(cross posted from LinkedIN)
Which phrase best describes your company’s marketing?
a) We suffer from random acts of marketing
b) We’re great at drive-by demand generation
c) We think of marketing as arts & crafts
If you chose C, you probably don’t have a marketing department or anyone who understands the power of integrated marketing/RevOps and what it can do for your brand and sales team. (And that’s a whole other post.)
If you chose A or B, this is what it looks like:
The sales leader says, “We need more leads.” The marketing person reacts by doing … something. Maybe an email campaign. Maybe more money for online ads. Maybe finding a firm to do cold calls.
That’s bad, but it gets worse: If it works, it becomes a habit—but an unsustainable one. As soon as the marketing person’s ‘something’ stops working (and it will), you’re left with nothing.
The reflexive, do-SOMETHING marketing approach has left the long-term pipeline dry. Whatever it is, the ‘SOMETHING’ isn’t part of an organized, thoughtful plan. Maybe it works, and the sales leader cools off. Maybe it doesn’t, and you lost money and time.
Planning makes all the difference. A professional salesperson wouldn’t walk into a sales call without researching their prospect. Your CFO has a budget and plan for the upcoming year. Your facilities manager has a maintenance schedule.
Your marketing/lead gen/business development needs a plan too, and to have a plan work effectively, you need a systematic approach. That system has a foundation:
• Goals & strategy
• Messaging & differentiation
• The Buyer’s Journey & tactics/processes to follow it
• The right level of technology and staff
The business environment will ebb and flow. Technology will shift. Your sales cycle will be affected.
But your message—your core value proposition—doesn’t change. What changes is the messaging—the words/images/video you use to tie your core value proposition to today’s challenges.
If this seems like too much—or it’s too true—please connect with me – I can help get you pointed in the right direction.
Not Really a Boomer 