My Marketing Strategy
Nicolette Lemmon, President & Founder
It’s the final lap to finishing 2010 marketing plan with clients and, after conceptually living in 2011, I keep thinking 2010 is over. It’s a marketing professional’s job to live and think in the future, always planning what can be done next to achieve the corporate goals. In marketing, the current year has set the foundation for next year’s success.
Marketing is all about the future, the foundation for being in business next year.
Well, for keeping the organization in business there are some questions that have to be answered with every plan.
- Is there a focus to the business plan?
- Is there a passion exhibited by employees?
- Is there a compelling tagline to rally around?
The answers to these questions are critical to a successful marketing plan. If there is no clear focus with goals to achieve, there is no clear direction for marketing efforts. One client would say how he has been known to walk the halls saying “I want loans, loans, loans!” Definitely a focus!
If employees are not passionate about their work, they won’t buy in to fulfilling the marketing promises that the marketing department puts in communications with members/customers. If they don’t have the enthusiasm to cross sell and meet the member/customer’s expectations, the marketing dollars are lost and momentum is slowed.
And, if the tagline is nothing more than some words that seemed catchy at the time, it might do more harm than good. If the tagline used across all communications with members/customers is not really supported with how it represents the differentiation of the organization from its competition, then you lose brand power. In a discussion with one CEO about a using their tagline in a marketing promotion, he mentioned how he was concerned to use it. What once illustrated the credit union’s value and service was now preempted by going under the letter with NCUA and not being able to provide the value and service it promised.
Three little questions with so much importance for success in 2011.
What questions do you ask about your business?