Hey Kelly – The 'No Parameters' Episode

I’ve decided to stay on the train of answering your e-mails/texts/tweets until I get to them all. So without further ado...here goes this week’s...

Ok here is what I need help with…
I am the "marketing director" for XXXXXX. My boss (the owner) wants results of course, but trying to figure out what he wants exactly or determining a marketing budget. It's like trying to nail jello to the wall. 

How do I do the job with no parameters?

I LOVE this question, because it is so honest. It comes from my little baby cousin, and it also comes from outside this industry, and, it shows that all organizations suffer from the same problems. It also shows that when you use social media, you can get great material from all walks of life—so thanks lil cuz!

Here are my thoughts, in no particular order.

1—Agree and understand what marketing is, and what it isn’t. Marketing is everything you do to place your product or service in the hands of potential customers.  Marketing is all about finding the right people to persuade. Marketing is your strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve your objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service). This is all according to the interwebs when I typed "what is marketing" into GOOGLE.

2—Start with an agreed upon goal. "We are trying to accomplish XXXXXXXX" Once you identify who your potential customers are, you decide what they need to be persuaded to do (buy from you) and how you want them to do it (visit your Website, your location, call you, fill out a form, etc.)

3—Agree on what "results" are. This could be response to a mailing, an increase in traffic to your website, an increase in sales due to a promotion or offer or an increase in the number of inquiries you get or an increase in quotes.

4—Think about the whole year and set a reasonable calendar. What promotions will occur and when? If you are blogging, how often will they release and what dates? Doing a newsletter? Decide on frequency and make sure you have enough editorial content to be of value to your clients and prospects and decide how it will be delivered. Electronically? In print? (AHEM) Having an event? Set a date that is far enough in the future to allow plenty of time for planning and execution and that enough of the people you want to be there will be able to show up.

5—Carefully plan your budget. A promotion should have something valuable to offer like an iPad or small laptop or something that is really enticing to your target market. Your event should be something that people talk about for weeks afterward, so don’t skimp on food and drink and entertainment. If you can’t spend the money, don’t do it.

Notice that I did not spend any time on ROI (return on investment) because I honestly think that is a slippery slope, and I also fell asleep that day in marketing ninja master class. So let’s just stick to the basics for now, shall we?