CMO Perspectives: Mike Millett Of Stratus Building Solutions On Where to Assign Your Marketing Budget and Why
An Interview With Kieran Powell
Communication and Collaboration — At Stratus, we emphasize the importance of keeping our franchisees in the loop, particularly about the balance between performance-driven campaigns and brand awareness. We believe that top-of-funnel campaigns are vital for brand longevity, as a strong brand not only enhances close rates but also significantly boosts conversions. By encouraging a culture of collaboration, we ensure our marketing efforts are aligned with broader business goals. This integrated approach maximizes our marketing effectiveness.
In an age where marketing landscapes are rapidly evolving and consumer behaviors are constantly shifting, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) play a pivotal role in steering their organizations’ marketing strategies towards success. With a plethora of channels, platforms, and techniques at their disposal, the decision on where to allocate the marketing budget is more critical than ever. We’re seeking to explore questions like: What factors influence their decisions? How do they balance between digital and traditional marketing channels? What role does data play in their decision-making process? And importantly, why they choose to invest in certain areas over others? As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Millett.
Mike Millett, Vice President of Marketing at Stratus Building Solutions, brings decades of marketing expertise to elevate the brand’s presence in the commercial cleaning industry. His focused strategies and dedication to brand development have been key to expanding Stratus’s market reach and reinforcing its leadership position. Through Mike’s seasoned leadership in marketing, Stratus continues to enhance its visibility and reputation, securing its success in a competitive landscape.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you got started?
My path in marketing merges a deep-seated passion for storytelling with a rigorous, data-driven methodology. Starting my career over 30 years ago, I’ve navigated through various roles, culminating in founding my own marketing agency in 1999. This agency, which specialized in serving a diverse array of clients, including non-profits, professional athletes, and companies both small and large, sharpened my ability to apply mathematical precision to creative marketing strategies.
As the Vice President of Marketing at Stratus Building Solutions, I now leverage this unique blend of analytical and interpersonal skills to drive our marketing initiatives. My focus on data and strategic solutions, informed by a rich understanding of our clients’ and franchisees’ needs, ensures that our marketing efforts are both innovative and effective. This strategy not only defines our success at Stratus but also encapsulates my personal ethos in the marketing domain.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started in personal brand building, I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. We rolled out a campaign for a client with the aim of injecting some fun and lightheartedness into her brand. We dedicated hundreds of hours to crafting videos, social posts, blogs, and ad creatives, even planning traditional direct mail and newspaper advertising. However, we made a critical oversight — we failed to involve the client in the process. As it turned out, the client had spent decades meticulously safeguarding her brand and had no interest in deviating from its established tone. The campaign, which we had poured our hearts into, fell flat. It also cost my company hundreds of hours of non-billable time. From that experience, I learned the importance of involving decision-makers early in the process, ensuring alignment, and avoiding costly missteps. Let’s just say I got a crash course in the art of client communication.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We’re thrilled about our latest initiative, which centers around a new referral program tailored specifically for our unit franchisees. The essence of this project is to amplify the recognition and rewards for something they are already doing — spreading the word about Stratus Building Solutions. Our aim is to express our gratitude by offering exclusive access to an array of enticing perks, including exclusive branded swag, enticing financial incentives, and the invaluable recognition by their peers during our esteemed end-of-year celebrations. It’s all about fostering a culture of excellence and pride among our unit franchisees, and we couldn’t be more excited to witness the positive impact this will undoubtedly have on their motivation and dedication.
Can you share an experience where a unique or unconventional budget allocation led to unexpected success in your marketing campaign?
Early in my career, I had the privilege of collaborating with a National Hockey League defenseman to enhance his online presence through innovative communication strategies. As part of our efforts to support his charity, we devised a plan to create and distribute free t-shirts to donors, allocating a modest budget of around $500. The response to these t-shirts was extraordinary — demand skyrocketed, and we ran out of the free shirts within a few hours. Recognizing this unforeseen opportunity, we swiftly incorporated the shirts into his online store. The results were astonishing as the surge in sales far exceeded our projections, demonstrating the power of seizing unconventional opportunities in marketing.
How do you balance investing in emerging marketing trends versus traditional, proven strategies in your budget decisions? Can you give us an example?
At Stratus, we adopt a cautious yet forward-thinking approach to integrating new trends into our marketing strategy. We believe in testing new trends methodically, starting with selective territories and measuring the outcomes. For instance, we recently conducted a test utilizing Google’s Performance Max advertising campaigns across four strategically chosen locations. The results were remarkable: a 12% increase in conversions and an impressive 26% boost in quality leads. This outcome underscores our commitment to embracing emerging trends while ensuring tangible returns on investment.
In what ways has data-driven decision-making influenced your approach to allocating marketing budgets, and can you provide an example of this in action?
At Stratus, data-driven decision-making is at the core of our approach to allocating marketing budgets. We prioritize analyzing numbers meticulously to ensure optimal resource allocation. For example, we recently launched a LinkedIn campaign utilizing geo-targeting across all 71 of our offices in the U.S. and Canada. The initial goal was to generate leads geographically close to our locations to minimize costs associated with transportation. However, within a few days of the campaign, we noticed discrepancies in the data. Despite adjustments to targeted demographics, the return on ad spend (ROAS) didn’t align with our expectations. Recognizing the inefficiency, we stopped the campaign and moved resources to a new Google campaign. This instance highlights our unwavering commitment to data-driven decision-making, ensuring that every marketing dollar is invested wisely for maximum impact.
How do you evaluate the ROI of different marketing channels and decide where to invest more or cut back?
At Stratus, evaluating the ROI of different marketing channels is like solving a puzzle — we’ve got the pieces, and we know how they fit together. We start with a clear understanding of how much we’re willing to invest for a QUALITY lead. Armed with data on our close rates and the average lifetime value of our customers, we can easily calculate our spending limits. But here’s the kicker: Not all leads are created equal. We focus our budget evaluation on sales-qualified leads rather than just any form fill or call. By prioritizing quality over quantity, we ensure our marketing investments deliver the best return.
Based on your experience and success, what are the “5 Things to Keep in Mind When Deciding Where to Assign Your Marketing Budget, and Why?”
1 . Understand Your Audience — Mastery of your target audience’s education, experience, desires, habits, and preferences is crucial for selecting the right marketing avenues. Initially, our founders were adamant that c-suite and sales executives were the ideal fits for the Stratus franchise system. Over the years, we’ve occasionally deviated from this model, welcoming individuals outside this demographic. These instances didn’t meet our expectations, but the shortcoming was ours for straying from our original recruitment criteria. It underscores the importance of not just understanding your audience but also maintaining steadfastness and clarity in your messaging and selection process.
2 . Track and Analyze Data — Emphasizing data-driven decisions is key. Closely monitor your marketing campaigns’ performance and scrutinize the data to discern effective strategies from the less successful ones. Our commitment to prioritizing data has enabled us to conserve hundreds of thousands in advertising expenditures by discontinuing underperforming campaigns. Redirecting resources to more successful materials, keywords, and channels has fortified our marketing approach, ensuring it is both varied and efficiently managed. In this past year alone, we’ve moved budget away from LinkedIn and increased our Google PPC spend by almost 50%. Being nimble and willing to change based on the numbers will maximize results.
3 . Focus on ROI — Focus on channels and strategies yielding the highest ROI. Allocating your budget to areas with the most significant impact is crucial. This became particularly evident during my consultancy with a major tech firm, where we faced giants like Apple, Samsung, and Google. The exorbitant cost per click in our campaigns made the default digital advertising impossible. Consequently, we shifted our emphasis towards enhancing our social media engagement and optimizing for search engines. This approach, born from a thorough ROI analysis, enabled us to hold our own against these industry behemoths effectively.
4 . Embrace Change — The world of marketing is always changing. It’s essential to be flexible and willing to tweak your strategies in response to shifts in market dynamics and consumer preferences. Don’t shy away from innovations such as AI; experiment with it. The real misstep is inaction and missing out on the lessons learned. We’ve taken the lead in embracing ChatGPT, Google’s AI Performance Max campaigns, and other cutting-edge technologies. While not every venture has been flawless, our commitment to experimentation has broadened our understanding and expertise.
5 . Communication and Collaboration — At Stratus, we emphasize the importance of keeping our franchisees in the loop, particularly about the balance between performance-driven campaigns and brand awareness. We believe that top-of-funnel campaigns are vital for brand longevity, as a strong brand not only enhances close rates but also significantly boosts conversions. By encouraging a culture of collaboration, we ensure our marketing efforts are aligned with broader business goals. This integrated approach maximizes our marketing effectiveness.
Could you discuss a challenging budget decision you faced, how you navigated it, and the impact it had on your overall marketing strategy?
Faced with the challenge of expanding the Stratus brand, we identified YouTube advertising as a promising avenue for growth. After dedicating significant time to research, we confidently allocated funds for this initiative in our upcoming budget and developed compelling creative content, including a standout 30-second advertisement and a concise 10-second variant. However, as we approached the launch, a pivotal moment arose: our ad agency highlighted that our allocated budget fell drastically short of the necessary amount for effective engagement. Their insights, confirmed by feedback from other brands with similar experiences, suggested our budget needed to be significantly increased to avoid squandering our investment. This revelation forced us to reassess our strategy. It prompted a strategic pivot, redirecting our resources to more feasible channels where our budget could make a meaningful impact. This decision not only preserved our marketing funds but also reinforced the value of adaptability and informed decision-making within our marketing strategy, ensuring that our investments were both practical and potent.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
In today’s world, where self-interest often prevails, amplified by the pervasive influence of social media and celebrity culture, there’s a growing detachment from the values of community and altruism. I believe the most transformative movement we could initiate would be a collective shift towards empathy and service to others. Imagine the ripple effect if, instead of obsessing over the viral potential of our online personas, we sought out ways to uplift and support one another in our daily lives. The reality is that life can be challenging, but it’s a journey we all share. By fostering a culture that values kindness and meaningful connections over likes and follows, we can create a more supportive, interconnected world. This change in mindset and behavior has the potential to bring about profound good, touching lives in countless positive ways.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me on LinkedIn (mikemillett).
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About The Interviewer: Kieran Powell is the EVP of Channel V Media a New York City Public Relations agency with a global network of agency partners in over 30 countries. Kieran has advised more than 150 companies in the Technology, B2B, Retail and Financial sectors. Prior to taking over business operations at Channel V Media, Kieran held roles at Merrill Lynch, PwC and Ernst & Young. Get in touch with Kieran to discuss how marketing and public relations can be leveraged to achieve concrete business goals.
