The Value of Marketing Planning

As we head into a new year, I think it’s appropriate to talk about what to do to help position your business for success. In these times of fluidity, investing in marketing is an essential business building block.

The reason marketing is so valuable is its effects. Marketing affects attitudes through brand awareness and reputation management; it encourages behaviors like brand loyalty, and of course, it’s strongly connected to financial success by generating leads and facilitating sales.

Every business needs marketing planning. Especially now, when all of us are changing how we shop, play, learn, network, and socialize. Does your current marketing plan address those changes?

Consistency Pays Off

Research and business data from the past 80 years or so shows that consistent marketing, through both the hard times and the good times, leads to significantly better business growth over time compared to stopping marketing during downturns. Frequency over quantity will prevail.

• The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 87 percent of us have strong trust in a brand message after seeing it across six different channels, compared to 13 percent who have strong trust in a message after just one viewing.
• Consumers who trust a brand are more than twice as likely to be the first to buy the brand's new products. They are also more than twice as likely to stay loyal to a brand they trust, even in the face of disruption.

An Integrative Approach

To have a sustainable meaningful relationship with your target audiences today, you must consistently be in touch through a variety of channels—including anything and everything from drip email blasts, to Spotify ads, to webinars, to Instagram influencer campaigns. You need to be wherever they consume marketing content – especially on digital and virtual channels – and be ready to sell to them through E-commerce.

Agency Support Versus In-House Marketing

Often, retaining an experienced marketing agency can be a better value in the long run, compared to hiring an in-house marketing staff.

A marketing agency has a team, representing an array of specialties, to manage your account. To run a comparable in-house marketing department, you would need to hire a marketing director and/or manager, copywriter, graphic designer, SEO and analytics expert, social media manager, digital paid ads specialist, and marketing automation specialist.

Aside from salary, you’ll need to spend on benefits, office space and equipment, and training programs.

Other Places to Find Value With Your Agency

Selecting the right marketing agency will save time and money. A few suggestions on what to look for:

Multiple Specialties – It’s always better to go with an agency that has multiple marketing disciplines represented on its staff, so you can work with a "one-stop shop" that doesn't need to outsource expertise.

Flexible payment methods – Depending on your needs, you may be better-served overtime keeping an agency on retainer, which provides you with a known expense in your monthly budget.  In other cases, it could make more sense to pay on a per-project or hourly basis.

Size and Location – Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, and in fact, larger agencies have greater overhead and personnel expenses that get passed along to their clients. Those overhead costs are higher in cities, too. Hiring an agency outside a major metro area will almost always be less expensive.

Marketing should be a given line item in your budget, as it’s always a worthwhile investment in your business. You may need to wait a while to see a direct correlation between your efforts and a measurable return, but it will happen. Working with a marketing agency will help you get to that point most effectively and efficiently.

By Debbe, President & CEO | December 3, 2020