JET Business Network

The Effectiveness of Marketing

JBN facilitator Michael Donaldson on why your marketing needs to deliver a return on investment.

How did Wongs Jewellers discover they were top of the social media performance charts? Polly Barnfield, the CEO of Maybe*, answered the question during an interactive session at this September’s JBN Congress.

Maybe* collects the social media data from 3.9m UK businesses every day and uses AI to turn the data into information that helps local businesses use social media to deliver sales and strengthen customer loyalty.

Unbeknown to the attendees in the room,

Polly had run their available data through her machine and created a ‘best performers’ ranking.

According to McKinsey (June 2021) 78 per cent of CEOs are now banking on marketing leaders to drive growth, as more and more company results suggest those companies who continued to invest in marketing throughout the pandemic performed better than those who didn’t.

As we went into lockdown, a lot of companies responded as they always respond to market downturns: they cut what they (mistakenly) perceive as discretionary spend. They cut their marketing campaigns, cut their marketing staff and now they’re wondering where their growth is going to come from. They see marketing as the golden ticket or their get-out-of-jail-free card.

Yet, they not only face challenges with staff shortages and rising salaries and campaign costs, they’re also facing increased competition from new players, new brands and new play books.

Leaders of all businesses – large and small – will be looking for less risk and greater certainty on their marketing spend, and with the acceleration of e-commerce during lockdown, there’s so much data available that today’s marketers can no longer wing it with Lord Leverhulme’s century old quote:

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

I shared a boardroom for many years with a financial director whose pet phrase used to be “the only guarantee with the marketing plan is the cost.” They now embrace digital marketing. Why? Because it gives them less risk and greater certainty. The e-commerce data enables them to forecast with greater accuracy than ever before the additional sales for every marketing pound spent – and the FD loves it… who wouldn’t!

As an SME, you may not have a team of marketers, you may not have a transactional website, you certainly don’t have masses of data and your marketing budget was cut. But you are no different to the 78 per cent of CEOs who want to drive growth and maximise the return on investment. But are you looking to marketing to drive that growth for you?

The marketing principles of the BIG companies (if not the big budgets) can be applied by our SMEs – if their leaders have a mind to, and it doesn’t have to be that technical and certainly not that complicated. Here’s a story shared by a JBN member, who at the time had no e-commerce presence and a limited marketing budget that they regarded then, as they do now, as a vital spend not a discretionary spend. However, they weren’t sure how effective it was – they were having a Lord Leverhulme moment.

So, they contacted their customers with a four-question survey; the fourth question was “How often do you expect to make a significant purchase (value specified) from us?” The answer told them they could not turn their marketing activity on and off, and they had to have a consistent and enticing presence in their sector. The answer to the other three questions told them the best channels through which to engage with their customers. They now have an annual A4, one-sided marketing calendar with activity by channel, by customer segment, by spend and by expected return. As the meerkats say:“Simples!”

“While broad reach, powerful, resonant storytelling, and creativity remain critical, marketers now need to utilize data and analytics at scale to crack the code that enables more targeted and engaging interactions to shape consumer behavior.” McKinsey

You can work on your story telling, your creativity and on your channel content but simply put – there’s no longer an excuse for not knowing the effectiveness of your marketing.

For an annual subscription of £1,000+VAT, you and your business will benefit from the shared knowledge, experience and expertise of the JBN via:

• Monthly Performance Reports - enabling you to benchmark your business against other retail jewellers

• WhatsApp Market Group – for finding, buying and selling products and services. • Online Q&A Forum – whether you have a business issue or just seek guidance. You ask the question and the members answer

• Educational Store Visits – see and hear what other jewellers are doing

• Regional Group Meetings – to discuss the issues and opportunities you face, as well as develop new business skills • New Flash Service – receive relevant business and industry articles straight to your inbox

• Member Business Surveys – on topics identified by the members • Plus – influence and shape the content of the Annual Retail Jewellers’ Congress

For further information Visit naj.co.uk/JBN Email michael@thevalueinnovator.co.uk Call Michael Donaldson on 07817 305 122