With 2018 finally here and marketing plans in full gear, marketers are buckling down to deliver successful activations and prove their ROI. The pressure is high, consumers are demanding (as they should be) and budgets are often tight. We all know how challenging -- yet thrilling -- this can be. What should we keep in mind and what advice can we give our teams to ensure that we sail toward success in 2018?
Apply the 80/20 rule to every marketing initiative.
You have probably heard it over and over again: 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. Remind your team to keep this rule in mind as they ideate, plan and execute. Identifying and honing in on the ideas and activations that produce the greatest results, based on your marketing objectives and KPIs, will allow you to eliminate time and resources spent on less productive techniques. This rule will help you turn around powerful results and relieve some of the pressure - especially if you have a small team and a tight budget. So, how do you do that?
Measure. Tailor. Rinse and repeat.
Understanding how all of your activations are performing is paramount not only to map out how your plan is coming to life but also, and most importantly, to make adjustment where needed. Nobody is perfect and no plan is flawless. The beauty of today’s measurement and analytics capabilities, though, is that they give you the ability to understand in real time how your site, blog, social media or ad campaign is performing, what is working, what isn't and what tweaks to make before it is too late.
This might sound like a no-brainer, but setting up analytics and measurement is still a challenge for many marketing teams because tools can be expensive, it is hard to pick the right vendor, the team needs to be trained to effectively use them -- the list goes on and on. My advice: This is an area that should not be overlooked because it will allow you to take the pulse of everything you are spending time and money on.
Set a process to cut through the big data clutter.
If you're just getting started or looking to expand your portfolio, all of this might feel overwhelming. There are so many kinds of data and platforms out there, and even more vendors, and it is difficult at times to wrap your head around it. But a data-driven approach is paramount to succeed as a marketer today more than ever, and having the right data can make or break your strategy. My advice is to set a process to cut through the clutter of vendors knocking on your door on a daily basis and navigate through these new waters.
This is, in a nutshell, the approach that my team and I have been taking for the past year: 1) Identify an analytical person on your team who you can partner with throughout the process (you will need it). 2) Make a list of your top needs and set a budget (remember: crawl, walk, run). 3) Develop an RFP/brand brief detailing needs, requirements and expectations. 4) Get vendor recommendations from peers you trust and start a thorough vendor analysis to find the one(s) that best address your current needs. 5) Start small and go big: First, run a pilot, then if it is successful get your team's buy-in and only then deploy at large.
Put the customer at the center.
Last but not least, marry the right side of the brain with the left one. Activations will be successful if they are rooted in consumer insights and tell a story that puts your target audience at the center. Encourage your team to always take a customer-centric approach to content creation. From the language on your site to your blog posts to your email campaigns, all content you put out there should make the consumer the hero, not your brand. This is easier said than done -- most of us have been guilty at some point of glorifying our own brand at the expense of the target consumer.
In fact, Gartner predicts that over 90% of tech companies’ content will be focused on the company instead of the consumer. This prediction is based on a thorough content analysis done across many tech B2B companies. Let’s think of the flip side of this staggering stat: If you are able to elevate your content strategy and make the customer the hero, you will differentiate yourself from competitors by effectively connecting and engaging with your target consumer.
