Building Marketing Maintenance

Learn how to measure the success of your marketing efforts with simple best practices.

The term “marketing maintenance” refers to retaining your product’s share in the particular market(s) you operate in. It doesn’t mean ignoring marketing performance or putting a campaign on autopilot…that’s when horror stories happen. Building marketing that really resonates with customers often requires stepping back from your product and focusing on their problem first. It’s important to evaluate where you are now so you can decide where to go next.

So you might be wondering, where do I start?

Find the actual need

Have a clear idea of what your customer needs and determine how you can add the most value. This means the features and benefits you’re touting address meaningful pain points for your customers. One simple way to do this is asking for feedback. Basic customer research and user testing will reveal why customers buy from you and how they use your product once they do. This may uncover a use you haven’t thought of, a need you haven’t addressed or an additional approach that could open up a new target market.

Generate brand desire

Speaking of emotions, be sensitive to communicating in ways that are helpful, especially during uncertain times. Put the consumer front and center by offering relevant messages for products and services without appearing self-serving. Some verticals have increased their sales opportunities by rethinking communications processes.

For example:

• Lounge wear, underwear and socks sales have increased because we
  want to feel comfortable at home.
• Grooming tools have skyrocketed since we now do it ourselves.
• Home exercise programs and online education programs have seen
  massive sales spiked due to gyms and schools being closed.
• Home improvement and furniture stores are busy because people
  notice necessary home repairs, begin outdoor projects and upfit their
  home offices.

Implement without friction

Once you have your target customer and core message figured out, be sure to provide a clear path for what happens next. Are they visiting a landing page? Downloading an app? Making a purchase? Sharing some feedback? An engaged customer you have built trust with is more than happy to go on a journey with you. Make it fun, interesting, and above all, easy.

And keep in mind that figuring out the most frictionless solution often
involves testing. So set-up some A/B scenarios. Spin-up two landing pages.
Send out two versions of a postcard. Try different messages on social
media. The good news is that the tools we all have available make tests like these easy to do.

Track the “right” metrics

Establish performance metrics that display the real day-to-day results of your marketing progress. Adidas invested in performance-driven metrics to grow sales very quickly. With an advertising split of 23% for brand and 77% for performance, they discovered their brand equity, not digital advertising, drove 65% of sales across wholesale, retail and ecommerce channels. By over-investing in digital advertising, Adidas focused on a short-term goal (driving online sales) instead of taking into account any long-term goals (supporting the brand reputation). Now they use a “test-and-learn” approach to connect with consumers through emotional, brand-driving activity.

Remember, good solutions spring from clear problems and mark the
beginning of your path toward marketing success!

RESOURCES

Articles

Adidas: We over-invested in digital advertising — Adidas admits that a focus
on efficiency rather than effectiveness led it to over-focus on ROI and
over-invest in performance and digital at the expense of brand building.

16 Advertiser Categories Increasing Their Spending During Coronavirus And
Tips For Doing It Right — In this time of coronavirus, when so many product
categories are slashing advertising budgets in response to sales
precipitously dropping off a cliff, these 16 industry categories are
increasing their spending.

CX in 2020: Changing Customer Habits Due to COVID-19 — If you don’t
understand how COVID is fundamentally reshaping customer habits and
preferences, then nothing else will really matter.

Books

Measure What Matters — Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr reveals how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google achieve explosive growth — and how it can help any organization thrive.

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This — The classic guide to creating great advertising now covers all media: Digital, Social, and Traditional. In this book, you’ll learn how to tell brand stories and create brand experiences online and in traditional media outlets, and you’ll learn more about the value of authenticity, simplicity, storytelling, and conflict.

Get to Aha! — Andy Cunningham has been at the forefront of tech and innovation since day one, and she’s been helping companies create new product categories ever since. This book takes a different approach to discovering a company’s core before creating the look and feel of the brand.

Podcasts

Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman — The best startup advice from Silicon Valley and beyond. Iconic CEOs share the stories and strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands.

Brought to you by… — Surprising stories about how the biggest household name brands affect our lives and culture — for better or worse.

My First Million — Unlike other “business” podcasts, hosts Shaan Puri and Sam Parr aren’t here to criticize entrepreneurs or tell you why making money or business building is evil. They aim to do the exact opposite.

Honestly is available for marketing, advertising, design and software engagements. Learn more about our work by visiting Honestly’s homepage.