Stop Spending on Marketing Until You Can Answer This One Question
Jessica Wallace- Refined Media 716
If there's one thing we've learned from working alongside businesses across Western New York and beyond, it's this: Most businesses don't need more marketing.
They need more clarity.
Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with businesses across a wide range of industries- from retail and hospitality to construction, insurance, tourism, agriculture, service-based businesses, and e-commerce. Along the way, we've built websites, managed social media, designed print collateral, implemented technology systems, developed business growth strategies, and helped brands navigate everything from startup launches to expansion.
What we've discovered is that successful marketing rarely starts with a platform.
It starts with a plan.
Many businesses find themselves asking the same question:
"How much should I be spending on marketing?"
While there are industry benchmarks and recommended percentages, we believe there's a more important question to answer first:
What are you trying to accomplish?
The answer to that question changes everything.
Marketing Dollars Should Follow Strategy
One of the biggest misconceptions in marketing is that there is a universal formula for success.
There isn't.
The right marketing approach for a local restaurant looks different than the right approach for a contractor. The right strategy for a growing online retailer looks different than the strategy for a professional service provider. Even businesses within the same industry often require different approaches based on their goals, audience, and stage of growth.
That's why we encourage businesses to take a step back before committing their entire budget to a single platform, publication, or service.
Marketing works best when it supports a larger objective.
Whether you're focused on increasing visibility, building trust, growing your audience, launching a new service, expanding into a new market, or strengthening customer relationships, your strategy should guide where your dollars go… not the other way around.
Consultations do so much and we’ve found them to be incredibly valuable. To learn what’s working, what’s not, what the goals are, and what we’re up against will provide the kind of alignment you need.
An extended version will soon be available in Refined Access.
Read More
Whether you're focused on increasing visibility, building trust, growing your audience, launching a new service, expanding into a new market, or strengthening customer relationships, your strategy should guide where your dollars go… not the other way around.