How Much Marketing is Necessary to Increase Sales?

There are countless marketing strategies that will help your business grow, but how do you know what to choose?

There are traditional marketing methods (aka direct marketing) that utilizes print ads, direct mailing, billboards, radio, TV, and cold calling while the inbound marketing method (or indirect marketing) uses blogging, content offers, email campaigns, podcasts, retargeting, SEO, and social media.

The question of the moment is this: Do you have to market using every method in order to increase sales? The answer is: NO.

You Can Increase Your Sales Without Mastering Every Marketing Method. Here’s How.

First and foremost, grab your business plan. You need to have that in hand.

While it’s standard to have a 3-5 year business plan, not everyone can do that. If the latter describes you, consider doing this:

• Think through a 24-month plan (where you hope to be & what you want to accomplish in 2 years).
• Create a 12-month plan (decide on specific goals and feasible methods).
• Finalize a 6-month plan (make a detailed plan; this is where your marketing strategy chart comes into play) .

Ok, now it's time to start strategizing!

1. Set your marketing objectives and goals. Decide on objectives and realistic marketing goals you hope to achieve. Think SMART:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
   
   
2. Get to know your audience and their behavior. Do some research, poll customers, check your website and social media stats, host a few focus groups, or hire an agency to do the research for you. Then digest the information that you’ve collected. Ask and find answers to questions like, “Is my target audience finding me easily when they search Google?” and “Where does most of my target audience prefer to hang out (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.)? Figure out where to reach your target audience. 
   
   
3. Brainstorm. Think about the best ways your message can be effectively delivered to your target audience as well as meet your marketing objectives. Your ideas may include a mixture of direct and inbound marketing methods, but it should not include ALL of them. Pick and choose based on your SMART goals. It's better to do a few things well than to try everything. Master a few first, then slowly add to the mix over time. Don't let the pressure from your competitors drive your marketing decisions.
   
   
4. Make a marketing strategy chart. Whether you make your own chart, use template, or fleshing plans out in a spreadsheet, be sure to use it. We suggest printing it out, discussing it with your team, and filling it in together. 
   
   If you’re making your own chart, consider using the following categories:
   - Objective | e.g., awareness, nurturing, converting leads, etc.
   - Method | i.e., the vehicles you plan to use to reach your target audience
   - Rationale | i.e., the reasons behind the methods chosen
   - Analytics | i.e., the tools you will use to measure goal achievement and KPIs
   - Goals | e.g., 20% increase in website traffic, 10% increase in social media engagement, 5% increase in leads through content marketing, etc. 
   - Cost | i.e., the money budgeted for particular methods

There’s not one perfect way of doing this. Do what works best for you and your team. However, keep the chart nearby. It should be the sieve through which all of your marketing decisions are made. From here you can begin pulling together your official marketing plan document. 

You CAN Increase Sales Without Including  Every Method in Your Marketing Strategy

Q: How much marketing is necessary to increase sales?
A: Only as much as you have planned in your strategy.

Ignore everything else... at least for now. Evaluate quarterly, but don’t change anything for at least 6 months. Your sales should increase; numbers should go up. You did your homework and made calculated decisions, remember? If your sales aren’t up, change a few things within your strategy, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The strategy is solid. Just make tweaks along the way. 

If you need help figuring out a marketing strategy and choosing what methods to use, contact us. We can also help you with branding, website design, digital marketing, and sales enablement.