How to convince your boss that your company needs a marketing strategy

Marketing is all around us, whether we realise it or not, and has become a part of our everyday life. Using marketing strategies helps form a relationship with your audience, gain it’s trust and helps sell products and services - which of course is the main goal.

Unfortunately, most of the time brands overlook and underestimate the power of a good marketing strategy for various reasons. Some brands have been disappointed in the past by other marketing agencies and fear to initiate anything new.

The problem is usually a combination of misunderstanding, different visions and choosing the wrong agency for your needs.

It’s difficult to rebuild trust after failing many projects and not getting the results you expected. Numerous brands are afraid of investing in marketing because of their false conception of the costs it comes with. It may seem like a huge investment, but it doesn’t have to be if it is done accordingly to your brand's needs. People dislike change - risking your business by introducing something new is also something some brands are unwilling to do. For some marketing equals sales which is a total misconception. You can’t be guaranteed that sales will blow up because of a bland marketing strategy.

There are many other factors involved in helping your brand become successful. A lot of the time brands even have a marketing „strategy” that consists of no thought out plan and is just a waste of their budget that brings zero results. In order to actually introduce a proper marketing strategy, your boss must be on the same page as you and understand why it’s crucially important for your brand to invest in a good marketing plan.

„I don’t believe in marketing”

We’ve all heard this one before. Without a doubt marketing done correctly can produce dramatic results for your brand. A key element of marketing is winning over your potential clients. Without any strategy or tactic gaining clients and followers is nearly impossible and doesn’t benefit your brand in any way. Studies show marketing brings higher sales, increases brand awareness, builds a positive brand name and gives you a leading role when compared to other brands with no marketing strategy. If your goal is to increase your income and become successful, you must be active and ready to promote your brand.

According to studies, 66% of SMB owners are personally responsible for three or more of the following areas of their business: operations, finance, sales, marketing, human resources, customer service, product development, or IT (Salesforce, 2017). This shows owners have a significant impact on the success of their brand. By ignoring marketing as a whole, you are less likely to achieve any positive results within your company.

„I don’t need marketing”  

Statistics show 42% of small businesses fail because there’s no market for their product or service and 14% fail because they ignore their customers (VisualCapitalist, 2017). In order for your product or service to be well known and arouse interest, it should be marketed on different platforms, specifically social media. If you aren’t letting potential customers know about your idea how do expect to have successful sales? Another study shows that between 70-80% of people research a company online BEFORE visiting the small business or making a purchase with them. An untrusted brand will not get many customers. By having great content and high activity online, you will see results in the number of sales and interest your brand receives.

Marketing influence on the success of the small business. Source: VisualCapitalist, 2017

„I’ve been disappointed by a past agency”

It’s not a surprise that having been cheated in the past by another marketing agency makes brands sceptical of agencies in general.

Sometimes it’s a matter of miscommunication and having separate visions of what the strategy should look like. Other times it’s investing, being charged too much and receiving dissatisfying results. It’s important to choose an agency that believes in your brand, wants you to succeed and listens to all of your needs while also standing its ground and knowing what will work. A foolproof way of finding an agency for you is recommendations from associates or online opinions. Matching your companies needs with the agency’s motives and ideas will help bring the results you expect.

„I don’t have a budget”

Probably the most common excuse of most owners. Having a small budget does not equal not being able to afford a marketing strategy.

Many agencies provide low-cost services. Even if that is too much, you can always plan a strategy on your own, but this will require more effort and a lot of motivation. Learning what works best in marketing can take some time, but there are millions of articles, websites and videos on how to improve your strategy.

Statistics prove 61% of small businesses invest in social media marketing, while 25% invest in online marketing (Clutch.co, 2018). Almost 90% of marketers say their social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business, and 75% say they’ve increased traffic (Vendasta, 2017). By analysing this information you come to one conclusion- social media is king. Unfortunately, the truth is without any kind of resources it’s difficult to distribute material and gain popularity online. You have to know what you’re doing and what you are trying to get across.

„Marketing doesn’t work”

If anything, marketing is one of the top factors that determine the success of a brand.

There are thousands of statistics to prove this: driving sales (51.3%) and building brand awareness (48.4%) are the two top digital marketing priorities for small businesses (Leadpages, 2017) while 43% of SMBs says that improving customer experience and retention is their top strategy to improve revenue growth. Marketing done right brings excellent results- it’s just a matter of time, patience and finding the right strategy customised for your brand. It isn’t always a quick success. You must see what gravitates customers towards your brand and how you can use this in the best possible way.

In conclusion, it’s no walk in the park convincing your boss to new investment in marketing. This isn’t a universal solution to everything within your brand, and not everything will work for each. It may take some trial and error before you find the right method for your boss. The key to success is keeping your company’s situation in mind while determining your strategy and choosing a marketing solution that will work best. It’s only a matter of time when you will see how helpful and necessary a marketing strategy can be and once you start seeing results, you will never go back.

It'll convince your boss! Web push notifications - 15% CTR. Start testing for FREE!