03.06.09
Editor's note: In this issue of L&NW we introduce a new column. Executive Workshop is a forum for industry leaders to expound on subjects of interest to them, to share with their peers the education they have gleaned from experience, to give advice, pose questions, and respond to issues that require attention.
Industry consultant Mark Vanover is our first contributor. He writes here about marketing, and will appear also in our April 2009 issue.
Most narrow web converters, and industry suppliers for that matter, don't really understand the true value of marketing. In these tough economic times companies are looking at ways to cut costs in order to remain profitable. Marketing is usually the first to go. And that's if there's a marketing department to begin with as our industry is notorious for not understanding the value of marketing.
So what is the value of marketing? Marketing is not just about advertising. Marketing should be viewed as a group of business activities with the primary goal to generate and drive revenue growth. When the right mix of marketing activities are utilized, these activities will generate new customer opportunities at a low cost of acquisition. And what is meant by low cost of acquisition? It means that these marketing activities will enable a company's sales team to be in front of real opportunity as opposed to the sales team looking for a new opportunity on their own. When a company's sales team is in front of real opportunity, there's a better chance of actually closing new business, growing revenues and increasing profits. Even in tough economic times.
The business of marketing is all about choosing the right mix of marketing activities that will generate and drive revenue growth. Marketing activities can consist of print marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, direct marketing, telemarketing, event marketing, and one that a lot of companies don't even think of: customer relationship marketing. And no matter what activities you choose, you must measure the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. That way, in the future, you can decide to not do the activity again, do it in the same way, or make changes to create more value and achieve a better return on marketing investment.
Marketing also helps differentiate your business from your competitors, which in turn enables you to price products and services at a fair profit and not compete on price and become a commodity provider. What company wants to be viewed as a commodity provider? Certainly not one that wants to remain in business. Hence the value of the business of marketing.
Print Marketing Print marketing is the tried and true way to build a company image and create brand awareness. Choose a publication, and more importantly a publisher, who will work with you to assure the success of your campaign. It should be one that understands that print marketing should be part of a larger integrated marketing program (print, internet and email).
Internet Marketing Internet marketing primarily consists of banner advertising that appears on a publisher's internet version of a print publication. Internet marketing may also consist of sponsorships of the publisher's own email marketing activities.
Email Marketing There are two facets of email marketing. In this context, email marketing should be conducted in conjunction with the same publisher that a company is doing its print and internet marketing with. This enables a company to gain opportunities that they most often do not know exists.
This trio of marketing activities done together are most often referred to as integrated marketing campaigns. This means that you will reach your opportunity through the three most common means of information dissemination today print media, internet media and email marketing. Integrated marketing is the most cost effective way to reach new business opportunities on a large scale. Its downside, however, is that it is sometimes difficult, but not impossible, to measure the results of the activities.
Direct Marketing Junk mail, not! Direct mail is still a cost effective way to to reach targeted new business over a large geographic area (or local geographic area). In order for direct marketing to be effective, it needs to be repetitive. Conducting a direct mail campaign once and waiting for instant results will surely disappoint. Send a message and make sure the opportunity sees it multiple times over a short period of time.
Telemarketing Telemarketing consists of two separate types of phone activities. The first type of telemarketing activity is conducted as a follow up to a direct mail campaign. Once a direct mail campaign has been conducted, you should reach out to the targeted audience for follow up. Direct mail becomes much more effective when followed up with human contact. Of course, depending on the size of the targeted campaign, it may require an outside firm to complete these follow up calls in a timely manner. The second type of telemarketing activity is strictly a phone based campaign with a goal to acquire information, and in return for that person's time, offer something in return (such as a white paper or a free webinar on a new technology, etc). With this activity, the worst thing to do is try and sell something. Your goal is to start forming a new business relationship. This takes time.
No matter what mix of the above two marketing activities you choose, you need to determine your target opportunity. Most often, for activities that are targeted towards new customer acquisition (over a large geographic area) you will have to purchase a list from a publisher or list broker. Or, if very targeted (to local geographic area), you most likely already have a database of opportunities. In either case, managing your database and keeping it updated is a very important internal marketing activity. The quality of the database leads to more effective marketing campaigns. These two marketing activities are also easier to measure results. You know who has been targeted, who has responded, and over a defined period of time, can track new revenue to a particular marketing campaign.
Event Marketing Event marketing, or trade shows as they are normally called, is probably the most costly form of marketing. Trade shows require an up-front investment in a booth (to effectively communicate a company brand and image), the shipment of equipment and materials, and the expense to send people to work the event. When looking at this type of marketing activity, a company needs to understand the investment up front and the expectation for the return on that investment. Event marketing most often generates longer term activity. Depending on your business, a regional event or an event run by an association is more cost effective than a national event.
Customer Relationship Marketing How many of you even realize that your customers are the best opportunity for increasing revenue and growth? As a company, you know your customers, so reach out to them. The most cost effective way to do this is email marketing. The most important thing to remember when you do this: Do not try to sell them anything. And don't do it so often that you become a spammer. Inform them (again, offer a white paper or invite them to a free webinar on a new technology, etc.). You're already a trusted and valued business partner. By strengthening the partnership through this marketing activity there is an opportunity for more business to be gained.
With all this said, the one thing not to be forgotten is that your company must have a a great website, because that's most often the first place a prospective customer will look for information no matter how you've reached them.
Now that you understand the business of marketing and the types of marketing activities, it's time to make a commitment to marketing. And that means there has to be a marketing budget and a commitment to resources to be effective. Marketing is not a function that someone does in their spare time. It's a full time job. Once you make that commitment and decide on a budget, decisions have to be made on what message you are going to communicate and the activities you will use to communicate that message. Whatever that message is, it has to be consistent across all of the marketing activities so as not to confuse the new opportunity or customer.
While all of these activities might make marketing seem a piece of cake, in reality marketing is much more complex. There are other activities (market research, product planning, product launches, and pricing, to name a few) which, when combined with the "customer facing" activities, ensure a company's future growth.
In a recent Harvard Business Review article titled "Seize Advantage in a Downturn," the following quote sums up the importance of marketing. "Companies that injudiciously slash marketing spending often find out that they later must spend far more than they saved in order to recover."
So my question to you: Can you afford to market your company? Or is the better question: Can you afford not to market your company?
Industry consultant Mark Vanover is our first contributor. He writes here about marketing, and will appear also in our April 2009 issue.
Most narrow web converters, and industry suppliers for that matter, don't really understand the true value of marketing. In these tough economic times companies are looking at ways to cut costs in order to remain profitable. Marketing is usually the first to go. And that's if there's a marketing department to begin with as our industry is notorious for not understanding the value of marketing.
So what is the value of marketing? Marketing is not just about advertising. Marketing should be viewed as a group of business activities with the primary goal to generate and drive revenue growth. When the right mix of marketing activities are utilized, these activities will generate new customer opportunities at a low cost of acquisition. And what is meant by low cost of acquisition? It means that these marketing activities will enable a company's sales team to be in front of real opportunity as opposed to the sales team looking for a new opportunity on their own. When a company's sales team is in front of real opportunity, there's a better chance of actually closing new business, growing revenues and increasing profits. Even in tough economic times.
The business of marketing is all about choosing the right mix of marketing activities that will generate and drive revenue growth. Marketing activities can consist of print marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, direct marketing, telemarketing, event marketing, and one that a lot of companies don't even think of: customer relationship marketing. And no matter what activities you choose, you must measure the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. That way, in the future, you can decide to not do the activity again, do it in the same way, or make changes to create more value and achieve a better return on marketing investment.
Marketing also helps differentiate your business from your competitors, which in turn enables you to price products and services at a fair profit and not compete on price and become a commodity provider. What company wants to be viewed as a commodity provider? Certainly not one that wants to remain in business. Hence the value of the business of marketing.
Marketing activities for acquiring new customers
Print Marketing Print marketing is the tried and true way to build a company image and create brand awareness. Choose a publication, and more importantly a publisher, who will work with you to assure the success of your campaign. It should be one that understands that print marketing should be part of a larger integrated marketing program (print, internet and email).
Internet Marketing Internet marketing primarily consists of banner advertising that appears on a publisher's internet version of a print publication. Internet marketing may also consist of sponsorships of the publisher's own email marketing activities.
Email Marketing There are two facets of email marketing. In this context, email marketing should be conducted in conjunction with the same publisher that a company is doing its print and internet marketing with. This enables a company to gain opportunities that they most often do not know exists.
This trio of marketing activities done together are most often referred to as integrated marketing campaigns. This means that you will reach your opportunity through the three most common means of information dissemination today print media, internet media and email marketing. Integrated marketing is the most cost effective way to reach new business opportunities on a large scale. Its downside, however, is that it is sometimes difficult, but not impossible, to measure the results of the activities.
Direct Marketing Junk mail, not! Direct mail is still a cost effective way to to reach targeted new business over a large geographic area (or local geographic area). In order for direct marketing to be effective, it needs to be repetitive. Conducting a direct mail campaign once and waiting for instant results will surely disappoint. Send a message and make sure the opportunity sees it multiple times over a short period of time.
Telemarketing Telemarketing consists of two separate types of phone activities. The first type of telemarketing activity is conducted as a follow up to a direct mail campaign. Once a direct mail campaign has been conducted, you should reach out to the targeted audience for follow up. Direct mail becomes much more effective when followed up with human contact. Of course, depending on the size of the targeted campaign, it may require an outside firm to complete these follow up calls in a timely manner. The second type of telemarketing activity is strictly a phone based campaign with a goal to acquire information, and in return for that person's time, offer something in return (such as a white paper or a free webinar on a new technology, etc). With this activity, the worst thing to do is try and sell something. Your goal is to start forming a new business relationship. This takes time.
No matter what mix of the above two marketing activities you choose, you need to determine your target opportunity. Most often, for activities that are targeted towards new customer acquisition (over a large geographic area) you will have to purchase a list from a publisher or list broker. Or, if very targeted (to local geographic area), you most likely already have a database of opportunities. In either case, managing your database and keeping it updated is a very important internal marketing activity. The quality of the database leads to more effective marketing campaigns. These two marketing activities are also easier to measure results. You know who has been targeted, who has responded, and over a defined period of time, can track new revenue to a particular marketing campaign.
Event Marketing Event marketing, or trade shows as they are normally called, is probably the most costly form of marketing. Trade shows require an up-front investment in a booth (to effectively communicate a company brand and image), the shipment of equipment and materials, and the expense to send people to work the event. When looking at this type of marketing activity, a company needs to understand the investment up front and the expectation for the return on that investment. Event marketing most often generates longer term activity. Depending on your business, a regional event or an event run by an association is more cost effective than a national event.
Don't forget your customers
Customer Relationship Marketing How many of you even realize that your customers are the best opportunity for increasing revenue and growth? As a company, you know your customers, so reach out to them. The most cost effective way to do this is email marketing. The most important thing to remember when you do this: Do not try to sell them anything. And don't do it so often that you become a spammer. Inform them (again, offer a white paper or invite them to a free webinar on a new technology, etc.). You're already a trusted and valued business partner. By strengthening the partnership through this marketing activity there is an opportunity for more business to be gained.
With all this said, the one thing not to be forgotten is that your company must have a a great website, because that's most often the first place a prospective customer will look for information no matter how you've reached them.
Budget? What budget?
Now that you understand the business of marketing and the types of marketing activities, it's time to make a commitment to marketing. And that means there has to be a marketing budget and a commitment to resources to be effective. Marketing is not a function that someone does in their spare time. It's a full time job. Once you make that commitment and decide on a budget, decisions have to be made on what message you are going to communicate and the activities you will use to communicate that message. Whatever that message is, it has to be consistent across all of the marketing activities so as not to confuse the new opportunity or customer.
While all of these activities might make marketing seem a piece of cake, in reality marketing is much more complex. There are other activities (market research, product planning, product launches, and pricing, to name a few) which, when combined with the "customer facing" activities, ensure a company's future growth.
Can you afford to market your company?
In a recent Harvard Business Review article titled "Seize Advantage in a Downturn," the following quote sums up the importance of marketing. "Companies that injudiciously slash marketing spending often find out that they later must spend far more than they saved in order to recover."
So my question to you: Can you afford to market your company? Or is the better question: Can you afford not to market your company?