If you are similar to your marketing colleagues in technology, you are probably pressured to drive more revenue with limited marketing budgets. The constant challenge among many tech marketers is where to spend the very hard to come by marketing dollars. There always seems to be the best new tactical approach that can satisfy the need to drive revenue. I have been in many meetings where trade show sponsorship, email blasting, SEO and SEM even telemarketing have been suggested as the “best ” place to spend these dollars.
With pressure to drive revenue it is very easy to look short-term and place your bets on the tactical approach that will drive the revenue the fastest, These are quick fixes and usually do not pan out with the desired results. So you find your self with less dollars to spend and now face the same challenges all over again, although with even tighter budgets remaining.
This is a very common issue among tech marketers and usually is a sign that a plan needs to be revisited.
All of these tactics may have great value to your revenue generating efforts, but taking a quick shot at them with out having a fully thought out plan can only lead to an endless cycle of short terms bets. Tech marketers, if you find your self in this cycle, it time to stop the activities and re-evaluate your plan.
Step back and confirm your target audience, find out what their issues are within their business. Ensure you have developed the proper messaging strategy that is relevant to the target’s issues and demonstrates your organizations ability to solve these daily issues. Even better is if you can identify how your target consumes the various media you have been using on a short-term basis. Perhaps the majority of them don’t use trade shows within their decision-making process or love to read white papers. This understanding of media use among your target can influence the type of marketing vehicles that should be more effective over the long-term.
This may be very uncomfortable to stop daily activity, in fact it may raise questions from your counterparts in the organization, but by refocusing your strategic approach you will have a better idea of how to spend your limited marketing funds
