How To Blend Operations Into Your Marketing Plan
In this cluttered yet totally amazing world of marketing the actual plan that drives it all and connects it all together often gets overlooked. Equally, with the pace of business and our daily environments, we can easily just get into the mindset of “just get on with the activity or task in hand”.
Quite often marketing plans can be seen as a “to do list” – a set of tasks to be completed by someone at a given time. Actually, that doesn’t sound too bad – at least there are ideas and timelines and the person concerned knows they need to do it.
However, The Most Important Bit Is Missing – WHY!
When we feature “why” we are talking about the impact this piece of activity will have on the business – the commercial success reason!
At a time when we are geared up for analytics (which is a good thing as its important to track behaviours and trends in digital) however, if we consider marketing activity as a use of time by someone doing something – then how do we measure or track the impact of time spent. It is easy to start getting into the realms of comparing apples and bananas – the same but different!
Consider that in respect of how do you measure attending a networking event with sending a client survey or preparing a blog feature with upselling to clients. This is when suddenly marketing metrics become challenging, puzzling and the spark of debate.
Starting Out With Commercial Outcomes In Mind
Why not offer a challenge to that complete train of thought! Imagine starting out with commercial reasons – woah!!! How different does that sound?
So, what, actually get going with a clear reason why anything needs to be done and totally clarity on how it will impact the business?
YES!
Let’s be honest about this, so many times the word “fluff” is used when speaking of marketing and in some eyes, its seen as the department that makes things look pretty! OK, so that’s not how we feel but we do understand the world goes round and these things have been said. We absolutely have a good sense of humour, however, it’s time we took a more serious look at the commercial success process that is not some kind of hidden gemstone, it’s not treasure so far away from reality that it would take Indiana Jones and Luke Skywalker to try and find it having had 10 trilogy movies and sequels!
You know that commercial success process that keeps the wheels of a business turning is in fact, wait for it……. it’s actually marketing! Yeah, we know, it’s amazing isn’t it! It’s like no one knew!
Back to the blog and no apologies for drifting off into a movie moment! Marketing has ING at the end, we think that means something has to be done. We take the view that a market is a commercial selling space and therefore marketing is the maintenance and nurture of that space. We need to be able to see that space and define it so we know how to nurture it.
Summary
Really the fundamentals of a marketing plan for all owner managers needs to simply start with clear commercial outcomes that will fully nurture, maintain and develop that selling space. This is the start of the perfect blend and the answer to how your combine operations into a marketing plan. When we talk about operations we are referring to the daily activities that ensure the smooth delivery of the services or products we provide. If marketing is the maintenance of the selling space of the products and services we provide then instantly we see marketing as a totally integral operational function.
Why not book a demo of our software which will get you up and running with a plan that combines operations, your team and your marketing processes?