Page 54 - Print21 November-December 2021

Marketing
Marketing in Covid
encourage loyalty, obtain referrals and generate further sales.
The customer contact strategy can also be divided into two separate executions. One execution is linked to the date the product or service
is bought and includes messaging around warranty, service, renewal, upgrade and the like. The other execution is linked to time of year, and includes messaging such as monthly newsletter, seasonal offers, event invitations and more.
Obviously, the customer contact strategy uses more personal media channels including; face-to-face meetings, mail, telephone, email and social channels. And all the while, there is the 24/7 continual flow of marketing content on blogs, websites and social channels, as well as advertising.
The numbers that matter when budgeting...
• There are a few key numbers to
understand when budgeting your
marketing activity:
• Lifetime value – how much revenue
you customer is worth over their
lifetime of buying from you
• Cost per lead – how much you
can afford to spend to generate a
qualified lead
• Cost per sale – how much you can
afford to spend to generate a sale
• The advertising allowable –
what you can afford to spend to generate a sale at either break- even or a pre-determined profit percentage
When you know how much a customer is worth, you can determine how much to spend to generate a qualified lead and therefore how much you can afford to spend to get
a sale – based on conversion rates. This helps you determine the most appropriate media channels to use, as they are defined by your advertising allowable.
Remember:
Marketing creates the need, while sales fulfill the need...
• Your marketing activity helps to
create the need for your brand
by building desire for it and reinforcing your decision after you’ve bought. Your sales people use selling techniques to fulfill the need and complete the sale.
• Focus on the fundamentals
and you’ll stay ahead of most of your competitors, as they waste time chasing the latest shiny new digital object or fad being promoted by alleged experts. 21
Marketing guru Malcolm Auld says in a pandemic the marketing rules of thumb apply now more than ever.
Asad reflection on the marketing industry has been the arrival of the pandemic marketing experts – none of whom have ever lived through a pandemic – espousing their miracle cures for marketing success. May I suggest you ignore them, and stick to the marketing fundamentals and rules of thumb, as they apply now more than ever?
I often call the rules of thumb, “marketing by numbers” and here they are.
The three goals of your marketing communications – and there are only three...
• Acquire new customers
• Get customers to spend more money with you more often
• Get customers to keep spending with you for as long as possible.
If your marketing communications
are not helping you achieve one or more of these goals, you’re probably wasting your money, regardless of the media channels or vanity metrics used.
The two ways of marketing – and there are only two...
• Mass marketing
• Direct marketing
Mass Marketing – you communicate with as many consumers* as possible for the lowest media cost, to position your brand
in the mind of the consumer, so
they consider it when they are in the market to buy – online or offline. Generally used in broadcast, print, outdoor and some online channels. Messages are aimed at generating either a think, feel or do response.
Direct Marketing – any marketing communication delivered directly
to individual consumers or to which they respond directly to you. All responses are measured and there
is always an exchange of either
data or dollars – online or offline. Generally used in broadcast, mail, email, telephone, print, events, social, search, mobile and online channels. For example, give me your email address (data) and I’ll give you a newsletter, or give me your credit card details (dollars) and I’ll sell you some wine.
* Consumers is generic for both prospects and customers
The two reasons people use the internet – and there are only two... • To save time
• To waste time
That’s it. You need to design your website, landing page, email, social channels, apps to make it easy for your customers and prospects to either save time, or to waste time, depending upon their reason for visiting.
There’s no such thing as a customer journey – just two contact strategies...
• People don’t go on customer
journeys. This is a marketing buzzword designed to make the user sound sophisticated – it’s complete bollocks. There are only two contact strategies to use, and they’re linked to the most relevant touch-points. After all, a prospect isn’t a customer until they buy something:
• Prospect contact strategy – to generate new customers
• Customer contact strategy – to keep profitable customers and generate referrals
• Marketers determine the most appropriate touch-points to reach prospects and customers, then communicate as necessary in the most effective channels for those touch-points. These touch-points can be mapped for easier visual interpretation. This mapping
is why folks mistakenly call it a journey. Map-journey, get it? For example, a prospect may
identify themselves by responding
to an advertisement by telephone, downloading a white paper from
a website, or at a trade show. This
is the beginning of the prospect contact strategy designed to get them to either request a presentation (if required), to trial the product/ service, or to buy. This can involve lots of channels, some of which can be automated.
Once the prospect becomes a customer, they join the customer contact strategy. This involves communicating with personal messages designed to create a positive customer experience,
Stick to the established marketing guidelines
in Covid: Malcolm Auld
54 Print21 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021