By Garry Hojan
Our Solution
I’ll get to the answer to the question in a minute, first I’d like to speak to marketing in general.
Perceptions of marketing range the gamut from “we don’t do any marketing,” “we’ve grown through word of mouth,” “marketing is just so people don’t think we’ve disappeared,” to a “no marketing, no sales” perception.
Elon Musk says Tesla does no marketing of their Tesla products, and they do, in fact, sell products. I disagree with his statement of not marketing their products since he regularly receives national and international primetime air and publication coverage where he provides product exposure.
He happens to get that for free, nice huh?
I know I, and likely many of you, are not in that same situation. I doubt that I’m going to be asked to guest on Bloomberg Business News anytime soon, so If I want to grow the company I am stewarding, I need to market.
I hired a writer and marketer (Ferrero Agency) to help me, and we started this newsletter as one way to share value by answering your questions.
I enjoy answering questions that can provide value, but I enjoy the fact that content marketing campaigns generally cost 62% less to launch and maintain compared to other types of campaigns, according to Forbes Advisor.
Here’s what we work on as an example of what you might want to work on for the coming year.
Planning for next year starts with reviewing this year and analyzing our marketing performance. Part of that is examining how many of you read and responded to newsletters, website, and social media posts.
I also attend trade shows from time to time, so I’ll examine how those performed in providing real connections and, ultimately, revenue. Are there any new shows I should attend? Should I drop any?
Questions to consider: What are your company’s goals for the upcoming year? Is your marketing plan aligned? If you plan on growing revenue $1M by word of mouth next year, what does that look like in practical terms? Do you need other forms of marketing to help accelerate awareness, connections, conversations, and growth to ensure the goal happens?
You can “let it ride” and grow organically (read as unintentionally), or you may have an audacious growth and revenue goal requiring more deliberate attention and resources. Choosing which of these courses to take directly affects your goal results, positively or negatively, for the next 12 months and beyond.
Some other marketing things that I look at nearing year-end that you may consider as well:
- Do you have a mediocre goal, or an audacious goal for where you want to be?
- Review if you understand your ideal customers (target audience) well enough in your marketing.
- Review any aerospace trends you should incorporate into your marketing.
- What is your competitive landscape? How are they marketing? Do you need to adjust for this?
- What is a “normal” marketing budget in your specific industry sector? Check your budget and allocate it upfront. Are you being consistent and flexibly adjusting as new data dictates?
- Are there any emerging technologies that are specific to developing a marketing strategy that aligns with business goals, including customer insights, market research, competitor analysis, emerging trends, social media landscape, data analytics, and ROI calculations to guide my decision-making? In layman’s terms, look for better, easier, automated ways to improve marketing and ROI.
On marketing budgets: 4% of sales used to be the norm across all industry sectors. Today, 5% is considered the bare minimum for any industry to maintain its presence. Statistically, growth requires more investment, in the order of 15-25% of sales.
When thinking of marketing for the coming year, consider what will get you the most exposure to the widest audience (within your niche) combined with a differentiating and compelling value that, when they’re ready, makes them think of you as their provider. Consistent repetition keeps you in mind as the provider.
It doesn’t have to be complex, expensive, or a time suck if done right.
Finally, don’t confuse marketing and sales. Sales are about closing deals and generating revenue through direct interaction with customers. Conversely, marketing takes a broader approach, creating awareness, building relationships, and driving long-term sales growth. While marketing and sales have different goals, they are complementary and work together to attract and convert prospects into customers.
Need help with your marketing strategy? Let’s chat.
