One of the biggest challenges we face as marketing agencies is proving we’re worth the cost.
Hiring top talent isn’t cheap, and prices reflect that.
Rightly so.
But many business leaders look at marketing as an expense instead of an investment.
Most of us wouldn’t view an investment portfolio as a cost.
Instead, we see it as an opportunity to gain. To earn more in the future than what we began with.
Suppose you were researching companies to manage your investments. Would you opt for the lowest priced option or the option with the highest success rate?
“You get what you pay for” is a lasting idiom for a reason.
Here’s the problem as we see it.
- The success of marketing is difficult to predict. No matter how experienced or talented you are.
- It’s difficult to measure a precise return on investment meaningfully (more on this later).
But one thing is for sure. Businesses that invest heavily in marketing outperform those that don’t.
Anecdotal evidence alone shows this to be true.
Consider brands like Nike, Apple, McDonald’s, Amazon, Google or any household brand name for that matter. They all:
- Hire the best marketing talent, and
- Invest massively in media buying and placement
There’s a reason they do this. Because it works.
The issue, as outline above, is that marketing success is tough to predict. Directors expect to input X and output Y.
But it isn’t that simple.
Here’s an analogy to explain.
Imagine you’re training to improve your 5k run time.
The intelligent thing to do is follow a training plan.
Now, every individual will respond differently to this plan.
One person might shave 5 minutes off their time, but you might only shave 2 minutes off.
Either way, one thing is sure. Those who follow the plan will improve. Those who don’t won’t improve.
It’s the same with marketing.
We can’t say invest X, and you’ll receive Y.
But we do know from experience that you’ll be in a significantly better position if you invest in exceptional marketing than if you don’t.
In many cases, we’ve delivered upwards of a 10X return on investment. We can never guarantee a specific number, only highlight a successful portfolio of significant returns on investment.
Any agency promising exact figures is most likely being dishonest and, as such, you should avoid them.
Either way, one thing’s for sure: it’s the businesses who don’t trust the process, who don’t commit to the plan, who don’t truly invest, who fail.
So, why should you invest in marketing?
Marketing isn’t a cost. It’s a necessity.
It’s helpful to think of marketing in the way you’d think of a healthy diet.
Just as you need good food for optimal health, you need good marketing for optimal business health.
Sure, you can survive on a crappy diet. But you’ll fare much better with a healthy one.
Here are 3 key reasons why marketing is an invaluable asset for your business.
It’s a bridge to new opportunities.
Exceptional marketing enables relationships far and above what you can imagine.
Say you own an eCommerce store.
On paper, one sale from one ad doesn’t look particularly impressive.
But it’s so much more than just that.
If you impress the customer enough, that one sale is also the potential for another sale down the line.
It’s potential for a word-of-mouth referral and another potential sale or even dozens more in the future.
It’s the potential for a dazzling product review that could spark hundreds, even thousands, more sales.
It’s the potential for a social media post and promotion to a new audience who might otherwise never have heard of you.
That’s a lot of potential sales from just one ad–far and above what statistical analysis would have you believe.
It’s the difference between a hell yeah or a f*** no.
Exceptional marketing is all about speaking to your audience in a way that resonates with them.
Fail to do this, and you could already be missing out on thousands of opportunities.
Ever struggled to make conversation with a new acquaintance? Then, over time, realise you have tonnes in common and become friends?
This is precisely what happens when your marketing message is off.
You might be the perfect fit for a potential customer, but without the right messaging, they’ll never know.
However, unlike that budding friendship, the potential customer is unlikely to come back and get to know your business. They’ll find another company that does speak their language instead.
It differentiates you from the competition.
On Facebook and Google alone, you’re competing with literally billions of other ads.
(FYI: if you’re not already utilising these channels, you’re already missing out on millions of opportunities.)
Well, with all that competition, it’s challenging to stand out.
Think of exceptional marketing as a lighthouse in the dark and foggy sea that is advertising space.
It guides customers to your products and services.
Without that light, they’ll likely head for the rocks. And, trust me, there aren’t many opportunities for your business there…
Get committed
In our experience, it’s the businesses most committed to marketing that see the most significant returns.
Those who choose to do it inexpensively, cut corners or deviate from the plan fail.
Of course, those that simply don’t do it all are the worst off.
Exceptional marketing can make a night and day difference to the success of your business.
But, to see that success, you have to commit fully.
Half-assing might bring some success but won’t get you even close to your true potential as a business.
So, you have to ask yourself which side do you want to be on?
