It can be easy to stick with the status quo when it comes to your marketing and advertising plans year in and year out, but you’re also missing out on significant ROI if you don’t have a cohesive strategy or aren’t regularly reviewing your marketing initiatives.
Similar to only treating a customer’s property once a year, if you’re haphazard with your marketing efforts, you can’t be surprised when you see lackluster results. Consistency and alignment matter.
The Power of Planning Ahead
It is best to start thinking about your marketing plan for the following year as early as late summer or early fall. An effective strategy should support your business’s objectives and consistently reach the right audience across channels and touchpoints.
Your marketing strategy should define why you’re showing up, where, and to whom, and how each effort supports your larger business goals.
Just like how the weather can quickly change on a jobsite, your marketing plan also needs to be nimble and adaptive to shifts in the market.
“My recommendation to marketing professionals is yes, have a plan, but realize your plan will likely outdate itself fast, and do not be beholden to a plan,” says Jim Engineer, national director of marketing & communications for Visterra Landscape Group, based in Rosemont, Illinois. “Goals, initiatives, KPIs and a quarterly review of customer acquisition cost and overall go-to-market spend are critical gauges for any well-run marketing department. In my view, an annual plan should be no more than a page, relied on and referred to less, and have a quarterly focus on KPIs, successes and milestones.”
One of the benefits of creating a cohesive marketing plan is that it allows for better alignment and consistent messaging.
“From a planning perspective, for direct mail you need to have a plan there,” says Ben Schloss, VP of marketing at Green Lawn Fertilizing, based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “Because if you don’t, you’re rushing to get creative. If you don’t have the best creative sometimes, you’re actually limited in your strategy.
Leaning on Past Metrics
One major consideration when planning out your marketing strategy for next year is to review the metrics of your past campaigns.
“Marketing pros have to make informed decisions in order to plan for the future and anticipate the unforeseen,” Engineer says. “So, identifying what worked and didn’t work in the current year is always important for future planning.”
Schloss says when they look back on the current year, they review which tactics worked and which ones did not, so they know which to invest more money in for the following year.
What data you choose to review and how you interpret it is critical.
“If you’re not diving into the specifics, you’re going to miss certain things,” Schloss says. “It’s not just creative tests, it’s looking at everything, from your drops down to things like qualifying for best postage rates, so there’s a lot of different things you look at just with mail, and then you apply that same concept to our digital channels as well.”
Schloss says they strive to be as unbiased as possible and follow the numbers as it is easy to pick and choose which metrics to ignore. He says website traffic is an easy vanity metric to fall for. What really matters is what is creating conversions.
Engineer says their most important metric is the customer acquisition cost.
It can be easy to get bogged down in marketing data, as it varies by tactic. In some cases, some data may indicate strong engagement, but your website analytics tell a different story. Pay attention to metrics like online conversions, as these are more meaningful than surface-level engagement.
One high-level metric you can monitor is return on ad spend for your paid campaigns. Utilizing attribution software will also provide the insight needed to make adjustments in real time.
Take the time to build out the necessary infrastructure to track your results, as what gets measured matters. This is how you can know with certainty what’s working, what isn’t and where to invest more.
Crafting Campaigns
Because of the cyclical nature of the industry, typically, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you’re planning out your marketing plans for the following year.
Weather may impact your timings slightly so be mindful of this when planning.
What matters is staying in the loop with the rest of your departments.
“Year to year, seasonal promotions remain consistent based off the agronomics calendar,” says Emmett Hughes, marketing manager for Green Lawn Fertilizing. “With that being said, we really stay in close touch with our quality assurance department, our sales team and operations, just to make sure that we’re fully aware of what they’re seeing out in the field. We pivot and can adjust based on that.”
Hughes says they will also work with their quality assurance team to gather visual and educational content for their customers. He says by closely collaborating with their quality assurance team, they can adjust their messaging in their email marketing based on what’s happening in the field on a weekly basis.
Schloss says he is a part of the company’s weekly sales team meetings, so they are all on the same page.
Keeping It Fresh
While you don’t have to start from scratch each year, it is vital to be willing to experiment with your marketing and try new tactics.
“Creativity is the fuel that keeps us noticed, different and unique,” Engineer says. “Ultimately, creativity in marketing is appreciated by stakeholders and has a direct impact on perception and image. White noise marketing should be a red flag to senior management that a marketing program is stagnant or in need of a refresh on innovation and creativity.”
Engineer says they are always testing new ideas with the goal of raising eyebrows and growing their reputation.
Pay attention to what marketing efforts catch your eye when you are looking for a creative approach with your audience. Sometimes out-of-the-box efforts can truly resonate with your client base.
Schloss says one new tactic they’ve been dabbling in is influencer marketing.
“A couple of influencers have actually done very well for us in terms of attributable business that we can track directly from them, and there are a lot of benefits from people just seeing their ads on social,” Schloss says.
Green Lawn Fertilizing will also revisit marketing methods that didn’t provide the desired results in years past. Hughes says one thing they tried this year was Facebook lead forms, which didn’t perform well in the past, but did better this year.
Give a tactic a couple of efforts before deciding on its efficacy. Sometimes your marketing experiments will flop, but other times they can result in success. The important thing is measuring the results and knowing why something worked or not.
Schloss says you shouldn’t be afraid to try something new and fail.
Advice for Others
When it comes to planning your marketing and advertising, Engineer recommends operating like a start-up with an entrepreneurial mindset.
“Treat every person at every level within your organization with mutual respect, progress with agility, and plan to successfully execute at least one absolutely huge milestone or event each year,” Engineer says.
Focus on the big picture before diving into tactics. Whether you’re running digital ads or mailing postcards, these only move the needle when they’re tied to an overarching strategic foundation.
“Make sure that you’re looking at your marketing with the longest lens that you can,” Schloss says. “Matt Jesson, our owner, has a 20-year plan that he’s looking at with our financials and looking long term and putting money aside for things that may work and they may not, but have high potential to really get great returns.”
Whether it’s high-end residential clients, commercial property managers, or maintenance contracts, tailoring your messaging and selecting the right channels makes every dollar go further.
Build your marketing plan around your sales funnel so it guides potential clients from leads into your clients. Don’t simply share a bunch of disconnected promotions and posts throughout the year.
This article was published in the November/December issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
