Investing in marketing can be time-consuming and expensive, especially when managed in silos and without the appropriate tracking apparatus. In almost every discussion and client engagement we have, there is some level of disconnect between the business goals, marketing strategy and tactical execution.
Most organizations manage marketing from a tactical level with one-off campaigns. While this can help move the needle in small increments, the results can get lost because these activities are not getting tracked and analyzed. Rather than taking a transactional approach to your marketing efforts, consider each campaign as an individual part of an ongoing project that evolves with the sensibilities of the audiences you’re trying to reach.
For marketing to deliver an impactful return on investment, you need to have a clear understanding of your target audience(s), implement campaigns underpinned by a focused content strategy, and supported by CRM and marketing automation tools that are connected and synchronized.
Organizations that have CRM and marketing automation tools often manage them independently; they are seldom integrated. The symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing often creates chaos because each group uses these systems differently. Thus, list management and database governance can be a challenge. Adding to this is “campaign-sprawl,” which creates clutter, especially when certain inbound and outbound activities are not effectively tracked and managed. These scenarios and inaction impede the flow of information as well as capability to develop analytics.
The adage, “You get out what you put in,” certainly applies to marketing. Inputs can definitely affect output. We refer to this as Marketing I/O which also includes inbound and outbound activities, all connected via CRM and marketing automation tools to deliver a unified view of all marketing campaigns and their effectiveness.
Marketing is evolving and offers a deluge of data. Use analytics to connect the dots, maximize the potential of your data, and tie all marketing activities to your business initiatives. This doesn’t have to be a complex process.