Marketing Questions
Each month, our best-in-class Marketing Consultants and Client Managers provide responses to marketing questions or marketing dilemmas.
This Month's Question
With the impact of the recession, has more of your time been spent on marketing execution rather than strategy?
Review the Strategy: I see few companies really reviewing the strategy in light of the recent economic changes and therefore modifying their marketing execution from previous practice. In my view, there is need to first review the strategy from zero base; i.e. where, why, who, how, when, with what. For example, the exponential changes in online and social networking for B2B purposes calls for a fundamental review of marketing communication practices. To focus on execution without reviewing strategy risks making investments to go backwards.
Revisit and Refine: All companies should/will spend more time on execution versus strategy regardless of economics. Having said that, I have been revisiting strategy more often that in previous years because of the dynamic business environment we are in.
Social media and marketing is a key example. As we execute and measure in the pursuit of continuous improvement, we will often revisit our strategy and replicate it or refine it depending on results. Our goals have remained consistent but we are observing a more dynamic relationship between strategy, execution, and performance measurement across our social marketing efforts.
Last Month's Question
What B2B marketing tactics can be used for effective lead generation?
There are a ton of possible tools: "One I particularly like is to make a high-value laden white paper available to industry professionals. In this way the very act of downloading is an excellent pre-qualifier. This approach can and should also lead to an ongoing conversation with the reader/lead. (It's always a good idea to allow the reader to provide you with email addresses for others who the reader feels would also benefit from the content). The absolute key is to make sure the content is real and of value, not just a glorified sales pitch or direct marketing piece."
Questions from Students
The Experts Bench is a supporter of DECA - DECA/Delta Epsilon Chi, an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality and marketing sales and service.
What does a Real Life Marketing Organization look like?
“Marketing organizations are structured to support their unique marketing requirements. Generally speaking, each industry will have similar marketing organizations due to how they attract and fulfill customer/clients needs. For instance, a B2B is structured differently than a Consumer Packaged Goods company due to their direct marketing focus rather than mass advertising (see attached). The size of the business will have a great bearing as well. Global1000 businesses are supported by very specialized and specific marketing functions and group. The smaller the company, the more multi-tasked the organization or position may be, however, most go-to-market requirements may be the same.”
Questions from Professionals
The Experts Bench is a member of The American Marketing Association. The American Marketing Association (AMA) is the largest marketing association in North America. It is a professional association for individuals and organizations involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide.