Pivoting Your Marketing Strategy
Businesses with written marketing strategies always outperform those that approach marketing with an ad-hoc spirit. But what if that written marketing strategy is not yielding the desired results? Should it be abandoned? Or simply tweaked? Marketing strategies shouldn’t be changed too frequently, but being flexible is smart, and there certainly are appropriate times to shift course. Determining the right time to pivot your marketing strategy, as well as choosing how to shift, can make a difference in your return on investment. But where do you begin?
Follow these four steps:
The first step is to take an inventory of your marketing plan. Identify what you have accomplished and how you have done. In most cases, it’s not appropriate to abandon your entire plan, but rather, to keep certain components to repackage for today’s market. If you’ve been tracking your business performance over time, you’ll see which marketing strategies are delivering results and which are falling short. If you haven’t had a formal measurement system, start by looking at snapshots of financial records and the rate of incoming business. Compare those figures to the same timeframe of website traffic and other external marketing communication programs that have measurable results. Look for patterns: both dips and spikes. Compare a few years of data. If your overall growth has been flat, or declined over the years, it may be time for a strategy shift.
The next step is to review marketing goals against the backdrop of today’s economy. Simultaneously, study what’s happening in the industry and make sure your goals are filling your customers’ needs. These goals need to be in line with current service offerings. If your services, target customers and the market are not aligned, it’s time to adjust one of those components to rebalance business.
The third step is to analyze your team. Have you added people to your company that bring new skill sets? Have you lost a top performer? Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your team and match their skills to your marketing goals. This will allow you to see any gaps or overlap and match the best people with the initiatives that will help you reach your goals.
Perhaps one of the most important steps in this process is to get real feedback from your customers to better determine demand and if you need to make delivery changes. Find out who uses your services and why, as well as what specifically keeps them coming back to you.
Once you’ve done this homework, look at what specifically is missing in your marketing plan. Consider what components you may repackage for your target markets, as well as new initiatives that can be added, such as social media.
Pivoting a marketing strategy can sound scary and costly, but it doesn’t need to be. Carefully analyzing your marketing practices will uncover new ways to present your business. Be thoughtful in your process, use measurable methods and think long term, but always remain flexible and review your results several times a year. n
Deb Scaringi is a consultant who works with law firms, nonprofits and for- profit businesses developing strategic initiatives for business development and marketing communications. She can be reached at deb@scaringimarketing.com.
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