Just as you can stretch yourself too thin with work, activities, and interests, you can do the same with your marketing. Now you want your marketing efforts to cross-channel and integrate with one another. However, you don’t want so many things in the works that nothing gets done. See where we’re going with this? A plan can lose effectiveness when you’re trying to apply it to too many areas. With a plan, discover what’s important to your overall goal. When you have a goal to focus your efforts on, it’s critical to track your progress along the way and stay within the scope of your abilities. Otherwise, you could set yourself up for more than just failure.
No ROI
If you are integrating marketing efforts that cost money, then you should be bringing in a return on that investment. If your marketing is not bringing in some type of ROI, then it’s time to revisit your plan and discover what’s important. Many companies, especially those new to the industry, will approach their marketing with a very scattered focus. For example, they’ll make social media accounts without a social media strategy put into place. Another example is some companies will put money behind an advertisement without having a clear goal or knowing their buyer persona to direct their messaging. The result is either typically little to no ROI.
No Compass
When you set your goals, make sure they are smart goals meaning that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound! Your team can use these as checkpoints to guide your efforts and plans. With it, your messaging, planning, and company values can easily align with your goals and objectives. Everything becomes easier to follow. Without it, everything remains a guessing game that can confuse all involved- you, your employees, and your audience. Your brand never fully establishes itself if you don’t have a plan and discover what’s important to that plan! You have to create awareness and consistency around your brand and give it a clear roadmap to follow.
Stand Out
As we mentioned, many companies use a loose-fitted plan when approaching their marketing strategy. When you’re trying to break through, blending in is the opposite of what you want to do. Discover what makes you different. At Michigan Creative, we get down to the core of who you are before we do anything, especially when it comes to building your marketing plan. Everyone has something unique to bring to the table, including your company. Writing out your core values and onliness statement can help you identify the key pieces that make your company better than the competition. When your audience can easily interpret who you are, the ones who need your help will find you.
Fortunately for you and your business, you don’t have to try to figure all of this out alone. Michigan Creative has a team of passionate and expert creatives who will help you with your brand, marketing plan, social and more. We take the time to find your pain points and create a strategic plan we call the MC Greenprint. It’s not just a plan tailored specifically to your business, it’s the plan that discovers what’s important and puts it into a detailed roadmap for you to follow. Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Creative, to stay up to date with all the latest marketing and business tips and trends!