The importance of flexibility in marketing
Posted on 18th August 2022 at 15:50
If the past two years have taught us anything it’s that nothing is fixed. Anyone who deals in absolutes is likely to find themselves struggling as the political and social environment charges against us. We must accept that there are no constants, and not everything can be predicted. It’s important to be flexible.
Rigid and fixed plans all but failed in 2020 when the country was locked down and offices were emptied. Shops were closed. People had to adjust the way they did everything; and this included their buying habits.
To be honest, using the pandemic as a reason to start discussing flexibility in marketing almost seems hyperbolic. We don’t need to wait for international medical disasters to start being flexible. We just need to exercise a little common sense.
The problem with fixed and rigid marketing strategies
Perhaps a decade or two ago, when you could count on long trends, tying all of your budget up in a single immovable campaign might have worked. When digital marketing was in its infancy you may only have had to worry about email marketing and one or two social media platforms.
Now people live online, and the online world is constantly in flux. As such, communication is an ever-evolving concern. The way we talk to each other, and the methods we use to get each other’s attention has adapted to suit new generations and new consumers.
Marketing strategies that now tie up all the budget on a specific campaign run the risk of running their course with little traction. Even if it starts off well, your campaigns could start to run aground.
Consider customers moving through the sales funnel
A good reason to make sure that your marketing is flexible is, your campaign might be working.
If you have a buyer persona or target audience in mind, and you reach them effectively, they are not always going to need leading to the funnel. They could be there already waiting for you to provide them with the content they need to nurture that relationship.
After a while your campaign has to consider the customer journey.
The reception might be different to what you’ve predicted
There is no accurate crystal ball in business. We can perform all the competitor or market research we want, but you can only ever profile the audience so far. They could respond very differently to your campaign than you had surmised. If that is the case, you might need to change your campaign or branding a little.
If you aren’t getting the engagement you expected, you can always perform some conversion rate optimization (CRO) to pinpoint the weaknesses in your campaign. If you are flexible enough, this can be adjusted, and an improved campaign could be created and released.
Long-term goals short term wins
When beginning your marketing campaign, it is natural and right to focus on the big picture. But the long-term goal is a journey. To get there you need to be mindful of all the short-term wins along the way.
With all the innovative marketing tools out there, businesses no longer need to make languishing marketing decisions. Nor do they need to immortalise their campaigns by embossing them on a plaque. The beauty of all the digital marketing platforms is that you can constantly tweak your campaigns. Success is only a matter of identifying the opportunities and making the right changes.
If you are worried about your marketing campaigns and strategies, contact us today on 01604 698 948, or email hello@tj-marketing.co.uk for more information.
Tagged as: Blog, Marketing Strategy
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