3 Ways Marketing Should Be Making Your Company Money
I’m going to be brutally honest here and tell you about the industry that is the most behind-the-times when it comes to marketing:
Animal health and agriculture.
There’s kind of this “old boys club” mentality that marketing is supposed to function as the “catch-all.”
Let me clear this up, once and for all.
Marketing is NOT:
Administrative staff
Note-takers
Customer service
The scheduling department
Billing
Invoicing
Accounting
Flyer-makers
Order takers
Email writers
PowerPoint editors
Legal
Regulatory
All of these are super valuable and important roles, believe me, I know, because I do them all as a business owner. And I’ve done all of these roles in various capacities through the years.
But I believe that true, real marketing is a money-making activity.
The definition of marketing according to the New Oxford American Dictionary (thanks to my Mac) is “the activity of promoting and selling products or services.”
So how can marketing promote and sell products in today’s digital world?
Through educational, engaging and entertaining content
Through webinars, in-person meetings or events that bring people together
By creating videos, photos, websites and graphics that invoke a feeling or an emotion in a particular audience
By connecting and building communities that people love so much they can’t help but purchase something
By talking to people like they’re real people (not “leads”) and creating products and services that match their deepest desires and needs
What does “content” mean?
Pretty much as soon as anyone says the words “content creation,” a long laundry list starts populating in my mind.
Content can range from email to blogs to video to PR to print or digital advertising to infographics to social media and so much more. There is no one right way to go about content creation; It depends on your business and how it makes sense to connect to your audience.
My point is that creating and connecting are the activities that make businesses money, in both the short and long-term.
And yes, of course, you need a sales team. These are the people who go out and talk about your products and services and bring you real life feedback and ideas from the field.
But do you get that marketing is not a cost center?
Marketing is a money maker.
And if it’s not, then you may need to re-evaluate your strategy.
Here’s three ways I believe that marketing should be making your company money:
1) By creating searchable, relevant content. There’s a lot to this (see paragraph above about what “content” could mean), but when I say searchable, I mean that your content should be search-engine-optimized (SEO) for whatever platform you are on. Google, YouTube and Pinterest are all search engines and work with thousands of signals to get your content into the hands of those searching.
Using appropriate keywords, accurate meta-descriptions, recognizing search intent and creating helpful content are just a few considerations. On social media, using hashtags is one way to make your content more searchable.
When more people can find your content, they begin to get to know you, learn from you and fall in love with you. All of this creates sales.
Keeping on top of new updates to content is an entire job in and of itself, which is why it is important to have a marketing team that is constantly seeking and learning new information. Content is a necessary piece of today’s digital world, but it requires experimentation, getting messy and playing the long game.
2) Through dynamic visuals that invoke feeling and emotion. When people cannot help but feel inspired or moved by your brand, they will buy from you and you really have not had to “sell” a thing. Visuals can be in the form of your website (it should be a vibe), a flyer, your logo and all other relevant branding (colors, fonts, design elements, etc.).
3) By connecting with people and providing value. Value can be entertaining, educational or inspirational. You don’t have to fit into a box here, but your marketing should be communicating and creating connection with a specific audience of people. This can be through email, video, photography, infographics, social media, webinars, events and more.
People buy from people. If people feel seen and connected with, there’s a much higher chance that you will sell more.
The sky is the limit
Creative marketing is all about new ideas. I am not a believer in traditional boxes or fitting into a mold. All I am saying is that if you feel like marketing is just a cost center, you may want to expand your horizons and consider how this department can really make your company a lot of money, both in the short and long-term.
When people feel inspired, seen and appreciated, they make purchases. When people can get behind a message or a movement, they vote with their dollars.
The sky is really the limit when it comes to marketing, but you have to task your marketing team with the correct functions and not mix roles (see above). If you’re not focused on the three things above, your company is likely leaving money on the table.
I promise that if you have the right team, give them the power to do what they are really good at, and put different techniques and methods to work to tap into both short and long-term profit, your company will be on its way to its next million in no time.
Xoxo,
Em
