The long game of marketing and how to play it for sustainable business growth
It takes any business time to build a robust marketing program. It's not something that will happen in a day, a week, or even a year.
This is particularly important to realize if you’re frustrated with the growth (or lack thereof) you’ve seen in your business so far. It’s understandable if you’re starting to wonder if your business will ever take off.
Is marketing the magic bullet that will save your business? It can be.
The question is whether that momentum will come within the timeline you need or desire. Unfortunately, that answer is a little harder to give you.
Recently, I saw this very, very wrong graphic floating around on social media comparing branding and marketing and it got me thinking.
This graphic was created with the good intention of helping people understand the concepts of marketing and branding.
However, it misses the mark for the same reason that most people don't understand marketing now (even some marketers judging by that graphic!).
Marketing isn’t short-term at all.
Though certain tactics may not have a lasting impact, the cumulative value of groups of tactics do.
Here's what it should say instead:
01: Marketing is the why and the how.
Marketing defines the why for brands and decides how to communicate that why based on market research, data collection and review, and the bigger goals of the business.
02: Marketing is a long-term game.
Marketing is a long-term commitment, with many short-term, connected activities that make a cumulative impact—much like compounding interest.
Your daily Instagram posts, for example, are tactics which play into this larger marketing strategy.
While they may only be seen by your audience for a day or two, when you show up consistently, with key messaging, and intentional value-add over time, your audience gets to know you and what you stand for.
Long-term, that sense of trust builds a deeper relationship, leading to more success and sales.
These daily or weekly activities need to be intertwined with long-term strategy (developed first) or you’ll find your business moving in too many different directions to create real progress, momentum, and impact.
03: Marketing is macro (strategy) and determines what the micro (planning/tactics) need to be.
I’ve written before about the difference between strategy, planning, and tactics.
The resources you have available to achieve your business and marketing goals are usually limited. So, you need to first determine what your end-vision is, what your main priorities are, and how you will reach those goals within a specific timeframe, using the resources you have at your disposal.
Once this strategy is in place, your plan and tactics can flow from it.
Marketing defines the trajectory of your business (strategy) and determines the tactics (planning) to achieve the strategy.
04: When executed properly, marketing builds loyalty
Marketing builds loyalty when the actions and message of a company are aligned. This builds trust with consumers and customers, and generates a positive response.
If, instead, a company’s actions don’t line up with their promises, consumers are quick to react negatively (and for good reason).
Consumers expect more from the brands they’re supporting. As business owners, it’s our job to ensure we’re clear on our values, messaging, and overarching goals, so that the right audience (those with similar values) finds us.
That means not only saying you care about certain causes or are focused on solving certain problems, but actually committing to seeing that change through.
Both scenarios – companies whose actions and message are aligned and those who appear to have conflicting intentions – have an impact on brand loyalty in the same vein as the responses generated.
05: Marketing creates value when the customer's needs are the focus and the intention is to provide genuine help to those who need it.
Businesses are created to solve problems and close gaps in the marketplace, but far too often the customer is forgotten as companies grow and expand.
Your marketing should keep your ideal client or customer in mind. Focus on serving them.
What information are they looking for? What content would support them? What problems are they looking to solve? How can you help them, even before they purchase from you?
When you can answer these questions with your marketing, you’re able to create value and impact over the long-term.
Branding on the other hand
The brand is the being, and branding is simply a part of the marketing activities involved in implementing a strategy and acting on marketing plans.
The intentional actions you take to craft and nurture your company’s branding are always part of marketing and should be based on the direction you set out in your marketing strategy.
These actions are meant to influence public perceptions of your company, but your brand ultimately is about what others perceive, not about what a business tries to convey.
That’s why so many big corporations get backlash when their actions don't align with their words.
Branding and marketing are both important, but this graphic does a clear disservice to the impact and value that marketing holds for a business.
Your marketing strategy sets the direction to achieve the overarching vision for a company, and the branding, marketing plans, and tactics, fall into place within that strategy.
The added element of sales
As an added element of consideration within your team and business, it should be mentioned that sales is a short-term game.
That’s why it raises big red flags for me when I see marketers within a business reporting to sales leaders.
If marketers are grouped within and/or under the sales department, marketing is likely to be seen as just a support to sales, rather than for the long-term strategic and market-positioning purpose it has within a business.
Designing your company’s organizational chart and business workflows in ways that prioritize marketing and strategy is incredibly important for the success and sustainability of your business.
Don’t get stuck in old or outdated ways of operating, just because it’s “what you’ve always done.” There needs to be continued room for growth, rethinking, changes, and reorganization within companies or they simply won’t pass the test of time.
This is a great article on classic mistakes made in the organizational structure of businesses, if you think your company might be in need of some reconfiguring and rethinking moving forward.
Building your marketing strategy moving forward
There's a fundamental misunderstanding about marketing in the world that has only been exacerbated by social media.
This has led people to think that marketing is all about checking things off a list, which is simply not the case.
Unfortunately, this misunderstanding contributes to frustration for businesses and consumers, because both sides are less likely to accomplish what they want to do.
If your goal is to create a business with a clear market position, that’s solving gaps in the marketplace, positively impacting consumers, making a difference, and forging a path for sustained success, you need to prioritize your marketing strategy, plan, and tactics (in that order).
Get clear on your business goals, and connect those goals and intentions with a strategy and actions that cover your business today, and in the future.
Be patient, knowing that your planning and strategizing will pay off long-term.
And, don’t believe every graphic you see online.
If you want to learn more about the four Ps of marketing and how they work together, check out my free Marketing Mindset: Start here, grow there mini-course that lays it all out beyond just the visible elements of promotion.