Elliot Cook, Director of Simple Marketing Consultancy, explains why in today’s multi-connected and multi-channel world, it is more important than ever for businesses to be marketing led and have a marketing culture.
Technology is enabling competitors to challenge for business in ways that were previously not considered. Sales are at risk not just from direct competitors, but also from disruptive brands who come in with new concepts and simply blow the market to pieces by giving customers a whole new offering.
Just think how AirBnB has affected the hotel sector or how Netflix destroyed the market for Blockbuster, or how the demand for recyclable products is changing the world in construction.
There is a list of the top 100 disruptive brands, it includes a plethora of B2B disruptors, but also, think Aldi, Uber, Deliveroo, HelloFresh and Curve Bank. All these examples, illustrate how vital it is to be marketing led and in touch with buying trends and new threats so that your brand is prepared and aware of its markets.
What is a marketing culture?
By developing an internal culture that is marketing led means employees are involved in the marketing of the brand and united on the inside of your company behind a common vision, your mission and a style of behaviour that embodies the reputation you want your audiences to perceive as your brand. It also means sharing important information with your team and including them in the building of the company’s brand. Lastly, a marketing culture empowers your employees to be brand ambassadors – which also boosts your salesforce!
How do you create a marketing culture?
Creating a marketing culture is an evolutionary process and will happen quicker to slower depending on current attitudes.
Step 1: Define the culture now and what you’d like it to be and understand the gulf between current and aspiration
Step 2: Define you unique selling points
Step 3: Get everyone involved to understand how they think your company can change and gather their ideas
Step 4: Create a plan and implement it over agreed timescales. This will include brand identity, messaging and behavioural changes required to match the perceptions required.
Step 5: Empower your team and make them accountable
Step 6: Evaluate and evolve
Summary
Not having a marketing plan which enables you to stay at the forefront of mind of your customers and prospects on a regular basis will eventually lead to a gradual decline in sales as your audience will become less engaged with you, making it easy for more proactive competitors to steadily chip away at your market share. This can happen whether you are marketing to consumers or other businesses in defined trade sectors.
At Simple Marketing Consultancy, our business model is to act as the outsourced marketing manager for family and owner businesses. The main reason we get appointed is because the owner sees that they are being pulled in every direction. The owner-manager is wearing so many hats that often marketing is a secondary activity that is done when times are quiet. The consequence is a see-saw of new business enquiries that only serve to exacerbate the feast or famine sales cycle.
When we step into the role as their outsourced marketing manager, everything changes. Our clients have a clear strategy, defined target markets and a regular and co-ordinated programme of marketing communications that boost sales.
We ensure everything is working in harmony, from market research, email marketing, direct marketing, website SEO and content strategy, social media strategy, PR, events, to negotiating advertising and sponsorship deals. If we can help your business, please get in touch.