3 Steps to Ditch Random Acts and Find a Framework for Marketing Success
As the leader of the family-run business, you’re relying on your small team to make marketing magic happen.
It’s already tough enough, but it's impossible without any clear parameters in place.
Marketing without a plan is like throwing spaghetti at the wall; you’re just seeing what sticks.
We like to call these “random acts of marketing.”
To put an end to your random acts of marketing, you’ll need a framework that best suits your business and how you lead your marketing.
Here’s how you figure that out:
- Identify the journey your buyers take to get to you.
- Evaluate the framework’s impact on the resources you have for your marketing.
- Evaluate if the framework is actually appropriate for your company.
Identify the Buyer’s Journey of Your Target Audience
Every person goes through a Buyer’s Journey before they enter their credit card info or sign a contract.
Multiple frameworks out there will tell you the buyer’s journey has 7 or 11 steps.
We recommend a framework that doesn’t overcomplicate it. This will help you, the leader, organize your thoughts quickly, and make marketing decisions easier.
Our simplified version of the buyer’s journey includes these 3 stages.
The Awareness Stage
This is when a potential customer realizes they have a problem or a need, and aren’t sure how to solve it yet.
Example: Bob needs a car to get to work every day, to prepare for his growing family, and to travel long distances for summer vacations. He currently doesn’t know what type of car best meets his needs.
The Consideration Stage
This is when the potential buyer evaluates different solutions to their problem or need.
Example: Bob is evaluating the different types of cars and the makes, models, and specs that are important to him, such as safety ratings and smart features.
The Decision Stage
This is when they make a purchase decision.
Example: Bob has his choices narrowed down to a few specific vehicles that suit his needs and budget. After visiting a few dealerships and taking a few test drives, Bob is ready to decide.
Measure the Framework’s Impact on Your Marketing Resources
A well-designed, effective framework won’t burn time and money that you don’t have; instead, it will be compatible with your existing resources and easy to implement.
These are three elements to take into account when selecting the right one.
1. Personnel
The framework must be simple enough for you to lead with and simple enough for your team to follow, no matter how much is on their plate.
Schedule weekly meetings to stay up to date on the results of your marketing efforts.
2. Technology
What tools does your chosen framework happen to mention? Automation tools? Customer relationship management (CRM) software? Website analytics?
If you’re going to market your brand online, you cannot skimp on this. Expect to budget $200-$1,000 monthly on marketing technology alone. This brings us to the last thing…
3. Budget
Your company’s established budget is nonnegotiable, and you wouldn’t want it to be.
Marketing campaigns can add up, especially if you’re not tracking their ROI.
If your budget is smaller, the marketing framework you choose should not break the bank and have room for exploring what works before making huge investments.
Evaluate if the Framework is Actually Appropriate for Your Company
There’s no universal marketing framework that works for everyone, though they’re often promoted as if they do (marketing at its finest).
When you find a framework you think will work, here are 2 questions to ask yourself:
- Once you have absorbed the big idea of the framework, can you foresee a positive impact on current activities? Specifically, marketing metrics will improve.
- Can you see that the framework appeals to those in the sales function and to those helping you implement marketing?
Don’t Mistake Tactics for an Effective Framework
Often, people get frameworks confused with tactics. Tactics can be used on social media, websites, emails, blogs, TV ads, radio, and Billboards. Your framework is entirely agnostic to your tactics.
So when your buddy raves about how he’s been killing it with his Facebook ads, that just means he found a tactic that suits his company. What works for him may not work for you, so don’t give in to the hype. Stay true to your framework.
No More Random Acts of Marketing
A good framework will help you respond accordingly to prospect objections and will be manageable with the resources you currently have.
As tempting as it may be, do not hop on just any marketing bandwagon.
Stick with a framework that makes sense for your company. Otherwise, you’re just throwing random acts of marketing at the wall to see what sticks.
For more valuable insights like this, Check out our Answer Vault and see how we practice what we preach by sharing our expertise and how we market with intent.