Step three is probably the most exciting step. When companies
have strong Unique Selling Points (step 1) and have baited their
Platforms with free Offers (step 2), there is an explosion of growth
when they turn on the Marketing Arsenal (step 3). The Marketing
Arsenal includes all the various forms of marketing exposure that
exists. Though these methods are always changing, the Marketing
Arsenal's sole purpose is to give your business exposure. Most
businesses are familiar with the Marketing Arsenal and you'll likely
recognize some of these marketing concepts as ideas your
business has tried in the past. Unfortunately, most businesses
manage the Marketing Arsenal the wrong way. Remember, the
Marketing Arsenal is only part of the Four Step Marketing equation
and shouldn't stand alone. Additionally, most businesses rarely
measure their marketing effectiveness like you'll learn about in this
chapter. Thus, a company's results can be drastically different
when they implement the Marketing Arsenal as part of a complete
Four Step Marketing system.
A Weird But Fitting Name
For as long as man has roamed the planet, war has been waged. It
started out with clubs and sticks. Wood was molded into bows so
archers could rain down terror on those who would dare attack
their cities. When wood was no longer enough, the metal sword
dealt a punishing blow by knights riding on horses. Catapults
launched huge boulders crushing walls. Then someone had a novel
idea - let's launch balls of fire from our catapults. With the
invention of the cannon, black powder rifles and the revolver, war
evolved even further. Today's modern warfare includes all sorts of
drones, heat seeking technology, and various ballistic missiles.
Whether you want to admit it or not, your business is at war with
your competitors to win and gain market share. Each battle is
unique based upon your industry, business and geographic
location. For some industries, television marketing is the standard.
For other industries, internet marketing reigns supreme. Some
businesses need global reach. Others need to target prospects
right in their own backyards. Regardless of your industry or
business, each battle is unique. In summary, the weapons in the
Marketing Arsenal are all the different methods to wage a marketing
war.
The Marketing Arsenal Weapons
Here's a short list of some of the marketing methods that could be
implemented and measured in a Marketing Arsenal campaign.
Because every situation is different, not every form of marketing
would be implemented into your company's campaign.
Online Marketing Arsenal Weapons:
● Search Engine Optimization or SEO
● Local Search Marketing
● Content Marketing
● Video Marketing
● Social Media Marketing
● Video Marketing and Optimization
● Pay Per Click Marketing
● Pay Per Conversion Marketing
● Content Network Marketing
● Visitor Remarketing
● Referral Campaign Marketing
● Affiliate Program Integration
● Joint Venture Marketing
● Podcasting
● SMS or Text Message Marketing
● Mobile App Marketing
● Public Relations Marketing
Offline Marketing Arsenal Weapons:
● Direct Mail Marketing
● Radio Marketing
● Billboard Advertising
● Event Sponsorship
● Television Marketing
● Magazine or other Print Marketing
● Direct Sales Marketing
● Telemarketing
We realize that these concepts will be familiar to most readers. You
might even be tempted to dismiss step 3 as something you already
know or have tried with previous campaigns. The angst you feel
when looking at all the various forms of marketing is normal.
You've been jaded by past marketing misfires. Like bombs that
never hit their targets, you'll see that most businesses have totally
wasted their Marketing Arsenal efforts. Regardless of your past
experiences, you're going to learn a new way to use the Marketing
Arsenal . This methodical and systematic approach guarantees you'll
hit your target. But before we layout this plan, it's important to
understand why most marketing campaigns fall dreadfully short.
The Lie Most Businesses Believe About Marketing
It might sound contrary to popular belief, but most businesses
don't need to build a bigger brand. And No, you don't need to “get
your name out there” to grow sales. We've been taught this for
years, but with most businesses, it simply isn't true. Guess who told
you that repetition, slogans and your brand's exposure would grow
sales? You guessed it— the marketing agencies. Yes, the same
companies who takes your money for marketing services and don’t
measure for effectiveness. They've sold us the bag of goods that
marketing can't be measured and to see it work, you simply need
to give it time and do it over and over again.
The problem with "getting your name out there" is that it doesn't
work with today's consumer. Haven't we all become experts at
dodging commercials, ads and telemarketers? Though there's more
media now than ever, it's never been harder to capture attention.
As more and more people tune out, traditional marketing is
becoming less and less effective. Thus, the marketing that worked
for your company last year isn't as effective today. To win back the
lost attention, businesses seek out more outlandish ways to be
remembered in the future and keep investing in marketing hoping
to see a return. To that end, we keep spending and spending. We
have no idea what is effective and what isn't, so we don't dare stop
for fear the whole thing might fall apart. Like mixing hundred dollar
bills with mud, we throw our marketing dollars against the wall and
hope that something sticks. We are told to be patient and give it
time. Remember, Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
The Mistake That's Killing Your Marketing Budget
This is going to be painful for most readers. Especially if your
company has heavily invested in marketing over the years. Ready?
Based upon our experience, we estimate that the average company
flushes almost 2/3 of their entire marketing budget down the drain
every month. That's right, more than half of all marketing dollars
spent bring in very little return for most businesses. You may find
that hard to believe. How in the world can there be that much
waste? The reality is that most businesses don't correctly measure
their marketing results. You might feel confident and believe that
your company, or perhaps the marketing agency that set up your
marketing, is tracking your results. Sadly, we find that almost every
business, especially large corporations, fall miserably short when it
comes to accountable marketing. Though you may not want to
hear this, chances are very good that your business is also not
measuring marketing correctly. We’ll define the best practices here
shortly; based upon our experience, over 95% of all businesses are
totally wasting money on ineffective marketing activities that are
completely ignored.
Let that soak in for a minute. How much did you spend on
advertising last year? How about over the last ten years? What if
you had 2/3 of all that capital back right now?
Better yet, what if that wasted money was applied to something
that was actually working. It's a painful thought for most business
leaders, but over the years we've seen measurable marketing save
companies millions of dollars in wasted advertising costs. Though
they've saved small fortunes, it wasn't at the expense of their
growth. In fact, because their marketing became 100% accountable,
they continued to grow while spending considerably less money.
Imagine if you applied all the wasted money to effective marketing?
Your marketing would be 300% more effective with the same exact
marketing budget.
Measuring the Marketing Arsenal's Damage
Typically, there are two different arguments we'll hear. First, many
businesses tell us that it's impossible to measure their marketing's
effectiveness. Second, some businesses tell us they're already
measuring all of their marketing. To see how well your business
stacks up, let's clarify how the Marketing Arsenal should be measured
for effectiveness. For simplification, we'll discuss online and offline
marketing. Online marketing will relate to marketing services that
are digital or electronic. For example, online marketing would include
Google AdWords, search marketing and social media. Offline marketing
would then include items such as print advertising, television or radio
commercials, and direct mail. While there's several ways to measure the
Marketing Arsenal , we'll break this down into the very simplest
forms. Keep in mind that the collection of this data is 100% legal,
ethical and entirely invisible to your customers and prospects.
Measuring Website Traffic
To measure the visits you receive to your website, a specialty
tracking code would need to be installed. The majority of websites
do indeed have some form of website analytics installed on them,
but that doesn't mean they're measuring their marketing. In order
for website traffic to be measured, the business must use tracking
links for all of their advertising. That means, when a visitor comes
to the website, they secretly pass along tracking data telling how
they found you. Ready for this? Website traffic coming from online
and offline marketing can be measured. Yes, you read correctly. A
television commercial that drives website traffic CAN and SHOULD
be measured with tracking links. That goes for all forms of
marketing. From ads in the Yellow Pages to social media marketing
clicks. When done correctly, you'll see where all of your website
visitors originated. The second part of measuring website traffic is
to create conversion metrics. For example, when a visitor comes to
your website, what is the main objective? Is the objective to
purchase a product, request a quote, request your free Offer or call
your company? Each website visitor's actions should be tracked and
the referring marketing compared to determine what is most
effective.
Measuring Phone Calls
Before you insist that a website's analytical data doesn't reflect true
metrics, keep reading. Both online and offline marketing should
also measure the inbound phone calls generated if your company
receives phone calls. For example, your business places an ad in a
magazine. How many phone calls did it generate? When someone
sees your television commercial on late night cable, did they pick
up the phone and call you? You can only determine if this is
working if you track your inbound phone calls. What if someone
calls you while visiting your website? Good question. If prospects
visit your website and then call you, your website should also be
equipped with a call tracking script that automatically changes the
phone number based upon their marketing source. That means,
visitors coming from Google AdWords will see and call a different
phone number than visitors coming from your television
commercial.
Mind Blowing Measurable Marketing
For those of you with complex marketing campaigns, you might not
be convinced just yet. You might argue that this tracking is
"general" information and doesn't reflect an individual's actions.
For example, what if Facebook is driving the majority of the leads
but Google organic traffic is actually driving all the sales? In other
words, what if you want to know the marketing source for the
customer who spent a million dollars with you. Ready for the nail in
the coffin? You should realize that every new lead or order received
can automatically and secretly capture the original marketing
source and tie it to that user's account. When pulling their contact
record in your system, you should be able to see the marketing that
drove them to your company.
In summary, every Marketing Arsenal weapon can and should be
measured. Every website visitor can be traced back to their original
marketing source. Remember, this includes website visitors coming
from offline marketing methods as well. Additionally, each of your
marketing methods will have call tracking integration. When done
correctly, you'll be able to see how the caller first found you, even if
they're visiting your website for the first time. Depending on your
business model, micro-level measuring can be implemented which
ties the marketing source to your prospects' or customers' contact
records. There are other measurable marketing methods for
retailers and businesses with walk-in traffic. We should point out
that this is a high level overview of measurable marketing and may
be less or more complicated depending on your business model,
marketing budget and industry. Regardless, the main point is to
realize that marketing transparency is possible. Though all of this
might sound complicated or expensive, let us assure you, it is
neither.
Oblivious or a Conspiracy?
It's in our human nature to dismiss something when we don't fully
understand it. We stick our heads in the sand trying to keep
everything the way it is. After all, if measurable marketing exists to
the extent we have just explained, why haven't you heard about it?
If you've heard about it, why haven't you implemented it? Why
hasn't your marketing staff explained this further? Why hasn't your
marketing agency demanded a meeting and insisted you stop
everything in order to figure out what's working? There are some
well meaning marketers who truly don't understand the full
spectrum of measurable marketing. However, that's not the
conspiracy. The conspiracy lies with those who've suggested and
sold us the media. These billion dollar media giants profit from our
ignorance. If we don't measure correctly, we'll never realize that the
bulk of our marketing budget is being flushed right down the toilet.
The Small Business Self Sabotage
Almost all small businesses and new start-ups ignore the principle
of measurable marketing. Many believe it is too complicated to set
up and not needed for their small shop. Though they're still
spending money on advertising, it's just a line item on their
business plan. For the most part they depend on their location and
word of mouth to drive sales. Sure enough, foot traffic and a
booming economy sustain them for a couple years. However,
there's a problem. Remember, the world is changing. Soon a
competitor will expand and move in, just two blocks from your
once ideal location. They'll be well capitalized, invest heavily in
marketing and put you on the brink of bankruptcy. Just then, when
the economy hits a bump, your best customers will spend less.
You'll remember portions of this book and decide it's time to start
measuring your marketing.
The Big Business Botch
Big businesses, yes companies spending millions upon millions of
dollars every month, also botch measurable marketing. Television
advertising swallows huge portions of their advertising budgets
without ever being tracked for effectiveness. These same
companies fork over millions of dollars to Google, Facebook and
other advertising agencies without ever really knowing what's
happening. Advertising costs continue to rise while the return on
investment is never discussed. The big business continues to spend
because it believes spending is the only way to stay on par with
their competition.
Yes, there is a better way. When a business sets up conversion
metrics, the data becomes crystal clear. There's no more guessing.
No more hoping. The business can now see what is driving
revenues and what isn't. It can stop wasting money and apply the
wasted funds to marketing that is generating a return. Keywords
are cut from pay per click campaigns. Some print advertising is
cancelled. The social budget is pulled back. Changes aren't
implemented ignorantly. No, these changes are coming from the
data that is guiding the ship. What a powerful feeling to be able to
tell the salesman from the Yellow Pages that he’s fired because the
thousands spent with his marketing only generated 15 calls and 2
sales last year. How wonderful it is to cut half your pay per click
budget without missing a single lead! You can now fire an ad
agency that doesn't deliver because you're NOW MEASURING
everything. You see what works and what doesn't.
Wait! What's that sound?
As you replace wasted dollars with effective marketing dollars,
you'll feel the business start to rumble. With each marketing
adjustment, you'll see an increase in sales, leads and traffic. Money
that was wasted will be allocated to campaigns that are driving
revenues. At last, your business is in control of your marketing
dollars. Like a faucet, you can turn on your marketing and control
its flow and thus control your growth. Implementing measurable
marketing just makes sense. Even if your company had lousy
Unique Selling Points , and bypassed database building with
Platforms and Offers , it would still save you a boatload of cash.
However, for companies who follow the other steps, there's even
more good news when it comes to the Marketing Arsenal.
Driving Sales for Today and Tomorrow
Obviously measurable marketing will increase your exposure and
sales. Immediate results can be felt, but that's not the only benefit
for businesses that practice Four Step Marketing. Because the
Marketing Arsenal (Step 3) is measured, it drives prospects and
customers to your organization's Platforms and Offers (Step 2).
Because you've provided this incentive, they share their personal
contact information and give you permission to follow-up in the
future. As you'll learn in our next chapter, we'll create a system for
sharing your Unique Selling Points (Step 1) thus increasing
conversions and customer loyalty.
For example, a radio ad ( Marketing Arsenal ) might encourage
listeners to call ( Platform ) a local dentist for a special FREE
turbo-cleaning toothbrush ( Offer ). Every prospective patient who
calls the company would be asked if they'd like to receive this
amazing FREE gift just for calling in. Obviously, the staff would also
ask them if they'd like to make an appointment. Regardless of
booking the appointment, the prospect's name, email, phone
number and mailing address would be added to the database
when they request the toothbrush. Another example might be a
local magazine ad ( Marketing Arsenal ) pointing readers to a local
restaurant ( Platform ) to receive a free dessert ( Offer ). Or perhaps a
coffee company uses a remarketing ad ( Marketing Arsenal ) to
provide a free sample ( Offer ) when they click over to the website
( Platform ). You see, the Marketing Arsenal does drive immediate
sales, but it also provides exposure to your company's free Offers.
We're not done yet though as we still have one last step to
discover. You'll see how everything comes together, and how your
Unique Selling Points will be continually communicated to your
customers and prospects.
Get ready for the light bulb to come on.
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