How
To Develop A Marketing And Marketing Communications Strategy And Plan For
Small Or Midsized Companies Planning for the year ahead is never an easy
task. Lack of resources (people, time,
budget), keeping up to date on what’s going on in your market, obtaining
quality leads and improving brand awareness and reputation have become
increasingly difficult for all organizations – for profit companies as well as
nonprofits. This has become especially
true among US CEO’s who are concerned with not just domestic but also
international uncertainties. Developing A
Marketing And Marketing Communications Strategy Is Critical This should be your priority. Without a strategy for a plan there are way
too many opportunities to get off track and chew up your investment. Your ROI will suffer. Consider the following to focus your efforts
when developing your strategy and plan:
Be sure to avoid industry and company “myths”
and internal “opinions”. Employ primary
and secondary research to understand your audience. With so much information available about
companies and brands, it is truly the Age Of The Consumer and will be for a
very long time.
Also, recognize that millennials (23% of the US
population) are not a homogenous group.
At the younger end (20 – 28 years), 40 percent are currently living rent
free with family, while at the older end (29 – 35 years), 43 percent have
already purchased a home. With that in
mind, how should your strategy differ if you’re targeting adults 55 years and
older (21% of US population)?
·
The
target audience, in very specific detail ·
The
category in which you complete and its relevance to customers ·
The
brand’s benefit and point of difference ·
A
reason for the customer to believe – the most compelling proof All marketing and marketing communications
should flow from this positioning, and it should be fully understood and
embraced by all employees, sales reps, partners and management.
Be sure these influencers completely
understand, believe and can articulate your brand premise. And provide them with the training and tools
to convey their trust-worthiness in a believable manner. Developing A Focused Marketing And Marketing
Communications Plan And Budget After the hard work of developing a meaningful
strategy, recognize it’s equally important to develop a specific plan and
budget. The following should be taken
into consideration:
Regardless of the specific marketing tactic, or
type of digital or traditional media, you’re evaluating, keep in mind that cost
efficiency does not necessarily lead to effective results. Also, and most importantly, the best source
of marketing communications leverage is the quality of the message, not the
marketing tactic.
·
Sales
promotion ($83 billion), telemarketing ($60 billion), direct mail (($46
billion) and events ($40 billion) highlight projected 2018 US Marketing
Services expenditures; ·
The
Internet ($78 billion), television ($68 billion) and the combination of radio, newspapers
and magazines ($47 billion) are projected to be at the top of the 2018 US Major
Media spending categories. Source:
Zenith Total US Spending And while it may surprise you, 90 percent of
consumers (and 94 percent of millennials) still use coupons. The coupons come from a variety of on-line
and traditional mediums, but mail is most popular. Why do marketers still use coupons? The simple answer is because they’re
effective in guiding purchase. In
developing your own plan and budget, determine and recognize the effectiveness
of all marketing tactics, not just their efficiency. ROI Focused Marketing And Marketing
Communications Consultants If you’re like most small and midsized
companies, you and your team may not have the expertise or time to develop an
ROI focused marketing and marketing communications strategy, plan or budget. Even major global brands are seeking outside
advisors. In my May article, I discussed
the dramatic growth of management and accounting consulting practices (33% increase
in US revenue) at the expense of traditional global advertising agencies (0.3%
increase in US revenue). One reason for
this 2017 growth of consultants is their focus – not on trends or what’s in the
news – but on marketing and marketing communications effectiveness, profitably
and ROI. While you may not be able to afford the large
global consultants, you should consider hiring a marketing and/or marketing
communications consultant. The type of
people you should hire should:
In
today’s challenging environment, a greater focus on strategy, planning and
budgeting can go a long way toward leapfrogging competition and improving brand
profitability. And the fresh eyes of a
consultant can go a long way to building a meaningful future for your brand. Gary Kullberg is the CEO of the Kullberg Consulting Group, LLC ( http://www.KullbergConsultingGroup.com ), founded in 1994 to provide companies and nonprofits with strategic and executional marketing communications solutions. The Company consists of sixty entrepreneurially driven senior level professionals, across disciplines, who have worked with over 585 organizations in 21 major industry groups. Because of its unique structure, clients are able to "cherry pick" the specific disciplines(s) to meet their needs, in a timely, cost efficient and unbiased manner. Gary is considered an authority in the B2B, B2C and nonprofit marketplaces. He has served as the outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for three companies, as well as on five nonprofit Executive Boards, one as Vice Chair and two as Chair. |