Your Marketing IQ
“No one can follow you
if you don’t know where
you are heading”
This guide is an extension of a range of questions Brighter
Marketing have used at seminars and events to help
Managing Directors and company owners to assess their
marketing IQ.
There are a series of questions that will help you to assess
how intelligent your marketing planning is. Take a look at
each of the questions, answer them honestly and find out
where you can make improvements to the marketing of your
organisation.
Have you consciously determined what you want your
organisation to be?
Do you have a vision for your company, do you know
what you want it to be, in more than just financial terms?
It is vitally important that you understand where you are
heading, as this impacts of the nature of your marketing.
For example, if you want to build a nationally recognised
online company over the next 5 years, this will require a
significant marketing investment. However, if you want to
develop a regional business through organic growth, it
requires a totally different approach to marketing.
Have you defined a strategy to help you achieve your
vision? Do you know the specifics of it and is it
flexible to change?
Once you know where you are heading you need to
ensure that you have a plan to get you there. You need
to know what are the key milestones for your business’
development and what part marketing will play in this.
Do other key managers share the same vision and
have they contributed to the strategy?
It is important that the board of directors and other key
managers are united in the direction of the business.
They should have an input in the strategy and be clear
on their roles and responsibilities. If they are all pulling in
different directions then any marketing that you undertake
may not be supported by the sales function or signed off
by the Finance Director.
Is your strategy clear, so that the management team
agrees on the products and services to be offered
and the markets you are operating in?
If you don’t have a clearly defined product or service
portfolio then it makes effective marketing difficult, as you
aren’t focused on which products and services to
promote. Moreover, if your target market(s) aren’t defined
then you could be selling products and services to a
market place that doesn’t want or need them.
Are your marketing objectives aligned to your company strategy?
If your company direction is clear, then you must make
sure that your marketing objectives are linked to where
you want to go. Otherwise the marketing direction you
choose to get you there will lead you down the wrong
path. Many companies set their marketing objectives
without thinking about how will it impact on their core
company objectives.
Take some time to think about what you want marketing
to achieve and how it can help you reach your strategy
for the business. Make sure you develop a marketing
plan that is working towards your vision and is relevant to
your company and market place.
Have marketing roles and responsibilities been
defined for marketing planning?
You must ensure that key managers are clear on their
marketing roles and responsibilities and that they know
where they are heading. Regardless of the size of the
marketing team, there should be a key person who is in
control of marketing planning, budgeting and
implementation.
Moreover, do they have the appropriate
knowledge to develop the marketing plan and the skills
to implement it. Marketing requires expertise and a
practical understanding of relevant marketing tools and
techniques to be successful. Make sure that your
marketing team have the skills to do the job.
Are you aware of the most effective marketing tools to
help you achieve your company strategy?
There is a whole range of tools and activities that can be
used to deliver an effective marketing strategy. Selecting
the right ones is critical both in terms of budget spent
and the return on investment. Choose the right ones and
you will see sales and awareness of your company
increase.
However, if you choose inappropriate marketing
tools, no matter how great they look, they will not attract
customers and deliver the revenue you are looking for.
Make sure that you choose the right tools for the job, if
you don’t have the knowledge and expertise in-house
then work with a partner who does. Marketing is not an
exact science but understanding what marketing tools
are appropriate for your business can make a big
difference to the return your get from the £s you spend
on marketing.
Have you planned your marketing and assigned
budgets to each activity?
Marketing planning is essential, without a schedule of
planned events, activities and marketing tools then you
will have a reactive approach to marketing your company.
You must plan what you want to achieve, when you want
to do it and how much it will cost.
Whether you have a
multi-million pound budget or much less, making sure
you have a proactive approach to planning spells
marketing success. If you know what you are doing and
when, you can make sure the sales team make the most
of your investment and you are ready to manage the
response to marketing campaigns and initiatives.
Take a look at more of our marketing articles
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