As the “slow days of summer” wind down, marketers begin to ramp up for the busy fall season ahead. It is during this transition time, that marketers can focus on some of those items which are not typically deadline driven and often cast aside during peak marketing months. This article focuses on some key areas for marketers to direct their attention to, in order to shape-up their marketing and fully prepare for the season to come. The results will strengthen upcoming marketing efforts and provide a competitive edge.
Update content. It is important your marketing collateral content is up-to-date and relevant. Take the time to go through marketing materials, including your website and brochures, to make sure they accurately reflect current positioning and consistently communicate value. Talk to your field sales team and gather more information about what the market is saying. Make sure content reflects popular pain points and addresses true market concerns. You may not need a content overhaul; often times a simple refresh will do the trick.
Create new collateral. There is always an opportunity/demand for more collateral, but usually little time to develop it. Think ahead to upcoming marketing activities, map out any collateral needs and get a head start. The summer is a perfect opportunity to develop new customer case studies for future campaigns. Creating these in advance will allow plenty of time for the long natured approval process to gain final sign-off. Look through editorial calendars and write thought leadership articles to pitch to publications down the road. Develop new product/services datasheets for prospect distribution or targeted brochures for use at upcoming events. Take this time to plan ahead and ramp up your collateral library to better support the sales team and future marketing efforts.
Grow relationships. Partner marketing programs open many doors and provide increased reach for marketing efforts. While it is often difficult to carve out time to build and nurture these relationships, keeping closely connected is key to driving joint success. Initiate discussions with current partners to define future marketing activities and explore new ways to enhance the partnership. Reach out to companies to develop new partnerships and identify creative ways to work together. Taking the time to build, strengthen or reinforce relationships will significantly improve the success of partner marketing efforts down the road.
Update the marketing database. A strong marketing database lays the foundation for successful marketing campaigns. Take time to ensure it is up-to-date and accurate. When possible, segment the database on key factors so you can prioritize your efforts and pave the way for highly targeted campaigns. A good approach is to kick off database cleanup initiatives where you reach out and validate contact information for key contacts first. Then focus on older contacts and make efforts to update information or confirm accuracy. Purge your database of old contacts or contacts that don’t fit your target profile. Any efforts you take to increase accuracy and grow your database today will be rewarded by the success of future campaigns.
Building a Strong Marketing Foundation
Before jumping into the busy fall season ahead, take the time to build a strong marketing foundation. Direct your attention to those marketing activities that have been placed on hold for more time sensitive projects. Shift focus to more strategic efforts that often fall to the bottom of the to-do list. Take advantage of this time to “shape-up” your marketing and better target your messaging, create/revise collateral, grow relationships and update your contact database in order to increase the visibility and relevancy of future campaigns. Looking for guidance with your marketing activities, or an extra set of hands? Contact Launch Marketing today.
photo credit: http://www.downtownmagazinenyc.com/downtowns-guide-perfect-summer-vacation/
There are no comments