By Michael Desroches
A Time To Reassess
The end of the year provides the perfect time for an organization to reassess its marketing. All too often, folks go into the new year doing exactly what they did the year before – and then they wonder why nothing is changing in terms of their business (or fundraising if your organization is a non-profit).
The truth is that if you want to take your organization to the next level, your marketing should lead the way. So, if you want to:
· close more deals for your business.
· generate more leads for your salespeople.
· increase enrollment for your school.
· boost donations for your non-profit.
· drive client/donor engagement.
You need a marketing plan that will get you there. Yet many organizations don’t even know where to begin – mainly because they have not set clear marketing goals and objectives.
If that sounds like your organization, the first thing you need to determine for 2020 is what your primary goal is in tangible, trackable form. Is it getting one new client a month? Enrolling 30 more students? Increasing your average donation? Getting more traction on social media? Generating more clicks on your landing pages? Whatever it is, make certain that it is a measurable goal - and then write it down so everyone in your organization knows it and understands the reasons behind why it is important. (More click throughs on a landing page, for example, translate into more people obtaining information about your organization, which in turn results in more sales/donations.)
If you already know what your goals are, it’s time to see whether or not you met them. (If you are just establishing your goals, this assessment will serve as your baseline of comparison during your next evaluation, which ideally would be mid-year.)
First and foremost, look at your goals and see if you hit them. Did your client/donor base expand? Did you close more sales or boost enrollment?
Then, see how your marketing contributed to those numbers.
Did an annual appeal generate the response you needed? Did a social media push help? Did folks respond to a video appeal you did – or was a print marketing piece what generated the most return? Did you gain more followers on your social media platforms? Objectively look at every piece of marketing you did and take the time to evaluate how well it worked versus what it cost.
If you don’t have the numbers on your marketing pieces, let this be the time and place where you begin to make a concerted effort to get them. Of course, numbers are not the final word on marketing effectiveness. Brand recognition is difficult to track. Was it the full-color brochure that got your donor/client to respond, the postcard reminder, a later email, an ad they saw during a football game, a personal phone call – or more likely, a combination of all of the above. While you might have data on that final step that made them pull the trigger, you can never underestimate the hidden, cumulative impact of touching a client or donor multiple times in diverse ways.
Once you determine which pieces worked – keep them and hone them so they work even better in 2020. If there are places where you are falling short – and they are important enough to keep – it might be time to bring in some outside assistance. If year-end campaigns aren’t generating the holiday sales you need or the donations that you require, the time to fix it is NOW – not in December 2020.
Yes, we are biased.
This is, after all, what we do.
But there’s a valid reason for that bias.
Because we know we’ll hear from organizations in November 2020 who want to “fix” what went wrong last December.
The reality is that marketing is a long game that you should be putting first.
To use my favorite analogy: You can’t get to the playoffs and then tackle what’s been inconsistent with your team all season. The best time to get off to the right start is during training camp or better yet – OTAs (for those who follow the NFL – you’ll get this reference).
And that’s where marketing pros can come in and help.
We can look at your objectives and help you form an overall strategy of how to get where you need to be by connecting in a genuine way with the audience you need to reach. We then come up with the specific tactics that will get you there – whether that’s a social media schedule, a drip email campaign, direct mail offerings, website rebrand, video offerings or more.
And there’s simply no better time to start formulating and then implementing that strategy then at the beginning of the year – while your organization is in training mode, so to speak.
Want to grab a coffee and chat about getting your 2020 game plan in place? Email me and we’ll get it scheduled – before your January calendar gets filled with meetings that just kick the ball down the field instead of helping you reach your ultimate goal.
About Michael Desroches
Michael Desroches is a corporate marketing consultant, brand strategist, speaker, trainer andmentor. The Founder and Principal of Woodbridge, Connecticut-based Brand Inspiration has spent more than two decades helping corporations, nonprofit organizations, mid-sized companies and small businesses here in the northeast and across the country. He and his team help clients uncover their most unique traits and translate them into creative marketing that inspires donors to give, customers to buy, and people to trust. Learn more at www.michaeldesrochesonline.com.
