| If you want to compete in the world of high growth | | | | the faster we can put that money to work in the next |
| startups, you better know how to play the marketing | | | | cycle. The faster we put that money to work, the |
| game. Marketing has become a big stakes game | | | | more money we generate from additional customers. |
| where companies are betting fortunes on the success | | | | The math is straightforward, but getting there can be a |
| of their products. Nowadays if you can't play the big | | | | little tricky. |
| marketing game you may not even get the attention | | | | Finding the winning hand |
| of the customers you need to grow your business. | | | | It would be easy if we already knew what marketing |
| So how do you compete if you don't have the cash to | | | | strategies returned quickly and could just double up our |
| run with the big dogs? The answer lies in growing your | | | | bets on those efforts. Unfortunately we don't know |
| marketing budget by doubling up on your marketing | | | | what works until we try it, which costs money and |
| investments quickly. Chances are the capital you need | | | | time. Finding this winning hand to double down on can |
| to compete in this game is right under your nose, you | | | | become a job unto itself. |
| just need to know where to look for it. | | | | A popular way to test different messages and reach |
| Make marketing an investment | | | | your target population quickly is Internet advertising. |
| The first step to growing your marketing budget is | | | | Unlike TV, radio or print, Internet-based campaigns are |
| thinking about it differently. People used to think of their | | | | relatively cheap and highly trackable. Use the Internet |
| marketing budget as a line item expense that they | | | | to test out different messages, advertise on different |
| wrote checks for throughout the year. It was almost | | | | Web sites, and gather feedback quickly from |
| like rent - a normal cost of doing business. The mistake | | | | customers about what works. You can then apply |
| these startups made was that they treated marketing | | | | your findings toward riskier (and more expensive) |
| like an expense. It's time to start thinking of your | | | | media. |
| marketing as an investment that you expect to yield a | | | | Your goal here is to find the campaigns that will give |
| return. | | | | you the opportunity to invest significantly more dollars |
| Like any investment you would make in the stock | | | | with a nice short term return. If it's the right campaign, |
| market, your marketing investment should generate a | | | | you will be able to spend incrementally more every |
| specific monetary return in an expected period of time. | | | | month, constantly rolling last month's proceeds into next |
| For our purposes, we're looking for short term | | | | month's increased marketing budget. |
| investments that will produce enough working capital to | | | | Don't shotgun |
| re-invest quickly to grow our marketing. | | | | The last thing you want to do is try a "shotgun" |
| Grow marketing, grow customers | | | | approach toward marketing where you try everything |
| We all know that marketing attracts the customers | | | | at once and wait to see what happens. This can get |
| we need to generate more sales. For this reason, if | | | | very confusing because you often don't know what's |
| we want to grow our position in the market we're | | | | working and what isn't. Instead, focus on a few |
| going to need to grow our marketing budget as fast | | | | strategies at once, measure them completely, and then |
| as possible to grow our customer base. The key to | | | | try a few more. |
| growing the budget lies in generating cash flow from | | | | Double down |
| the returns on our marketing investment. | | | | Once you've found some strategies that work now it's |
| Short Term Returns | | | | time to put your money down. Invest heavily in those |
| People used to take the long view of their marketing | | | | campaigns and keep plowing the returns back into the |
| budgets - planning them a year out. This "set it and | | | | same winning hand. This is how you scale your |
| forget it" approach may work well for Ron Popeil, but | | | | marketing to create the types of campaigns that |
| smart marketers throw that line of thinking out the | | | | move markets and win customers. |
| window. Instead, we budget our marketing based on | | | | Fast growth companies are always looking for ways |
| months, or quarters at the longest. By looking for | | | | to exponentially increase their marketing spend, but |
| marketing opportunities that provide short term returns | | | | only on campaigns that have a demonstrated track |
| we create opportunities to increase our marketing | | | | record for success. Next time when you come to the |
| budget rapidly with the additional capital we've | | | | table with the big boys, look for that winning hand, |
| generated. | | | | double down on your bet and clear out the competition! |
| The faster we can provide a return on our marketing | | | | |