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MARKETING . BOOSTING PROFITS OR WASTING CASH ?
There are lots of reasons that companies have a marketing function but let ’ s face it , from the boss ’ s point of view they want to see an increase in sales .
Marketeers will champion ideas such as brand awareness , engaging customers , thought leadership , consumer insights , and so on . Valid points and it could be argued that all passively increase sales , but ultimately the cost of marketing should ideally be outweighed by the additional profit that it generates .
With this basic principal in mind , how exactly do we ensure that our marketing efforts boost the bottom line , rather than be swallowed up as an expense ?
We often start at the end , by defining a desired result , often utilising a press release “ We are delighted to announce that we have broken the £ 1m turnover bracket thanks to …” The goal needs to be defined , not a wishy-washy ‘ let ’ s make more money ’ goal , but a measurable target to hit by a given date . The total cost of a marketing campaign should not exceed the expected profit ( not turnover ) from increased sales , so this has to be a realistic and achievable target .
Secondly , consider a campaign as organic rather than something you set up , leave & hope for the best . The beauty of digital marketing is that you can adjust so much of a campaign , every minute if so desired , to optimise your campaign ; increase what ’ s working , diminish what isn ’ t .
“ Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted ; the trouble is I don ’ t know which half .”
An old marketing adage with its roots in traditional advertising when a scattergun approach was considered best , advertising your product to everyone possible . However in 2021 we have some powerful digital tools to place products or services directly under the noses of the specific people who are most likely to buy .
The great thing about digital marketing is that the more sales , the more data that becomes available to tell us exactly who
is buying . In turn this allows us to focus on optimising the positioning of adverts homing in on potential new customers who , demographically speaking , look alike to existing buyers .
Unlike a bill board or pitch side ad , we can track exactly who has responded to the advert and follow their journey through to a sale . Thus we can justify our marketing spend if it produces a positive return on investment & conversely we won ’ t be putting adverts under the noses of people who are highly unlikely to buy from us .
We can even see if consumers are landing on your product but bouncing away ; if the percentage of people buying is particularly low it tends to indicate a fundamental problem . Typically this is either the product , perhaps its pricing or availability , or it could mean an issue with the shop or website itself . Either way a learning process that can be fixed .
“ I ’ ve got a great website , so why aren ’ t I getting loads of sales ?”
A website is the digital version of a shop . They both need two things to be successful ; a decent amount of people going through the shop door and , perhaps more importantly , a fair proportion of those visitors actually buying .
Digital marketing , in all it ’ s varied forms , is the equivalent to the likes of news paper ads , sports sponsorship , billboards etc used pre-internet . It is what is used to send visitors to your website . Once visitors are in your shop , there are a different set of skills utilised to assist and direct the consumer from their initial interest through to an actual sale , a bit like a helpful ( not pushy ) shop assistant .
Digital marketing , in all its various guises , if implemented correctly & managed regularly should form an integral part of a business , driving the lion ’ s share of sales .
To speak to one of our digital marketing specialists about boosting your business ’ sales visit www . revolutionfour . co . uk or call 0151 348 7044 .
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