> MARKETING ARTICLE - IN BUSINESS MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2009
Marketing. A cost or an investment?
Roger Moggs, Managing Director of Moggs Marketing Communications Ltd offers advice on how businesses can maximise their marketing output.
It’s a fact that many people in business confuse the term “marketing” with “advertising”. They think that marketing is about promoting their business when, in fact, it’s much more fundamental to the reason why they are in business in the first place.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing has the following definition of Marketing:
“The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”. Did you notice that there’s no mention of “promotion” in that sentence?
All business owners will have been through some form of marketing process to determine why a certain business, market or segment is attractive to them.
It will, no doubt, have ultimately led to an investment in time, money, people, premises and equipment, all essential investments for running a successful business.
So what happens when it comes to “marketing communications”, the promotional part of the equation? If you’re in business you need to tell people who you are, what you do and what you stand for. Your customers need to understand what makes you special and why they should buy from you. And this usually results in the need to use one or more promotional techniques….Marketing Communications.
And that’s where we hit some common problems! Many businesses have not even thought about developing a marketing budget and those that have are often driven by their competitors activity…they feel they have to join-in or get left behind. Typically, this leads to mediocrity in the quality of messages, disappointment in the results and a reluctance to invest further.
Developing the right marketing communications strategy, getting brand messages that really cut through all the other media ‘noise’ and investing in the process is just as important as investing in the business infrastructure. Get this right and fortunes can change – even in times of recession.
As I write, Tesco have announced outstanding profits. Tesco really understands the business they’re in and consistently monitor their marketplace. They adjust their product and service offering and very clearly communicate the message to their audiences, using a range of techniques. They also stringently monitor results and the return on investment.
So, I offer the following advice about how doing the basics well can maximise the effectiveness of your marketing communications activity.
Understand your market
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It’s critical that you know what your customers want and how your competitors are responding. Investing in market research is worth considering as the information will guide your strategy and help refine your messages. It can also identify the unique selling points that will give your brand distinction.
Develop a clear brand identity.
What makes you special? Can you summarise this in just a few words? A strapline (the words that often appear directly underneath a company’s logo) often is a summary of their communications strategy. Think of some famous ones like “Just do it”; “Every little helps”; “Vorsprung Durch Technik” and “Think Different”. These are classic examples of how a powerful communications strategy can make significant differences to your business success.
Many businesses don’t highlight the little things that make them special. And if you don’t look like anything special, customers will naturally gravitate towards another company that does.
Be consistent.
Ensure that your messages are consistent across your website, advertising brochures, sales collateral and PR. Each communication needs to reinforce the core message. Are your sales people using the same messages and referencing the same customers consistently?
As the market changes, so must your marketing.
As the market changes so do the needs of your customers. Evaluate which media is going to deliver the message most effectively. Become well versed in the media choices and be realistic in your expectations. Moggs has advertised in every issue of this magazine for over 5 years and it works very well in generating new client introductions. However, we also use many other techniques to promote our brand. Understanding how to position your company to customers in relation to the market environment will help you stay in line with what’s on customers’ minds.
Ensure quality at all times.
You’ve built a business by providing quality products and services so stay true to your principles. Don’t be tempted to cut corners. Cheap and cheerful communications can often harm your brand presentation. If budgets are an issue, it’s better to do a few things really well than trying to do everything poorly.
Test and measure.
Don’t be afraid to test new campaigns. Using internet search techniques is a brilliant way of quickly and cheaply testing new sales messages. For example, using a pay-per-click campaign where, lets say, the click-through cost is 25p, means you can get 400 people clicking through to your website, on a product they are actively looking for, for just £100! It’s an excellent way of doing some quick research.
Conclusion
The biggest effect that the recession has had is that it has drastically cut the margin for error. With customers spending less, good marketing is crucial for keeping them engaged and spending. And that is what will ensure the survival of your company. Treat marketing as a key investment. Spend time researching and developing your messages. Test ideas, some will work others won’t. Be bold and exciting – BIG ideas get noticed and acted upon. Monitor results and most importantly be consistent and stay visible.