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"Burns' Business Builder" by Steve Burns The Inside/Outside Marketing Measurement System Did you know that over 75% of business owners in the Okanagan have no idea how to measure the results of their marketing efforts? They can talk in general terms of the "sale that was the result of their new marketing campaign" but real measurement is not taking place. So, to be blunt, what have the results been from your marketing efforts? What is your specific marketing strategy and how do you know if it is or isn't working? What measures of "success" do you use? More phone calls? More leads in the sales funnel? Increased revenues? Are these accurate "measures" of success? The purpose of this article series is to have you, the business owner, rethink your entire approach to marketing. So... here is my second way to overhaul your marketing efforts: 2. The Inside/Outside Marketing Measurement System I beg to differ. I think that unless your marketing efforts are measured and produce tangible results, you are wasting your time. I also think that the real success of a marketing campaign is measured by its ability to help you reach specific, measurable goals. Get the goals right and you will get the measures of success right. For example, many business owners want to position themselves as "top of mind" to their target customer. When their target customer group thinks of their product or service, they want their company to be first on their lips. If this is one of their goals, I will often validate this as becoming "top of mind" in any market requires a significant marketing investment. I want to ensure that your investment fits with your company's market position, has a pre-defined return and can be achieve in a reasonable timeframe. Let's use a specific example. Say that you are a manufacturer of high quality testing equipment for the aerospace industry and that you have been in business for five years. Say that your competitors have been in business longer than you and that your market research shows that customers will purchase high quality test equipment only from a few reputable manufacturers. Your market research has also confirmed that patented testing equipment is unique as it combines several tests into one machine, which results in significant time, cost and productivity savings to the customer. You also know that while potential customers will obtain quotes from suppliers that appear in trade magazines and the industry portal website, they really prefer to deal with one equipment supplier. Many companies are first time buyers or have established relationships with competitors. Your research shows that less than 15% of your target customer group think of your company first when they think of purchasing high quality test equipment and less than 10% know about your new patented equipment. Perhaps your key marketing goals are to position yourself to be "top of mind" to your target customer group by increasing their awareness of your unique, patented testing equipment. In launching your marketing campaign you decide to create a unique message for one key monthly trade publication and an online ad for the industry portal that is designed to obtain a response. In order to be successful, your marketing budget must include the costs associated with measuring this important goal. I like to keep things simple so for every marketing campaign I only have two tangible measures of success – I call it the Inside/Outside Marketing Measurement System. The Inside Marketing measure focuses on internal measures. In this case it could be how many new customers called, emailed or visited our website this month because of the uniqueness of your product as displayed in the trade publication or online ad and how many of these new customers are either considering or have purchased from us? Everyone that responded to your marketing piece should be tracked and should indicate what triggered their response. The Outside Marketing measure validates your marketing campaign with tangible external market research. In this case, about two to three weeks after the first ad, you would contact a small sample of potential customers to determine three things: Which company do they think of first when they consider the purchase of high quality test equipment? Are they aware of your patented high quality test equipment? If they saw your ad in the trade publication, do they believe that your test equipment is unique? The Inside/Outside Marketing Measurement System does not stop when your ad is placed and you do your first "measurement". Rather, it is just the beginning. You need to keep measuring the "results" throughout the campaign and beyond and ensure that interest in being generated from your marketing dollars and that this interest in being converted into sales. Adjustments can and should be made along the way, including changing marketing mediums to produce a higher response. In summary, begin measuring your marketing efforts by using my Inside/Outside Marketing Measurement System. This valuable information will help you overhaul your marketing efforts and ensure that your marketing dollars are not only focused but produce tangible results. Next week we will look at how to overhaul your Sales efforts. Steve Burns, CA, CMC, CFP is the President and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc. and Steve Burns Inc. Chartered Accountant, which provide innovative consulting and accounting services to Okanagan entrepreneurs. Steve can be reached at 763-4716, via email at steve@burnsinnovation.com or steve@steveburns.ca |
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