We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Privacy Overview
Login
Your Role
Challenges You Face
results
Learn
Resources
Company
What's your objective?
In an attempt to generate leads and grow her business, I had one client recently say, “I’m thinking of placing some ads in the local community newspaper”. That same week another said, “I’m considering going to some networking events.” And yet another said, “I need help with search engine optimization.”
Hey! I’m glad they are even thinking of marketing themselves and their businesses. That’s better than marketing inertia (the inability or incapacity to get a marketing project out the door).
But to each of them, I replied, “What’s your objective?”
It always amazes me that people take such a shotgun approach to marketing. They seem so impatient. They want to make a decision quick and… like an army in a chaotic war scene… they want to charge the hill!
Slowwwwwww down!!!!
Before running off half-cocked, why not take a moment to determine your objective? It won’t take much time. In fact it will SAVE you tons of wasted hours on marketing efforts that inevitably don’t deliver any return on your investment.
First and foremost, your marketing objective should be to generate sales and profits. But let’s drill it down a bit further. Here are some common marketing objectives. Does your marketing fit into any of these buckets?
- To generate leads
- To acquire new customers/clients
- To retain your current customers/clients
- To cross-sell your current prospects/customers/clients
- To up-sell your current prospects/customers/clients
- To increase loyalty among your customers/clients
- To reduce the number of customers/clients that defect
- To manage your company’s reputation (think BP during the oil spill)
- To increase awareness of your brand so your product or service is top-of-mind
- To build traffic on your website
- To optimize your website for usability
- To optimize a landing page to improve lead conversions
I could go on and on. Feel free to add to this list by commenting.
Bottom line: Let’s market smart! Determine your objective before you charge the hill.
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
Get the book!
Feeling like your job is getting harder because donor expectations have changed and competition for the charitable dollar is growing?
Finding that the old orthodoxies and conventions espoused by so-called experts in online echo-chambers and at conferences don’t work anymore?
Want to help more people make impact by facilitating their acts of philanthropy but feel like too many obstacles keep getting in your way?
Then this book is for you.
Engagement Fundraising was developed from the perspective of a donor who discovered firsthand that the impersonal, spray-and-pray approaches of his beloved charity were not only offensive but also wasteful and ineffective. So he took action. And now, you can too.
Get smarter with the SmartIdeas blog
Subscribe to our blog today and get actionable fundraising ideas delivered straight to your inbox!