Change your Marketing spend – or be left behind.
We are not the bearers or bad news – just the truth. Things have changed. Everywhere. Period.
As humans we are creatures of habit, even writing that phrase ‘creatures of habit’ is… well… habit. We are used to being in our zones of comfort. We use clichés and repeat pep-talks, like “It has too end some time!” or “We’ll all be stronger for it afterwards!”. We are happy in our comfort zones and unless we really (really!) have to, we’d prefer not to leave them.
Even now, with much of the financial sector worth less than the paper it is written on and the real estate sector on its knees, and the automotive industry in never-seen-before troubles we think and hope that there is some magic turn-around. Maybe next week, when trading starts on Wall Street, Tokio, Frankfurt or Dubai – maybe then there will be better news. Surely it is just a matter of time until some bright spark has the idea that saves the world and we can continue driving our car and we can continue living in that expensive apartment. Sorry, but this is not Hollywood.
Here’s the truth – it will not happen like that. Even if it were to happen like that, it would fall down as fast as it rose up again, unless something changes. It is widely documented that marketing budgets have been slashed and activity reduced. And that is a wise move – to some degree. But not in isolation.
Mind-sets have changed
It doesn’t help to merely reduce budgets and continue spend it on the same activities as before. We wouldn’t be in this mess, if what we were doing before had worked. That is the truth. Even if you spent twice the money you were spending before and spent it on the same things – it wouldn’t make it any more effective.
The reason for this is that people’s mind-set and outlook on life and business have changed. That is true both for consumers as well as businesses. What does that mean for businesses?
You have got to change what you are doing, even if that takes you out of your comfort zone.
Some thoughts you might be having right now:
1. “I don’t want to stick my neck out, only to be the scapegoat if it goes wrong”
2. “If I keep quiet I will just try and weather the storm and things will pick up later in the year”
3. “I would love to do something different, but the budget just isn’t available at the moment”
If you are thinking any of these at the moment – and it is only natural if you do – then please consider these thoughts as well:
1. “If you don’t stick your neck out you and your company will not get ahead or stand out from the crowd. It has never been easier to stand out from the crowd as now. Somebody else will actually do what you are only thinking of doing and that company will take your market share, because you are staying quiet.”
2. “If you keep quiet now, you may not weather the storm. Businesses are looking to natural leaders to get them out of the crisis. Leader act.”
3. “Budgets are available – maybe they are reduced, but they are available. They are just being spent on the same as before because of the concerns in points 1. and 2.
Change your marketing spend
At the latest in point 3 is where things will start to fall down. Spending your marketing budget the way you did before simply will now work anymore. What does that mean? You have to start thinking differently about your marketing spend. Marketing exists to facilitate Sales. If your marketing spend is not achieving that then you have to change it.
The only way you can, and should, change it is by knowing what it will achieve ahead of time, instead of finding out what it can achieve after you have spent it. In other words – what ever you get out of it has to be tangible and measurable.
Make your marketing a profit center, make it work for your sales guys. Ask them what it is they need to make sales – don’t be led by what the company has done and spent its marketing budget on for the last 5 years. Go back to basics and ask your front-line guys what their challenges are.
Make the first move
This may well mean that you need to knock on the door of your Director or CEO. And that in itself may give you shivers down your spine… Maybe you are the CEO or Director… Here’s one last truth for today – nobody’s been fired for making pro-active and good suggestions.
We can help, as we have done for a wide variety of our clients. We design programs around your challenges and make them work for you. We are results driven and we will challenge your status-quo. Give us a call and we’ll come and see you for a chat.
