In the last couple of years, I’ve noticed an increased focus on tying revenue to marketing tactics. I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of where this has taken us. While I do believe in the importance of ROI, if it’s emphasized too much, we see people fall into the trap of systemic, rote marketing.
The strategies may be considered tried and true, but the problem is that the market changes. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. On top of that, “tried and true” can turn into “rinse and repeat.” That’s not our thing. We think of compelling stories and experiences to drive the right behaviors from your audience.
I get it: There’s fear that an idea won’t work. There’s also a fear about making the numbers. But marketing should be about creativity and human connection as well as driving results. It should be about finding unique ways to tell a story.
Performance marketing can be entertaining and fun while still making the numbers. Of course, those objectives need to be realistic. I just heard from a client that their executives want to see seven times return on investment. You may be able to reach that with a well-crafted campaign, but that ROI goal may not be suitable for every project.
Performance marketing should be tightly integrated with customer experience. (More thoughts on that in my next blog post!) A customer does need to make a journey. Some investments might not deliver pipeline but rather influence it. Some tactics also require more investment to break free from the noise…especially if you don’t create unique, standout content or ads.
And if you don’t see results from an idea you thought was great, it’s actually something to look deeper into. What does that tell you about your audience? How can you adjust your tactics for your next idea? Or is there something wrong with your tracking, if you’re seeing good engagement and click-throughs but no conversion?
Didn’t we go into marketing to have fun? Let’s take smart risks. Let’s find the balance of telling stories in new, inventive ways while still driving direct response.
Want to garner successful results while having more fun? Contact us for a marketing assessment.