We all know the feeling that comes in the middle of the night, that sick feeling that comes with knowing that we bit off more than we can chew.The problem now is that the feeling comes every night, because when you wake up, the situation is the same: fewer dollars, fewer people and tougher numbers to make. You don’t know how much time to allocate to the marketing effort that is increasingly feeling futile and how much to allocate to finding a new job.
How can you get a good night’s sleep?
What you need now is a different strategy, because you know that spending on your current programs won’t produce the results you need. You also need a new approach to budgeting – one that gives you the largest number of marketing initiatives combined with the flexibility to invest when you see results. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?
1. Rebuild your marketing plan by customer segments.
Segmentation is one of the most effective things you can do with an existing customer base. But if you have not yet segmented your customer base, here is a “down and dirty” approach to get you some of the benefits quickly and inexpensively:
Separate customers who bought in a certain category, ranked by how long it’s been since they came in. Then create cross-sell offers for each product category and test them. Look for customers who (1) have spent a lot with you recently and (2) have spent a lot over time, but have been inactive recently. Cross-sell of those categories will yield the highest return of any marketing programs you can run. Set up as many tests as you can handle (and even 1-2 more) in limited markets or stores. If you only have good addresses for a part of your database – that’s OK. Mail customers you can, right now, and get the results to support improving the rest of the database later.
2. Keep the bulk of your funds unassigned for now and measure your results fanatically.
Do what is necessary to keep funds available. Just remember this — as soon as the results of your list tests come in, you will add investment to the ones that work and cancel the ones that don’t, immediately. Time is not your friend in this exercise — you need real results this year.
While the first pilots are being developed, figure out how to test them. The time spent on figuring out how to measure the test will be the best time you spend, since the test (and you) will live and die on the results.
Keep 2-4 tests going all the time and get used to it. From now on, you will be a marketing “mutual fund manager,” looking at a portfolio of existing and test programs and reallocating money quarterly (or more frequently) to maximize your returns. Remember, the numbers rule out — no favorites now. The numbers are going to be what keeps you in your job.
3. Get used to marketing to a different customer
Once you receive the results from your pilots, market the heck out of them.. Not to customers — to your internal stakeholders — sales, marketing management, executive leadership, the CFO (especially him or her). Create presentations to share the information you have and share it as often as you can. In meetings, at lunch, whenever you have the time, you need to have the results.
By constantly sharing your results, here is what will happen: you will manage both the business and your career. You’ll create an atmosphere of openness and a commitment to hard results. Marketing traditionally has been accused (and rightly so) of holding their programs close to the vest and then failing to show meaningful results. Break that stereotype.
“No excuses marketing” – that is the mantra for the rest of 2009 and probably for the next several years. Change the playing field, make your programs measurable and share the results widely. In danger lies real opportunity for the market leaders who are willing to innovate.
Start now!
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