We were asked, what should we measure to stay on top of our marketing spend?
Great question. It’s really something that needs to be customized on a per company basis, but good to think about. The VLG answer:
1. customer retention (%)
2. customer winback (%)
3. revenue attributable to marketing efforts (less sales attribution) (Amount)
4. close rate (%)
5. leads - close rate, cost per (Amount)
6. leads - lost, cost per (Amount)
7. projected revenue pipeline new business (Amount)
8. projected revenue current customers (Amount)
9. roi on marketing spend (%)
10. missed deadlines during campaign execution with project cost impact (Amount)
These are in no specific order from No. 2 - 10. Number #1 should always be #1 in my book. It takes so much to win them don’t forget to measure and keep them.
How to measure is a whole different story, but you don’t have to be Wonder Woman to make it happen at your company. Start with your outbound marketing (us) and go from there.
Even though we build really awesome microsites and extremely creative campaigns (back pat, pat), all may be for naught if the list sucks.
“I don’t have a list,” is like death to a direct marketer. Nothing strikes fear into a marketing department faced with the very real need to introduce direct marketing into the mix. What to do? What to do?
Here’s our advice:
Build a list. Use cross media to turn an unkown into known. Fire up a viral microsite and promote it via FB, Twitter and LinkedIn. Put a banner on your homepage. Buy some clicks on Google. Before you know it you’re building an opt-in list you can use to prospect further.
Go to your customers. You already have this list. After working so hard to retain a customer don’t forget to nurture them. HINT: You can use the same microsite as above with variable copy that personalizes the campaign copy on a per customer basis. Let’s retain, up-sell and cross-sell people!
Buy a list. Oh, I know. It’s not pretty and might feel a little dirty, but effective. (Disclosure: Bought lists should be used only for direct mail and never, never email. Filter that list through a personalized microsite to weed out the bad apples and create a smaller, cleaner list for future engagement–follow up dm, email to opt-ins, social media, incentives an more. HINT#2: You can use the same microsite as above with variable copy personalizing the campaign for individual prospects.
They say 80% of statistics are made up. However, that number might be off by a little. The truth is direct mail has a place in the today’s marketing mix. It is tangible.
Email is cheap. Websites are navigable. Direct mail is weighted. It stays on the coffee table for a couple of days, or in your cube. If it’s interesting it might stay longer.
An Internet-based marketing program driving people to buy is a thing of beauty, but we shouldn’t overlook the power of influence in buy-decision making processes. We also shouldn’t look past direct mail.
[VLG run direct marketing programs that use dimensional, personalized direct mail and personalized URLs to influence our customers prospects, customers and internal audiences--full disclosure.]
More goes into a personalized URL marketing campaign than simply sending a potential client a link that has their name incorporated in the web address. There is no “magic trick” that lets you merely send out the PURLs and let them do your work for you. It should simply be viewed as the key that gets you in the door.
To be successful, just like every other marketing campaign, the thought behind reaching a certain segment must be paired with relevance to those customers and a way to creatively grab their attention. If you pair this with intentional follow-ups with the recipients, you are in the making for what will become a truly personal approach.
The chorus line seems committed to using social media to do something, push out news, provide consumer alerts, deliver content to loyal customers, fish for new business, establish a thought leadership role in your industry—all that. It’s a great social experiment and shakes the foundation of an industry wedded to tradition, high margins and the intrinsic value of creative.
Nobody should draw any conclusions yet about social media’s impact on the bottom line. It’s too soon to tell. So, we’re going to table social media and focus on something old and familiar.
You might not be talking about traditional media during budget talks, but you should be.
Traditional media, direct mail, radio, outdoor, t.v., etc, should evolve as the industry evolves. Attention should be paid to teaching these old dogs new tricks.
I recently moved into a new home and I’m new to the neighborhood. Lucky for me local retailers were quick to realize I’d made the move and were kind enough to send me loads of junk mail for this service or that. Those went straight to the recycling bin. The only company that didn’t hit me with any “new” neighbor offers was Lowe’s. I guess they figured I didn’t need an incentive to visit their store. They were right.
While driving in the car last week a local radio station listed the top 10 most memorable radio jingles in the local market. I knew six of them by heart, but there is no way I’d consider buying a car based on a jingle. I’m not even sure a jingle would get me to the dealership. I pass 10 of them on my way home, so why not start my car buying experience at one of those?
Next to newspapers, television as a vehicle to deliver advertising is taking a beating in the press. Numbers are off and with good reason. I get a kick out of ads, but in this economy I’m brand neutral and buy on price. When I see a cartoon bear using toilet paper in the woods, I think, “Does a bear shit in the woods?” Yes, yes it does.
Outdoor is prevalent here in Texas, more so than in other parts of the world. It’s fascinating to see what and how outdoor is used to promote events, products, service and the like. My favorite are the signs that have an 800 number in 12 point font. What were they thinking? I’m already sending and text and talking on the phone. How in the world am I going to pull out a pin and write down the number.
Most traditional media fails to hit its mark. Media buyers and sellers will obviously disagree, but it’s true. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Direct mail needs to be relevant, personal and drive the recipient into a call to action. We happen to recommend the web be the destination. Television needs to go shorter or longer. Give me a 10 or 15 second spot, or a 2 minute short. Either hit me over the head or tell me a story, but don’t have two birds talk to me for 30 seconds. Radio could be in trouble. Any ideas on how to help them? Finally, outdoor. Just put a unique URL up there, like www.GetBackToHere.com. To where? I don’t know, but I’ll find out. Or, you could just use plastic cows that can write, they just can’t write well.
We don’t have all the answers. Heck, we may only have a few. That’s the point. In the euphoria of social media, let’s not forget that traditional media can deliver value. We just need to reinvent how and what we deliver.
We want to be in the right place at the right time. All marketers, business developers, people that play bingo or the lottery want to be there when good things happen.
If you’re top-of-mind you’re already there. If you’re not, how do you get there? Some argue brand awareness. We think differently.
The costs of raw data, including demographics and contact information, continues to drop. With volume comes noise. More data means we need better filters and the ability to cut that information into smaller, relatable buckets. With better defined buckets of consumers your message can be made more relevant and more effective by extension.
Being in the right place at the right time requires brand participation, not brand recognition. It’s the relevance of the brand community that drives consumer behavior, not a mark or logo. The brand has always been holistic. Brand equity as a measure of brand value could be misleading in today’s environment.
This idea of a brand community is difficult to wrap your arms around, but it sure sounds good. Social media is one option and loyalty programs another. Self-identification with a brand, yet another.
At the end of the day, we want people to buy. We want revenue. We want to be there when they are ready to make that buy-decision.
The marketing funnel becomes the engine that drives not just brand awareness, but more importantly self-identification and the construction of a brand community. If you can organize specific brand communities (and there will be lots of them) and deliver a relevant messaging, you will find yourself in the right place at the right time.
BtoB, the magazine for marketing strategists, just updated their “2009 Marketing Priorities and Plans” to reflect some mid-year trends. You can download the report here.
Our own straw poll came to the same albiet unscientific conclusion. Marketing spend in the second half of 2009 will be up. Online marketing spend will go up. Direct marketing spend will go up.
We’re feeling pretty good about the direction we’ve taken as an interactive marketing firm. Three years ago we decided to focus our efforts on what we saw as two converging trends in B2B marketing–an increase in online and direct marketing spend. Hey, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
In her BtoB article, Ms Maddox asked Jim Prothe of Model Metrics to comment on this trend.
“We really didn’t face any significant budget cuts this year, but there is much more scrutiny placed on what we’re spending on and what we’re getting for it,” Mr Prothe said.
Mr Prothe’s right on the money.
Marketers need to deliver results in the downturn, but shouldn’t that be true regardless of economic climate. Number of leads, cost per opportunity, cost per lead, cost per target, impression, click-through, touch and on and on are all the product of a down economy and we hope they stay.
Last year our customers went to trade shows. This year they are hosting virtual events. Last year they sent team members to thought-leadership conferences. This year they fired those same people.
The moral of the story is make metrics your new best friend. Marketing will no longer be a safe haven for Liberal Arts majors, but a stat-heavy job that will justify its existence at the end of every program and every quarter. Turn your marketing department into a revenue center, because if you remain a cost center you’ll never get the budget you need to justify your existence. No amount of money fed to a cost center will get credit for generating revenue.
Start with highly targeted direct marketing campaigns that drive web traffic and demand directly to the sales team. Put the onus on sales to close when you set them up.
Microsites afford the opportunity to separate and liven you messaging. As an added bonus microsites can actually boost SEO for your corporate site by delivering inbound links in greater numbers. Search engines baulk at digging too deep into a corporate website. Search engines deliver a variety of sites that correlate to your keywords in results to be fair to others. With microsites you can get your name out there by delivering enough variety to boost placement. It’s a pretty cool use of interactive media that often goes overlooked.
We, of course, would like to see interactive microsites used as a tactical component of a larger marketing campaign. Microsites need to be destinations and they need to be animated. There is a difference between a microsite and a landing page. Landing pages are like one-page corporate websites. Microsites tell stories and bring your brand to life. With more and more eyeballs focused on web browsers it might be time to consider adding microsites to your marketing mix.
People that pay big bucks to buy season tickets for football, basketball, etc. are great targets for personalized direct marketing. Just check out this case study touting the success of the Philadelphia 76ers campaign.
Looks like I need to put in a call to Jerry and see if the Cowboys need a little help filling the new stadium in Arlington. We can help him bring those season ticket holders from the old stadium to the new–and maybe help Mr Jones convince these folks to open those wallets a little wider.
Feedback from loyal fans as to which player they like best, the brand of beer in the stadium and interest in special “Members Only” events allows you drill down and adjust your marketing spend. Think about it. You spend more marketing dollars pumping up popular players and selling more beer.
Obviously, this could be used by anyone with a loyal following, bands, brands, products and companies. Drill deep and adjust your spend to up-sell, cross-sell and retain your current fan base (customer base). It’s cheaper than winning new business.
(This is exactly the type of 1:1 campaigns we run for our clients, so we’re biased.)
Kudos to the 76ers. Getting your team to the playoffs, 2-2 going into tonight’s game with Orlando, and eventually winning the series helps sell ticket, too.
*That chant during game 5 of the 1967 NBA playoffs signaled the end of the Celtics reign as NBA champs. The eventual NBA champion 76ers have been called the greatest NBA team of all time.
