15 Jan Marketing is an economics problem
I think we need to consider marketing as though it were an economics problem. In economics, data is sliced and diced many different ways, but the primary divider is macro and micro. In other words, one is a 10,000 foot level and the other is the “lift the hood check out the date on the valve” level.
Once a quarter, look at your marketing as it ties into your business from a macro level. For example, ask yourself if the combination of marketing tactics you’re using are bringing in more business overall. Is any one tactic working better than others? Are you measuring results against realistic objectives? Every three months give your marketing efforts a report card, adjust and move forward with confidence. That’s macro marketing.
Micro marketing looks at it from the bottom up. Take suggested tactics – and these could be ones that are working for a competitor, ones you’ve read about, or anything – and test them. NOT with “did they bring in more business” but with realistic measurements. For example, if it’s an online campaign, measure the conversion to your website. If it’s an ad, measure the hits on your website or the volume of calls. Better yet, measure your salesperson’s conversions…are they getting better response to their cold calls? Have customers heard of them when they call, when they hadn’t before? Come up with the measurements that lead to more business.
Micro marketing is about breaking it down…figuring out all the steps that lead up to more business. You need to know how to measure if each marketing technique to taking you further down the road. Today it’s not one technique that’s going to work. It’s the synergy of those tactics that brings in more business. Forget about a marketing plan. Take a look at your own little “economy” from a macro perspective regularly. And micro adjustments? I’m sorry, but today the guys getting it done are doing this constantly, weekly if not daily.