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Is that how you measure your marketing campaign today; by how many leads it brings to your business?
Indeed. This is the sole purpose of marketing – to grow a business. However, with all the (staggering) changes and opportunities we’ve seen in marketing over the last few years – new marketing tools and social media platforms – we might say that the purpose of marketing is changing, too. Or is it?
Let’s look at it from two different perspectives.
When a potential client calls us to enquire about our marketing services, one of the first questions we ask is – “What is your immediate goal with your marketing?’ The second question is – “What would you like to achieve with your business in the next 12 months?” When a business manager answers these two questions, the main motivation behind their call becomes more apparent. The conversation usually goes like this;
They say…
v.1. – We want to increase our revenue through marketing:
With this type of answer we know that whichever marketing tool we suggest to the client, it must be highly quantifiable, and it must stand solid against their immediate ROI projections. And this is where we talk about sales first, even before we talk about marketing.
Sales and marketing must go hand in hand, so we want to ensure our client gets their desired results in the shortest period of time. We see this type of relationship as a strong collaboration. We learn about our client’s sales process, their average value per customer, their sales cycle, and their average conversion rate. Only after we collect all of these sales-based variables, then we can start budgeting their marketing campaign. This information also allows us to identify the most appropriate and cost-effective marketing platform for the client. Depending on the industry they are in, for instance, Google AdWords could be a great tool for a business with a short sales cycle, while a re-targeting tool like AdRoll could be an excellent way to stay connected with potential clients with a longer sales cycle.
Success factors: client understands the difference between marketing and sales and is eager to connect the two internally or externally (by hiring a marketing agency).
How we grow together: by supporting client’s sales process, while strategically funnelling highly targeted leads to their sales people.
v.2. – We want to grow our brand through marketing:
In this case, we see the client, who has been growing organically for a few years, and now wants to take their company to the next level. They understand that they are already a brand, regardless of what their mission statement says. They want to gain velocity in their branding, and they recognize that consistency is key. Now, in this case, marketing will be supporting their brand expansion. The purpose is different, but the end goal is still the same. The ultimate goal of branding is, of course, sales, however this road is a bit longer, and strategically targeted to their long-term revenue growth. Branding allows you to connect your today’s vision with your BHAG (your Big Hairy Audacious Goal of growth, of course). It acts as a springboard, accelerating your current positioning into the future.
In this case, we dive deeper, and analyze every single touch point – and see how our client’s business is perceived across all online and offline marketing platforms. From there, we ensure we connect their branding (who they are), their marketing (how they talk about it), and sales (the result) in one big chunk, allowing for maximum transparency and integration for a sustainable result.
Success factor: client is laser-focused on sustainable growth (they are expanding geographically, or want to increase their market share).
How we grow together: by literally going full circle, and bringing their marketing “home” – so it supports on a much deeper, sustainable level.
So, there we have it – there might be a different purpose behind these two very different marketing strategies. As outlined above – it could support your immediate revenue growth or it could accelerate your brand to the next level. The end goal of driving sales, however, never changes. Happy growing!
