Читать книгу 99 Marketing Mistakes - Kenyon Blunt - Страница 33

Mistake #26

Treating Marketing As An Expense

An expense is something you shell out money for; so is an investment. The difference is that an investment delivers value in the future. Which one is more appropriate for marketing?

Many business owners treat marketing as an expense, and that’s a mistake. Scrutinize marketing expenses while also looking at marketing’s impact on your bottom line.

My advice is that you should always have an unlimited budget for marketing that works. There can only be one of two reasons why you wouldn’t do this. First, you’ve wasted marketing dollars on tactics that do not affect sales. Or, second, marketing feels like gambling, because you don’t measure results and have no idea if it’s working.

When Times Get Tough

It’s when times get tough that entrepreneurs feel the urge to pull back on marketing. It’s the wrong thing to do. Marketing is what you need to turn things around and drive new growth. During the Great Depression, companies like Kellogg’s beat out their rivals by stepping up their marketing.

During downturns, you should zig when others zag.

Today’s Marketing is Investment-Based

In today’s economic climate, investors are thrilled if they get a 20 percent return on investment. When you’re making money, it’s not an expense; rather, it’s an investment. Let me give you a few reasons why today this is the case:

 Return on investment (ROI) is why you invest. This simple metric is used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment. Marketing ROI works for most expenditures except when the results aren’t immediately tangible (e.g., consumer awareness and brand perception). You may need to have other measures for intangible marketing efforts.

 Strike a balance between tangible and intangible marketing. I always lean to more tangible results because they’re measurable. However, don’t omit less quantifiable forms of marketing altogether; Balance the profits you’re producing from your more tangible campaigns.

 Experiment often. As mentioned frequently in this book, rapid experimentation is one of the founding principles of “Lean.” It’s much easier to make any investment when you’re confident what the results will be.

 Fill one cup. Do your best to own one platform, medium, channel, etc. When you get confident in your success in one, then you can expand to the second.

Marketing is an investment in your strategy and vision for your company. Think of it as your gym membership when you’re investing in your health. Or, your retirement account when you’re investing for your future. Marketing is an investment in the future of your company.