Exploiting the marketing mix to make your budget go further
It pays to advertise. Or does it?
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half. – John Wanamaker, US Department Store merchant
For many small or medium sized businesses, the word ‘marketing’ is synonymous with ‘advertising’. The first step in increasing awareness of the business or generating sales leads is all too often a small ad in the Yellow Pages or a trade magazine.
But although advertising is an obvious and an easy way of dipping a toe in the marketing water, it does have drawbacks. It can be expensive, it is relatively untargeted and it is notoriously difficult to measure. In contrast, many companies have seen extraordinary results as a result of diverting their advertising budget into some of the less glossy alternatives. Because ultimately, good marketing is simply a case of good communication – and there are many ways to achieve it.
There is a marketing tool for almost any situation. Here we’ll take a brief look at direct marketing, telemarketing, PR and websites, as they are probably the most well known and commonly used alternatives to advertising. But a marketing strategy can be made up of a much wider mix of elements. It can include sales promotion, market research, display, packaging, brand identity, design, literature, signage, standard letters and indeed, anything which involves communicating with customers. But more of that another time. For now, here is a brief guide to just some of the ways you can make a limited budget go much further.
Direct Marketing – Put a tiger in your tank
If you have a good idea of what your target market looks like (and it’s an odd business that doesn’t!), then direct marketing can allow you to talk to them directly. Whereas an advert proclaims your messages to an entire readership, a piece of named, addressed literature goes straight to the desk or doorstep of the decision maker you most want to speak to. This pre-supposes that you have a good database of prospects or access to prospect lists – if this is not the case, see the section on telemarketing below!
Unlike advertising, direct mail is extremely flexible. You have more space to say what you want to say, you can use eye-catching design formats or very detailed imagery, and it will be in full colour. You also have complete control over when to send it out, and in what quantities. So if you’re worried you won’t be able to cope with sharp increases in demand, you can send it out in small batches to test the water – unlike an ad, which can’t be turned off.
Finally, the results of your direct mail campaign can be measured precisely, meaning that you can refine the campaign each time it is run. Whether the response mechanism is a tear-off slip, a phone line or a dedicated web page, you will know exactly how many enquiries were generated by the mailing – giving you a definite cost per lead and cost per sale. And if your design work is good enough, it has been known for a piece of direct mail to stay on a desk for months, resulting in sales long after the event. All in all, direct marketing is one of the hardest working all-rounders in the marketing mix.
Telemarketing – It’s good to talk
No, don’t look away! Telemarketing is much-maligned, largely due to those double glazing salesmen who always call just as you are sitting down to your evening meal. But, used correctly it can generate outstanding results. From list-cleaning (e.g. checking the contact details of the prospects in your database) to research or actual lead generation, telemarketing is one of the best ways of generating instant results.
Imagine that advert you placed, at great expense. Now imagine someone relating the contents of the ad to your key prospects in a personal, one-to-one conversation. That’s the power of telemarketing. Like direct marketing, it is completely measurable, and can be quickly turned on and off. But best of all, it is precisely targeted and with each call made, the new information gathered improves the quality of your data.
PR – Refreshes the parts advertising can’t reach
Governments and large blue chip companies employ huge teams of people to make PR work for them, and yet many smaller businesses see it as a bit of a ‘dark art’ and steer clear. And yet, PR can be nothing short of miraculous – it can generate you column inches in specific publications for a fraction of what the same space would cost you in advertising. What is more, what appears in print is under the name of a journalist and is therefore an impartial endorsement of your brand – much more compelling to a potential customer than any amount of advertising.
The other key benefit that PR has over advertising is, that in this digital age, it lives forever. Internet search results will ensure that a story keeps coming up whenever someone is interested in its subject matter. So, whether it’s a new product launch, a feel-good story about a satisfied customer or a photo opportunity of your sales team abseiling down the Blackpool Tower, you can be sure your prospects will know all about it.
The Internet – Anytime, anyplace, anywhere
There are countless ways to harness digital technology within the marketing mix, including banner ads, search engine optimisation, email marketing, SMS messaging, viral campaigns, social networking sites and much, much more. There isn’t time or space to talk about them all, so I’ll just focus on websites. Whatever your business and whoever your customers are, you are highly likely to benefit from an online presence. Whether you are actually selling over the internet or just need a shop window that demonstrates your credentials and professionalism, a website can add huge value to what you do.
Contrary to popular belief, websites don’t have to be expensive to be effective. In fact, the simplest websites are often the best, and the flashiest, most complicated ones can make for a very frustrating customer experience. The key is to engage a web company with a proven track record, which can produce something that is eye-catching but not over-complicated, is simple and intuitive to navigate and is well-written and well constructed so that the site will be easy to find in searches.
Your website can then start to work hard for you. The main costs are at start-up, so it is a relatively inexpensive way to keep your messages out there. And once up and running it can help you communicate news immediately, get feedback from your customers, generate survey results (great for those PR stories you need), replace costly newsletters, provide a library of complicated product specifications and add value for your customers by directing them to other useful resources. And best of all, it is available any time of the night or day so it never stops working. There really is no good reason not to have one!
The Marketing Mix – Your flexible friend
If your business has only ever ventured into the world of marketing through advertising, maybe it is time to try a few new elements of the marketing mix. I’ve talked about a few of them here, but there are many more, and of course an infinite number of combinations of the different elements. The best place to start might be to conduct a marketing MOT on your business - there are plenty of professionals who can help you do this, and who will then create a marketing plan with you. Best of all, I’m willing to bet that if you divert the money you’ve been spending on advertising into a mix of marketing tools, you’ll get a much better return on your investment, and be able to measure exactly what works best for you. Create a much harder-working marketing strategy. Because you’re worth it.