Is your Marketing Working?
If your marketing doesn't seem to be working -- or even if it's working just fine -- here is a great "cheat sheet" of important issues you should be continually checking. Ask yourself, your organization and your marketing team how you are doing in these critical areas.
Marketing check
- Is your marketing effort giving you value for money?
- Are you developing the new business you need to meet your business plan?
- Do you have a business plan?
- How satisfied are your clients?
- How do you know if they are satisfied?
- Have you differentiated from the clutter in your marketplace?
- Do you have an image consistent with your desired market position?
- Is your firm identity actively supported and managed?
- How effective are your external communications?
- How effective are your internal communications?
- Are new products successful?
- How effective is your marketing?
- Do you have a "digital" strategy?
Branding
- How do you actively manage your brand?
- What does the brand stand for and what are the core values?
- How has the brand been built and what is its equity?
- What does the brand mean to clients - what would they miss if it did not exist?
- Can the brand be extended, used or combined with other products or markets.
- What are high-risk areas that must be avoided?
- Does brand promotion consistently project the brand values?
Business development
- Are you developing the extra new business you need from new clients?
- Are you developing the extra new business you need from existing clients?
- What are the levels of client retention and new wins?
- What is the definition of a "good" client or "good" job?
- Are profit targets set?
- Are revenue targets set?
- How is the targeting and key client process managed?
- Do your clients know the full extent of your service range - could you sell more?
- What proportions of business development effort is invested between current and potential clients. What are the comparable success rates?
- Do you have a relationship management program?
Client satisfaction
- Do you know how satisfied your clients are with your products and service delivery?
- Do you have a client satisfaction policy and what are the realised benefits of that policy?
- How is client satisfaction assessed?
- To what level are you meeting or exceeding client expectations?
- Is there internal resistance to client satisfaction reviews?
- To what extent has client satisfaction feedback been linked to client service planning, new product development, and marketing strategy?
Firm identity
- How do you manage your firm identity?
- Are your communication materials (internal or external) immediately recognised as coming from your business?
- Does your firm identity present the desired image?
- Are the benefits of firm identity widely understood within the business?
- Is your firm identity actively supported and managed internally?
- How are you managing your firm identity in the digital age?
Marketing planning
- How is your marketing planning approached?
- Is the marketing planning process a positive management tool?
- Have definitions been set for business and marketing planning?
- Are the budgeting, business and client service planning processes linked with the marketing planning procedures?
- How do you determine a marketing budget?
- Have marketing plans been successfully monitored, implemented and evaluated?
- Is appropriate internal and external information accessible by all who need it?
Market positioning
- Do you have a clearly developed market positioning strategy?
- Do buyers clearly understand what the firm stands for?
- Does your business, brand or service address business problems with a real difference?
- Have all aspects of competitive advantage been identified and points to emphasise agreed?
- Do you communicate these aspects consistently and effectively?
- Will the attributes and benefits of your business, brand or service motivate a buyer - are they different from competitor offerings?
- How do you detect problems buyers may experience with your business, brand or service?
Marketing audit
- How do you know the capabilities of your marketing?
- Do you understand how the marketplace is evolving?
- Who are your competitors and what do you know about them?
- Do you have a clear set of business goals and how does marketing contribute to achieving these objectives?
- How is client feedback translated into marketing plans, service improvements and communication activities?
- Are the markets you wish to target clearly defined and how systematically are you approaching them?
- Do you know and measure the return for investment your marketing provides?
New product development
- How do you develop new products and services?
- How many successful new products/services were launched last year?
- Are feasibility and investment criteria set for new product assessment?
- Is the overall product portfolio managed centrally?
- How is new product development linked to business and marketing strategy?
- How are new ideas encouraged and captured?
Change management
- If your organization ceased to exist what would the world lose?
- What is its' purpose? What is important to add value? What is your focus and goal?
- What sort of organization is it and what is it good at? What are the skills that set the organization apart?
- How can you become supremely good at what you do rather than adequate at a lot of things?
- How do you achieve your goals through co-operation and collaboration - to avoid throwing out the baby with the bath water?
- Change is a long-term commitment - how do you keep the momentum going?
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