Commit to Quality Marketing in 2014: 3 Easy Resolutions for Your Marketing Spends

It’s a new year – for most, that means second chances, new opportunities, bigger and better dreams, extra time at the gym, walks with Charlie, more focus on family get togethers – you name it.

For us marketers, every new year we make a resolution to increase our ROI. (When are we notstriving for that resolution anyway?) So, in light of this marvelous 2014 New Year, we’re sharing 3 Resolutions for your Marketing Spends that can help lead the way to the one thing you hope will get fatter this year – your marketing returns. Won’t it feel just great when your CEO is smiling at your genius skills?

Lets get right down to it!

1. Quit price shopping.

There’s always going to be a cheap guy. You won’t accomplish anything by finding him.

Instead, you should shop for an agency that’s a good fit for your team and whose culture will blend in with your organization. Finding the cheap guy (or several of them) typically means a lot of headache and frustration. Often, it’s more expensive in the long run – even if it’s not your pockets that are feeling the biggest dent.

Not to be overly cliché – but you get what you pay for and we doubt that 2014 will be the exception to that rule.

In fact, assuming you found a great fit, the relationship you share with your uber awesome agency should get even more beneficial overtime. The amount of every dollar you invest should show returns that continually increase as your agency gets to know your process and analyze results to shape campaign improvements. This allows for work that’s produced efficiently and performs effectively.

2. It’s time to put some money into inbound.

Allocate some funds (preferably a lot of funds) into highly measurable efforts.
If you haven’t heard of inbound marketing then it’s time to get rolling! In fact, in 2013 inbound marketing budgets rose about 50% and they’re still rising (2013 State of Inbound Marketing). Inbound marketing is a tactic that is highly effective (aka really measurable). It’s about adjusting your online strategies and acquiring the right tools to see what’s working and what’s not – from the number’s perspective.

Inbound marketing is a perfect mix of creativity and strategy – where glorious content, personalized e-mail blasts, SEO and social media efforts turn into congruent and tangible rewards that you can take to the CFO to prove you absolutely deserve that wondrous marketing budget of yours.

Inbound is not just a strategy – it’s a mentality.

It embraces the idea that marketing should consist of quality material that people love and want to see and it weeds out those efforts that do not produce ROI.

Tribu, our advertising agency, prides itself on being an early adopter of inbound marketing methodologies and we’d be delighted to answer your questions and help you get started. But, whether you reach out to us or not, resolute to do some magic with inbound marketing this year. Your senior exec team will love you for it, and your audience will too.

3. Get (more) creative.

If you’re going to buy the ad space then you should put something brilliant on it.

The biggest shame of all is when a marketing team spends $50k or more in local television space only to put the most annoying commercial ever on everyone’s screen. The difference could have been a mere $1000 between a quality production and trash – and the marketing team didn’t see the need to invest it. Such a shame.

You’re better than that. Vow to do what it takes to be creative in 2014.

Be remembered. Be adored. Be funny. Be spunky. Be quirky. Be cool. Be something! You’re spending the money to show the world your organization’s awesome skills and the-best-ever offerings right? So make sure they know that you’ve got a heck of a personality and that you’re completely worth it. Tell a story. Hit them in the gut. That is the ability that us marketers and advertisers take pride in, right? It’s not all about the numbers (although you’ll surely find that creative stuff just happens to come with better numbers) sometimes it’s about the message too. Let’s not ever forget that!

So in Conclusion…

It seems many of us understand the need to be a smart marketer, but it’s not just about your ability to wisely spend a budget that makes you fantastic. The best way to ensure a better ROI this year is to spend your money on tactics that work and creative that’s quality. In fact, why even bother wasting your precious dough on the ad space if what you smack on it is anything less than exceptional?

It’s simple really. We’re all human and we all enjoy a good conversation. We want to be delighted, respected, and get to know new personalities.  Brands are capable of embodying these attributes when marketers stand up for this belief. Smart tactics and brilliant creative lead to great ROI because it’s natural. So who’s with us? It’s 2014 and it’s a time for greatness. This is the year that your marketing dollars get wise! 2014 ROI geniuses unite!

Any more resolutions for marketing spends this year? Share them with our Tribe

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