How can you ensure your marketing department has the ability to be both effective in its approach, and efficient in the manner with which it gathers and disseminates market information? An effective and efficient marketing department means the difference between success and failure, and business won and lost.
Timely marketing, and in-depth analysis of market information, is essential in order to make sure your company captures new customers, increases its market share, and penetrates new business opportunities. Is there anything that can be done to improve both of these critical aspects of your marketing department? First, let’s make sure we understand the inherent differences between being effective versus being efficient in your marketing endeavors.
Understand the differences between being effective & efficient
Being effective and efficient are entirely two different things. However, one without the other won’t allow you to achieve the level of success your company needs. Being efficient without being effective, and vice versa, is an exercise in futility.
- Being effective means putting together impactful marketing plans that convey a message, and provide important information.
- Being efficient means you have the ability to take that information, use what you need, and make immediate adjustments to your marketing plan.
Think of it the following way. You need to have someone who can do the job well, thereby being effective, and who has the ability to gather the information and decide what’s useful and what isn’t, thereby being efficient. An effective marketing department is an efficient marketing department. One without the other simply won’t work.
You need to ensure your marketing department can combine these two principles into one cohesive action plan. It’s much easier said than done. To clarify, let’s take a look at some ways to make your marketing department more effective and efficient.
We need an effective marketing department
Having an effective marketing department means having an effective marketing plan, and the people with the ability to put those plans together. Without the proper experience, and market based knowledge, your plans simply won’t provide the kind of results your company is looking for. So, first and foremost, you must have people who have the necessary skills and mindset to make your marketing plans effective. However, it’s not always just about having the best people.
Every company, regardless of how good a marketing department they have, can still use some different perspectives and approaches now and then. It’s really about bringing fresh ideas to the table, and providing new and innovative ways of looking at the marketing plan. Therefore, when needing to make your marketing plan more effective, understand that the limitation of your marketing department may need some fresh infusion of ideologies and approaches.
You can make your marketing department more effective by
- providing them with the company wide support they need to be successful,
- ensuring timely feedback from sales on customer likes and dislikes,
- ensuring that your marketing department addresses a specific need and is not too broad based in its approach, and finally,
- by taking the time to see if outsourced marketing can provide that much needed infusion of fresh new approaches your marketing plan needs.
These four approaches, used together cohesively, will provide the ultimate path to ensuring your marketing department is more effective.
We need an efficient marketing department
How efficient is your marketing department? Do they get valuable information in a timely manner and use that information within a reasonable time frame, or do they waste precious time waiting for results? Do you know how fast your marketing plans should provide you with relevant and important information? These are a lot of questions to consider. However, if you’re having a hard time answering them then it’s more than likely that your marketing department is not as efficient as it could be.
You may have a marketing plan that looks great on paper, and a proactive marketing department, but if that plan doesn’t provide you with the right information at the right time, then you’re wasting both time and money. How can you make sure your marketing department is more efficient? Consider the following as a guideline.
Your marketing plans should always feed into themselves. They should lead to a continuous feedback loop of market information that allows you to grow, and improve, each subsequent marketing plan. An efficient marketing plan is one that leads to what marketing experts call “organic growth”. This “organic growth” occurs when your business turnover at accounts increases with each new marketing plan you introduce.
When your customers call you on their own to increase their volume of business, then you’ve achieved organic growth. Efficient marketing plans lead to organic growth. If you haven’t achieved this yet with your customers, then it might be time to look for help. Let’s summarize all our points about an effective and efficient marketing department.
- Marketing needs company wide support from all internal departments.
- Marketing needs sales to provide immediate customer feedback on initiatives.
- Marketing needs to be specific.
- Marketing needs fresh infusion of ideas and can get this from an outside marketing consulting firm.
- Marketing plans should get information in a timely and consistent manner.
- Marketing plans should be infinitely expanding and growing.
- Marketing plans should lead to “organic growth” at customer accounts.
Granted, this is all a lot to consider. However, most businesses forget that marketing encompasses their entire business operations. It’s every aspect of their business rolled into one message to market. It’s the sales, customer service, engineering, and manufacturing departments all speaking to one another and ensuring that every aspect of the business is well represented in one singular message. Ensuring that your marketing department is both effective and efficient, means your ability to grow business vastly increases.
