432-214-4796
Ask any millennial about Kodak and they will struggle to tell you more about what it does. For many of us however, Kodak was a household brand and a former heavyweight in the analog film business. Kodak not only missed the boat on digital but also acutely misunderstood the ways consumers wanted to be engaged, interact with their photos and the technologies involved. As a result, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
For companies like Kodak, to stay in business, they are forced to make desperate cost cutting measures starting with employee layoffs. Often, these layoffs start from traditional cost centres like IT, Human Resources and Marketing. During layoffs planning, the company looks at departments that are unable to prove return on investment (ROI) and are adding to the cost of running a company. West Texans are all too familiar with these types of layoffs if you have lived through any of our past Oil Busts!
When the marketing department gets downsized, it can be difficult for marketers like us to accept. After all, marketing has always been in charge of bringing the product to market. The reality for most marketing departments is that they have a long list of complex strategies influenced by a mix of internal and external stakeholders. We are bogged down with a host of business functions such as increasing brand awareness, product adoption & pipeline creation, resulting in being tied down with more projects than we can handle, which means proving the ROI can get left behind.
DIGITAL MARKETING
But how do you know what’s working for your business if you can’t measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns? Let’s compare this outlook with the sales department, which operates under a constant sense of urgency because they are always working to meet a predetermined sales quota. This sense of urgency is exacerbated by the fact that their compensation is tied to meeting or exceeding those quotas. This gives them an extraordinary sense of focus around measuring their results and reviewing their strategies. We believe here at Permian Edge in Midland Texas that there’s no reason why digital marketing can’t work towards targets in the same way sales does.
HOW DO YOU KNOW?
But how do you know what’s working for your business if you can’t measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns? Let’s compare this outlook with the sales department, which operates under a constant sense of urgency because they are always working to meet a predetermined sales quota. This sense of urgency is exacerbated by the fact that their compensation is tied to meeting or exceeding those quotas. This gives them an extraordinary sense of focus around measuring their results and reviewing their strategies.
WHAT TO FOCUS ON!
In order for digital marketing to be empowered as a function, we need to cut out the noise and confusion that can make it difficult to focus on objectives that matter the most; those that ultimately drive sales and prove ROI. At a high level, these objectives should address the Top of the Funnel (TOFU), Middle of the Funnel (MOFU) and Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU):
TOFU – With Permian Edge, the TOFU is developing your mobile website & your social media platforms.
MOFU – The MOFU is where Permian Edge delivers SEO and Social Media content. This is where we want to show our prospects that we are the experts of what we do. Blogs, webinars, and eBook’s can also be very effective at building confidence in our future clients.
BOFU -- By the time a lead reaches the bottom of the funnel, they are ready to buy and the only question is who they will buy from. This is where Permian Edge utilizes the “Offer” or the “Deal”. This can be accomplished through our Beacon, GeoFencing and Customer Loyalty Platforms.
Once these objectives are top-of-mind, the marketing department can devise a strategy that turns them from a cost center into a profit center, fully capable of explaining results and impacting the company’s growth.
Next you will need to set SMART Marketing Goals. To do all that, we first need to develop measurable goals that allow for strategy changes and reviews along the way. Measurable goals also help us prove how effective we are and spur on improvement. However, goals are useless if they're not realistic. That's why it's critical to set SMART Goals. Here’s how you can set a SMART goal:
To help you get started and eliminate the confusion on setting goals, Permian Edge will provide a FREE Assessment of your current and future Digital Marketing Plan. From this assessment, you will be able to find out how far off you are at from your year-end goals so you can put in place a strategy to make this your best year yet.
SPECIFIC -- Set real numbers with real deadlines
MEASURABLE -- Make sure you can track your goals
ATTAINABLE -- Work towards a goal that is challenging but attainable
RELEVANT -- Be honest with yourself, including what your team can or cannot do. Address the challenges that might come up
TIMED/BASED -- Give yourself a deadline, “sometime down the road” is not specific enough
You might be asking yourself one very important question now. Why Go Digital? These days, without an online presence, it can be hard to compete and grow your business here in Midland Texas. And that’s where digital marketing comes in. Give Permian Edge Digital Marketing Agency a call and let us visit about the ins and outs of why it's so important to market your brand online; from reaching more people with less effort, to being able to measure and adapt your marketing to get the most 'bang' for your buck.
Why Go Digital?
