage of every hurdle — turned negativity into growth and profitability. Their secret was adequate planning, embracing what works, and dropping what doesn't. They have expanded vertically and horizontally, introduces new services, grabbed market share. They trained with their employees, submitted growth plans, aligned their vision to the companies, set KPIs for them, conducted regular alignment meeting and evaluations. 

They researched their customers, created a dialogue with them and rewarded them. They also understood the competition, what are their weaknesses and strengths. By doing so, they realised what the opportunities and threats are. 

In the following articles, I will tackle in detail, as it is of extreme importance to any business owner.

I would end with a question: 

Do you need to know where you are heading to reach there? 

Would love your contributions!