Episode 4Getting Better Bang for Your Marketing Bucks
There’s no shortage of ways you can spend your marketing budget. Some of the most obvious ways, however can often prove to be the least effective. The question we address in this episode is: how do you pick the option/s that will return a multiple of what you invest?
Case study
Penguin Cars & Limousines provides Australia-wide transportation services from door to terminal. Starting his company 12 years ago, Kris established a fleet that covers services in over 85 countries. One specialty is his “On Time Guarantee” policy.
It was important for Penguin Cars & Limousines to be visible online and on social media right from the start. Having a dedicated team for SEO and social media marketing helped the brand to implement a successful search strategy and to be first on Google and Facebook. They certainly invested their marketing dollars in the right way.
Case Study Key Takeouts
- Hire or engage someone who knows about marketing and can help you identify key marketing channels for your business and set up a framework for you.
- In order to figure out which channels work best in bringing in new customers, try various ways of marketing with little investment in the beginning. Measure the return on investment for each channel you try. That way you can figure out the strongest strategies and channels and invest more money in these while dropping others.
- Spend between 5 – 10% of your revenue on marketing as this will enable you to grow.
- Once you have attracted prospects think about how you can convert them into customers. Penguin Limousines, for example, offer an on-time guarantee that promises that the ride is for free if it is not on time. This gives prospects the comfort to book with them.
- Don’t make the mistake of trying to save on your marketing and stop channels that are working for you. Be sure to measure the Return on investment but be patient as the return might not become apparent immediately.
Marketing Panel
Elaine Herlihy
Director of Marketing
PayPal
Chris Mavris
CEO
Soul Origin
Ryf Quail
Managing Director ANZ
Comexposium
Panel Key Takeouts
How to get better bang for your marketing bucks
- Talk to your customer and find out how they have heard about you. This will guide you in your understanding of where to invest your marketing dollars.
- Form relationships with similar but non-competitive businesses. If you provide alterations, for instance, put your flyers in all nearby clothes shops. If you are a Financial Planner, every local accountant should know what makes you unique.
- As you grow, your spend on marketing might not necessarily have to change but remember that now the focus is not only on acquiring new customers but also looking after your existing customer base. Keep reminding your customers why they are with you and why they value you.
- Follow the 70-20-10 rule: Invest 70% of your marketing budget in tried and tested strategies, 20% to try slight changes and accelerate results and invest 10% in new untested strategies. This will enable you to learn more about which strategies work while not jeopardising the continuous acquisition of new customers.
- When thinking about how to spend your marketing budget, don’t forget to invest in yourself and your team. Help them understand new business models, formats, marketing strategies and more so you can learn about new ways of doing things that might end up being a major game changer for you and your business.
- Set up a website or business listing. Only 50% of small businesses have a website or online presence yet 62% of consumers say that they won’t use a company if they can’t be found online. This is a real opportunity for you especially if your competitors are not online.
- Ask for written or online referrals. Word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to market your business and asking for referrals and reviews drives this.
- To keep existing customers happy, make sure to not only offer incentives, discounts and more to new customers. Thank your existing customers for their business by giving them something that is only available to them as an existing (long-term) customer.
- Digital is a great way to get started with marketing as the data allows you to fairly easily work out the return on your investment.
- Outsource. Find freelancers on Upwork, Freelancer.com, Guru or other sites to find an expert to help you without having to employ someone full-time.
Should you cut prices if you have had a bad year?
- Rather than cutting prices after a bad year, look at the drivers of your business and understand the causes for an underperforming year. Don’t rashly cut prices as the reason for your bad year might have nothing to do with prices but this decision will impact the long-term profitability of your business.
- If you don’t have a big marketing budget and don’t know how to market your product, outsource this part of your business to an expert.
- As a franchisor, educate your franchisees on your plans and what you are trying to achieve. That way you can take them along the journey rather than have them question your every marketing investment.