January 23rd, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
Introduction: If every marketing effort you pursue is successful, then it’s screamingly clear that you need help. A sky-high success rate means you aren’t being aggressive enough – and you’re probably leaving ROI on the table. This week, we’ll dig into the opportunities that come from unsuccessful marketing efforts – and not the “learn from experience” kind. The concept of learning from your mistakes is old and established: we all know the drill. Instead, I’m talking about the salient and immediate efforts of a swing and a miss.
Read the article >>
Are you trying hard enough?: In IT marketing departments and businesses around the world, the fear of failure is endemic. Nobody wants to have to explain why something didn’t work … let alone carry the stigma of an unsuccessful attempt. This phobia, unfortunately, is costing companies ROI. As we mentioned yesterday, if you’re doing everything right, you’re really doing everything wrong. You should be stretching for bigger results. Take the risk, and you may trade a few unsuccessful for campaigns for a much higher overall marketing ROI.
Read the article >>
Which ROI is important?: The biggest mistake you can make is to evaluate success exclusively on a campaign-by-campaign basis: it costs you a view of the whole (and some ROI). Don’t misunderstand: metrics for every campaign should be scrutinized; you can learn a lot from them. Your principal measure of success, however, should be much broader.
Read the article >>
Define your risk profile: An aggressive approach to marketing may not be right for your company. After all, some businesses are uncomfortable with risk, while others thrive on it. What’s important, however, is that you know what type of company yours is in regards to marketing risk and return.
Read the article >>
Plan for growth: Even if your company values a steady, conservative approach to marketing, you may have more latitude than you realize. Reflected on your recent programs, and think about what you could have done differently. Challenge yourself to identify missed opportunities. Use them as the backbone of a marketing plan that you can submit to your executive team (enter:marketing can help you put it together), and show how you could increase your company’s marketing ROI.
Read the article >>
Click here to receive enter:marketing blog updates by e-mail >>
January 21st, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
Even if your company values a steady, conservative approach to marketing, you may have more latitude than you realize. Reflected on your recent programs, and think about what you could have done differently. Challenge yourself to identify missed opportunities. Use them as the backbone of a marketing plan that you can submit to your executive team (enter:marketing can help you put it together), and show how you could increase your company’s marketing ROI.
And, change the way you evaluate success.
Specific program performance is important, but it could obscure greater opportunities, causing you to miss significant chances to contribute to company growth. Program results are for learning, aggregate returns determine success.
Take a few risks, even small ones, and your company will be rewarded.
Previous articles in this series:
Introduction >>
Are you trying hard enough? >>
Which ROI is important? >>
Define your risk profile >>
Click here to receive enter:marketing blog updates by e-mail >>
January 20th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
An aggressive approach to marketing may not be right for your company. After all, some businesses are uncomfortable with risk, while others thrive on it. What’s important, however, is that you know what type of company yours is in regards to marketing risk and return.
Read the rest of this entry »
January 19th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
The biggest mistake you can make is to evaluate success exclusively on a campaign-by-campaign basis: it costs you a view of the whole (and some ROI). Don’t misunderstand: metrics for every campaign should be scrutinized; you can learn a lot from them. Your principal measure of success, however, should be much broader.
To help clarify this point, take a look at the admittedly oversimplified case studies below. Adjust for the realities of your business, and you’ll still see how you could get more out of your marketing budget.
Read the rest of this entry »
January 18th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
In IT marketing departments and businesses around the world, the fear of failure is endemic. Nobody wants to have to explain why something didn’t work … let alone carry the stigma of an unsuccessful attempt. This phobia, unfortunately, is costing companies ROI. As we mentioned yesterday, if you’re doing everything right, you’re really doing everything wrong. You should be stretching for bigger results. Take the risk, and you may trade a few unsuccessful for campaigns for a much higher overall marketing ROI.
The best parallel out there can be found in the venture capital industry. VCs plan for a certain degree of failure in their portfolios. The goal is for the winners to be so big that hey compensate for the losers and still deliver outsized returns overall. The risks are high – but measured. In fact, steps are taken to balance the risk in a VC portfolio to ensure (to the extent possible) a positive outcome.
The point is that VCs don’t believe that every investment has to be successful: they look at the net outcome. IT marketing departments could benefit from a similar, though less extreme, approach. Plan for a certain number of marketing programs to fall flat, and measure success by the net outcome of all your programs. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Plan thoroughly and execute well, and you’ll be surprised by the impact to your top line.
Previous articles in this series:
Swing for the fences: Introduction >>
Click here to receive enter:marketing blog updates by e-mail >>
January 17th, 2010 - Posted in Solution Provider Services by Tim Freestone
If every marketing effort you pursue is successful, then it’s screamingly clear that you need help. A sky-high success rate means you aren’t being aggressive enough – and you’re probably leaving ROI on the table. This week, we’ll dig into the opportunities that come from unsuccessful marketing efforts – and not the “learn from experience” kind. The concept of learning from your mistakes is old and established: we all know the drill. Instead, I’m talking about the salient and immediate efforts of a swing and a miss.
Starting Monday, we’ll look at the benefits of an imperfect success rate from several angles. Everybody wants to deliver an overwhelming success every time, but life rarely works out that way. So, enter:marketing will show you how to extract the most value from your marketing budget, balancing risk and stability to optimize your investment.
Click here for a page to bookmark for the “Swing for the Fences″ series >>
Click here to receive enter:marketing blog updates by e-mail >>
Swing for the fences: Series index
