If you’re reading this, I assume you’re looking for an answer to the question “What is a marketing consultant?” Well, a marketing consultant is simply someone who helps businesses grow through marketing. That could mean a lot of things, from helping businesses create the perfect marketing strategy to executing that strategy to analyzing the results and tweaking what was done to make it even more effective.
One of the key responsibilities of a marketing consultant is measuring the results of any campaign. How many new leads did we get, how much money can we expect to spend on adverts this year, etc. Knowing how much someone spent and how many people clicked on a certain ad is important, as it gives you an idea of how valuable that content was. That’s why marketing consultants implement performance marketing. And what is performance marketing?
Definition: Performance marketing is “the use of marketing analytics, along with measurement of marketing activities and digital innovation, to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.” (HubSpot)
This type of marketing is often used by fortune 500 companies and large enterprises, but it can be extremely effective for small businesses as well. Performance marketing allows marketers to track the results of their campaigns, so they can continuously improve and refine their strategies. It’s not as simple as just sending out an email campaign and seeing the number of leads that you get back. With performance marketing, you’ll get detailed analytics on how many people clicked on each link, how many people viewed the entire website, etc.
With the help of a marketing consultant, you can implement a performance marketing strategy and gain valuable insights into the results of your campaign. One of the best parts of a marketing consultant is they don’t charge you for this service. In fact, they’re often paid quite well for their expertise, so you’ll be supporting their work in some way while also gaining valuable marketing knowledge.
Why is performance marketing important?
The most effective way for a business to grow is to find new customers and persuade them to buy their products or services. But, how do you find new customers if you don’t know how well your current strategy is working? That’s why performance marketing is so valuable. By constantly evolving and improvising your marketing strategy based on the results of previous campaigns, you’ll maximize your chances of finding success.
Traditional marketing is often focused on awareness, with the goal of getting as many people as possible to know about your product or service. This type of marketing usually involves advertising, whether it’s through billboards, TV commercials, or online ads. The general principle behind traditional marketing is that if you can get the majority of the population to see your banner ads or logo, then people will logically assume that you have good quality products or services.
The effectiveness of this strategy varies wildly depending on a number of factors. But mostly, it depends on how “brand-loyal” the population is. If most people recognize your brand when they see it, it means you’ve achieved brand awareness. Whether or not they’ll actually buy your product or service is a different matter. You can have the most effective billboard in the world, but if nobody knows about your brand, then it doesn’t matter how great the ad is. You’ve still failed.
On the other hand, performance marketing focuses on getting specific individuals to take a certain action, namely buying your product or service. You’re not targeting the entire population, which makes this type of marketing more effective. How? By tailoring marketing efforts to suit the needs and interests of specific groups of people, you can increase the chances of getting your target audience to act on your behalf. This form of marketing typically involves sending emails, placing online ads, or using social media to attract people with shared interests.
For instance, if you sell shoes, but you want to target people interested in fashion, you might create a blog post on the style of women’s shoes. If your target audience is men who like shoes, but you never advertise online, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on a potential consumer.
By understanding what type of marketing strategy is best suited for your business, you can increase your chances of being successful. You don’t want to use a strategy that will work for a while but eventually gives way to poor results, do you? With performance marketing, you can track the results of every campaign and make necessary adjustments to achieve greater results.
The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising
Marketing and advertising can be confusing terms, as they often get used interchangeably. But, as previously mentioned, they are not the same thing. Advertising is usually used when referring to any type of marketing campaign that doesn’t necessarily lead to a sale. So if you want to run an ad campaign to promote your cafe, but don’t have enough revenue to justify a full-blown marketing strategy, then you might opt for advertising.
Marketing, on the other hand, is often used when referring to a strategy that is focused on persuading people to buy your products or services. So if you want to promote your cafe and eventually make a profit from it, then marketing would be the strategy you’ll want to use.
The difference between marketing and advertising is rather simple; marketing is the approach you take to gain customers, while advertising is the process of getting people to recognize your name or brand. So if you want to be labeled as a marketer, then you’ll need to follow the guidelines set by marketing experts. Otherwise, you’re simply advertising.
What is a Marketing Plan?
Simply put, a marketing plan is a road map for your marketing efforts. It specifies your strategy for reaching customers and potential customers, as well as provides a framework for tracking the results of your campaigns. Creating a marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, it can be a very basic document that lists the following:
- Your objectives for the next six to twelve months
- The strategies you’ll utilize to meet these objectives
- The measurements to evaluate the success of your efforts
- Who you’ll be working with to make this plan a reality
- Your projected costs
- Your projected revenues
- Your company’s budget
- The marketing tools you’ll need to get the job done
- The competition
In reality, a marketing plan isn’t something you write once and never look at again. An effective plan will evolve and be modified as necessary, based on feedback and new information. However, an extremely basic plan doesn’t offer much value, as it is too general and can’t provide specific enough guidance for effective marketing.
How Do I Start a Marketing Plan?
If you’re just beginning your journey to become a marketer, the first step is to write down your objectives. Your objectives will determine the goals of your marketing plan. There are several good reasons for doing this. First, it’ll keep you focused on the right direction. Second, it’ll help you gauge your progress, both in terms of the plan itself and your career as a marketer.
As mentioned, your marketing plan is a living document. It should be continuously revised and improved upon based on new information and feedback from the industry. However, some businesses, especially small ones, might find it difficult to constantly update a plan that is already completed. That’s why it’s a good idea to write down your objectives now, even if you don’t have a plan yet. This will give you something to work towards, and the plan itself, while not finished, will already be a valuable document. It can serve as a guide for the future, help you gauge your progress, and provide you with valuable insights into the state of your industry.
Once you’ve got your objectives in place, it’s time to move onto the next step. This is probably the most important part of creating a marketing plan. It’s crucial that you choose the right strategy for your business. Too often, businesses believe that marketing automatically translates to “expensive”. While it is true that advertising can get very expensive, especially when done well, there are plenty of effective and affordable ways to market a business that don’t cost a fortune. For example, you could take advantage of social media platforms such as Twitter to have a conversation with potential customers.