Short-term goals leave marketers short-sighted
For some marketing teams, data and analytics are typically thought of as a long-term priority. In previous blogs, we’ve talked a little about the pursuit of implementing a solution typically falling to the wayside with other “short term” challenges. Those challenges are generally comprised of; generating traffic and leads, securing more budget, managing the website, creating content, and the hiring of additional marketers. If only there was a way to improve web traffic and leads based off campaign results over time. Or an easier way to ask the executive team to approve a larger budget if you had the data to back your efforts. Data seems like the obvious answer, but what prevents marketers from facing the “data elephant” in the room?
MarTech: the final frontier
The marketing technology universe is continually expanding, reaching numbers of over 5000 different tools. This landscape may be one reason marketing teams can’t bring themselves to pursue a solution. The amount of technology that exists is overwhelming and intimidating. How are marketing teams supposed to choose and prioritize the right tools, let alone make an investment? The right solutions for your business are out there. There are many marketing teams currently benefiting from their data and have a competitive edge with a level of sophistication they didn’t know they were capable of.
Long-term focus is the name of the game
If you’re reading this and are in marketing or sales, you understand the importance of nurturing leads and that sales is a number’s game. According to InsightSquared, the average sales cycle is 88 days. 88 grueling days of on/off communication with a prospect, monitoring and hoping your lead will convert. Of course, a typical funnel will be filled with these leads at various stages and we don’t mind waiting for them to convert. Why are we patient when it comes to waiting and nurturing, knowing a lead has a 50/50 shot of closing? Why aren’t we patient when it comes to investing in a data solution that has a 100% chance of paying off down the road-not to mention bringing in many more and better qualified leads?
Time is of the essence
As a marketer, you’re continually thinking about time and there’s never enough of it. Some projects are broken down by billable hours. Campaigns and email launches are timed in great detail. The sales team needs fresh leads, and they need them now. It’s no wonder that priorities shift because of timing, or you don’t have enough time to evaluate a tool that will actually save time. Let’s rephrase the old motto “you need to spend money to make money” to “you need to spend time to make time”. If you knew that your time investment would pay off, would you make the time? Hubspot published a report stating that marketers on average spend 16 hours a week collecting, organizing, and figuring out their data manually. What would you and your team do with an extra 16 hours in a week? Most say they would be able to create more content, redesign their website, deliver projects on time, and most importantly grab coffee.
Take a step back before taking steps forward
So here you are, standing at the intersection of knowing what needs to be done, and actually doing it. Take a step back and look at the entire big picture of your marketing-scratch that, your entire business. Your brand is driven by overall marketing effectiveness, not just short-lived campaigns or communication. You can harness so much more power by understanding the data that is driving your brand. The big picture view should be awe-inspiring, you just need to be able to climb high enough to see it.