Focus on Sharpening that Ax

I read a really great article that probably didn’t even need to be read.  I say that not because it was useless but because the title says it all. Are You Too Busy Chopping (Marketing) Wood to Sharpen Your (Marketing Operations) Ax?

After those first 90 days are over, those of us who are lucky enough to be in management are constantly asking ourselves, how do we stand out? how do we not take on the baggage and stay above water?  how do we continue being those thought leaders we were hired to be?  The author of the above linked article has some easy steps that I will take note of and wanted to share:

1. Focus on impact vs. activity:

• Which business outcome does this activity support?
• Do you know how this activity is expected to move the needle for the business outcome?
• How will you know whether the activity had the desired impact?

2. Make metrics count:

• How is Marketing having an impact on and contributing to the business?
• What is and isn’t working?
• Does the data enable course adjustments?

3. Embrace insights:

• Purposefully collect and analyze your data.
• Establish a data infrastructure.
• Implement a process for collecting and using data on a regular basis.

4. Run marketing like a business:

• Ensure marketing strategies are executed seamlessly
• Create, manage, and track marketing processes
• Analyze and develop metrics to improve effectiveness and reduce inefficiencies

4 quick steps to success! Good luck and keep that ax sharpened!

Happy Spring

We’ll eventually get there, New England…but for now, let’s try and enjoy the powder up on the slopes.

Digital Marketing

It seems like this word is all the rage now.  When in reality, it’s just a buzz word for all those familiar things you are probably already doing – email campaigns, social media, web, etc.

Mobile does play a huge part in it but all the things, and more, listed above can be found on mobile.  So in reality, what do we need to think about when it comes to “digital” marketing?

For me, a clear strategy needs to be set in place before anything even happens.  Assess the things you are doing today and look at the metrics to evaluate what’s working and what isn’t.  Next, you need to identify your target audience and how they want to hear from you.

After all that evaluation has been done, you can actually think about how to improve on the things that are working, but could also do more for your business.

I found a great article on MarketingTechBlog.com about digital marketing that I think might be interesting to you all as well.

“What is digital marketing? It is the use of new media to market a brand/product/organization and so on. Though there are a lot of activities that can be done, but digital marketing these days relies on the internet.”

P.S. You can even subscribe to a 5 week email crash course, through MarketingTechBlog.com, on inbound marketing which I recommend doing.

Spring Forward to Q2

In honor of the time change this weekend I’m thinking spring…but at the same time lamenting the fact that I haven’t even been out to ski once during this epic winter.

The time change brings with it tiredeness, hopefulness for better weather, as well as the reminder that the first quarter is almost over.

Metrics should have been monitored every month but this is when crunch time should really happen.  What has happened in the first quarter of the year that needs to be reevaluated or reinvested in?  What have the combined efforts of the marketing and sales department achieved?  This is the time to maybe take a look at some goals and see which ones need to be reeled in and which ones can be taken up a notch.

Take the next few weeks to really begin evaluating your roadmap and consider turning some things around, if you need to.

P.S. Here are a couple of great online resources:

7 Ways to Evaluate Your Marketing Plan

How to Evaluate a Marketing Strategy