How can you optimize your marcom mix? If you’re like most marketers, you’re under the gun to create datasheets, produce ads, and staff events. But are these really the best, right uses of your marketing budget and personal time?
A busy marketing team does not mean that it is an effective marketing team. To optimize your marcom mix, use these 5 questions to guide your planning and prioritization.
- Who are we selling to? Have we built a persona and understand their background, pain points, and expectations?
- What are our objectives for the marketing campaigns and the supporting programs? Are we aligned with sales, and how will we measure success?
- What’s our “story” and how will we engage with prospects over time as we guide our target personas through our sales cycle?
- What is the ideal marcom mix? What specific activities (e.g. a webinar) and offers (e.g. a whitepaper) best communicate our story and help us achieve the marketing objectives?
- How many of these activities and offers do we already have, and where are the gaps? What activities and offers should we stop doing because they are not effective or relevant to the target persona?
In our fast-paced business world, many marketers may be compelled to jump immediately to step 5. But the quest is not to validate the marketing tools we already have. Instead, our goal is to ensure we are as relevant and meaningful to the target persona as we can be.
In today’s business world, the marketing teams who understand their target personas the best and who know how to engage with them appropriately will be the ones who win.