Quirk eMarketing
In my research for this post, I found a white paper titled, Integration: The Holy Grail of Online Marketing. I almost didn’t feel the need to read any further; not because it wasn’t a good or valuable paper, but because the title encompassed everything that I needed to know.
Of course this refers to marketing integration generally, rather than just the integration of campaign goals, but when you get down to the nitty gritty, these are one and the same. Or at least, they should be.
The problem with this analogy is pretty obvious though: while many came close, or thought they did, the Holy Grail was never actually found. While many grail seekers claim to have laid their grubby paws on it, it remains an ever elusive entity.
You may have to take a hard look at your current marketing practices. Image Credit: Okko
True marketing integration is much the same, but however difficult it is to attain, it is critical if you’re hoping to elevate return on investment and competitive advantage. More than that though, you can argue that this approach to strategy promises an increase in annual revenue and an improved conversion of leads into sales.
So what do you need to do?
1. Be prepared to overhaul your existing marketing processes
Or at least give them a thorough spring clean. Yes, yes, I’m sure that for the last 10 years, you have been doing things much the same way. Bully for you. 10 years ago, women everywhere were wearing tight white denim jeans – a lot of mistakes were made back then. The essence of marketing is that it has to move with the times. And it does. But just like trying to fit your 2009 body into 1999 white jeans requires a good dose of wishful thinking, your processes need to evolve to fit the new contours of your strategy. Without this, integration will remain as unattainable as the Holy Grail.
2. Start with the goals
Are your current marketing goals geared towards integrating your online and offline efforts? If you’re at this point, the chances are, you have delved into the sparkly pool of online marketing and splashed around a little bit without a whole lot of thought going into the how and why. You might have separate goals for each campaign or each area of marketing. These need unification in line with your overall business strategy. Without knowing exactly why you are doing things in a particular way, you can never achieve (insert awesome jargon term here) synergy.
3. Get everyone into the same room at the same time
If you have an in house marketing department that out-sources to a traditional agency, an online agency, and a part-time marketing consultant, my guess is that your head is in your hands and that you are cursing the universe in despair. No need for the melodrama. Provided you don’t have different stakeholders managing your TV ads, billboards, print ads, PR, email marketing, PPC, web development and online PR. You’re still ok. Breathe. (If the latter is the case however, you have 2 choices: fire your marketing department or fire all of your suppliers. Maybe do both.)
Anyway, the best solution is to chuck some boxing gloves into the boardroom and let them fight it out. This will provide the opportunity for your marketing teams to work together more effectively. It will also enable them to feel their way through the roles and responsibilities that need to be assigned and will ensure that everyone is on the same page and has a bird’s eye view of the bigger picture.
4. Focus on Measurement
It’s been said before and it will be said again – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. While measurement of marketing ROI is an ongoing challenge, choosing the right metrics and the right benchmarks is a good starting point. Measurement integration is probably your biggest challenge – how do you take the measurement methods used for traditional marketing and those implemented for eMarketing and make them speak to each other? This unfortunately, is so company-specific that there isn’t really a general answer. The best working solution is to test various approaches and asses which of the resulting answers offer the most accurate reflection of your success or failure.
The bottom line: every marketing department worth its salt is aggressively seeking a more integrated approach to marketing. Ultimately, while it is a difficult road, it is one worth travelling. The Holy Grail when, and if you find it promises swift growth, profits and competitive advantage. Even if perfect synergy (oh how I do love that word) is impossible, there is value in the attempt – streamlined processes and practical insights if nothing else.
