Marketing Isn’t Free
It’s 2019 and there are a lot of free things out there: free apps, free tools, free help. But there’s one thing that isn’t completely free: effective marketing.
By free, we don’t just mean a monetary cost, although if you really want good marketing, you will eventually need to invest some dollars. But you’ll also have to invest resources – your time, your thought, your team. While it isn’t necessary to dedicate a huge marketing budget to execute some basic marketing – especially for small businesses and startups – there are still costs associated.
As much as we’d all like marketing to be a “set it and forget it” prospect, it simply isn’t. There is not just one magical thing you’ll do – digital advertising, content, PR – that will keep the machine running. The world moves too fast and thus, so must your marketing.
Understand What You Need
Marketing is an oft misunderstood element of business. Many people don’t know where it fits in or what it should support. They’re not sure what programs it entails, and there are a wide array of different types of marketing agencies out there: content specialists, SEO, digital marketing, advertising, social media marketing and more. Disagreements often abound about what equates to a marketing qualified lead (MQL), what marketing’s responsibility should be, and even how much to invest in it. We’ve had prospects inquire about marketing help, only to find out that what they really want is appointment setting services. These are not the same thing.
There are certainly opportunities to execute effective marketing campaigns on small budgets. Neil Patel shares 23 affordable and smart marketing techniques in this blog. But you’ll note that he points out there is still a cost – your time.
Set Expectations Based on Reality
If you do not have the time to invest in marketing efforts, you cannot expect success. If you partner with or hire a marketing consultant or agency but do not participate in the campaigns, they will fail. They simply cannot be successful working in a vacuum. As a brand’s CMO or Director of Marketing – or even a small business or startup owner – you have to be involved to some degree. Even if the agency creates brilliant content, you need to approve it. If the agency secures a speaking opportunity, you or someone at the company must accept it and do it. Perhaps the marketing consultant brings in a qualified lead but you can’t come to an agreement on the working contract with the prospect. Or, maybe your agency creates a compelling landing page with downloadable content but no one follows up on the form leads. These all take time, and without your investment, it can look like marketing has failed when in fact, they have not. If the marketing campaigns bring prospects and opportunities to the door, but you and your team don’t have time or resources to follow through, it is not a marketing fail.
Track Success and Understand Attribution
Which brings us to another point – understand where marketing ends and hands the baton to sales. Track and be clear where leads generate, how long deals take to close, and where prospects fall off if they don’t close. Too often, a MQL will fail to come to fruition in the sales process – so is that a marketing issue or a sales or product issue? Again, it will take an investment of your time and analysis to track and measure results.
At the end of the day, nothing is free. In this day and age of paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) content, there are certainly more opportunities than ever to execute cost-conscious marketing campaigns, which is great. Be sure to set realistic expectations and clear boundaries and assignments – for yourself, for your boss and for any executive or agency with whom you are working. Only then will you truly reap the benefits of your investment.