What Do You Do When Your Boss Says Prove It

If you’ve ever found yourself having to defend the merits of social media marketing, you’re officially not alone. A recent report on social media marketing in 2015 reveals the struggle that still exists in pinpointing the almighty ROI of social marketing to that skeptic saying “yes, I see what it does…but how does it help?” Usually that skeptic is the boss (in some way or another) and the answer is not so easy to nail down. Social media is proving to be a little slippery.

The newly released The State of Social Marketing 2015 report by Simply Measured cites three major challenges that were impacting social media marketing in 2015. 

They are:
1.    demonstrating the value of social programs within the company; 
2.    overall business integration; and
3.    not having the right tools to measure social media activities. 

Demonstrating the value of the social programs within the company (#1) was, in fact, the top challenge noted (60%) by survey participants consisting of 600 media marketing professionals.

The reports states, “Companies of all sizes and maturity levels are struggling to prove the value of their social programs. Social media activities can be difficult to quantify, and marketers are trapped between readily available “vanity metrics,” such as Likes and followers, and difficult-to-measure objectives such as brand awareness.”

It goes on, “When it comes to understanding, proving, and quantifying value, social marketers are still trying to find the sweet spot.”

It’s logical to consider (as the report does) that the “sweet spot” could be found by addressing the challenge of #3. or “Not having the right tools to measure social media activities,” which according to the same 600 marketers, is a major frustration for those attempting to work with current analytics options. In addition, they noted the dissatisfaction with their current set of tools and the difficulty of interpreting the data they do have. And here’s the really frustrating bit, it’s hard to drum up enthusiasm and encourage further investment when the current tools or methods don’t allow marketers to provide highly accurate data which would, in turn, drum up enthusiasm and encourage further investment. And the wheel goes round and round. 

Finding the right tool for the right job seems to be an essential part of the plan. In the area of data analytics tools, the report suggests either an inability to hone in on what is truly needed or simply an area that hasn’t been fully addressed in regards to tool development. According to the report, most surveyed are using multiple tools for tracking the various social media channels and as many as 65% said they were using the platform’s native analytics tool.

 

All that being said, the future looks very sunny for social marketing. Tools will emerge that address the needs of social media marketers. Social media marketers will become more adept at interpretation. Chances are both will occur (are occurring). 

And whether the frustrations continue on or are assuaged in the coming year, it might not matter. As squishy as the analytics may appear to the bosses, they’ve seen enough “proof” to increase social marketing budgets, on average, by 12.5% over the next five years from 2015’s 9.9% to 22.4 in 2021. 

For more on sales and marketing, visit www.smstudy.com/articles. 

Sources: 

The State of Social Marketing- 2015, Simply Measured, http://simplymeasured.com/#sm.0001gymsunkgqdcepli19xtqnlo4p

Contemplating Ones Corporate Navel; Analyzing Market Opportunity and SMstudy

With the world breathlessly awaiting the next new super child of business, the hot topics in the dreams of entrepreneurs everywhere are innovation and disruption. Yet, the topic that will make the difference between a super child and an abandoned orphan will be market opportunity.

“An analysis of market opportunities is important because businesses operate in dynamic and constantly evolving environments, so understanding the changing landscape and trends that are impacting the business helps in developing an effective marketing strategy,” says Marketing Strategy, book one of the SMstudy® Guide series. This is true of established businesses developing innovations as well as startups pushing the envelope.

 There’s an adage that says “we make our own opportunities.” The first place to look then is inside one’s self. To a significant extant that is true of business opportunities as well. That is why it is important for a company exploring new innovations to look closely at “the concepts related to analyzing the internal capabilities of [the] company as well as the factors of the external environment that impact the business,” according to Marketing Strategy. In other words, starting a new venture is a good time to contemplates one’s corporate navel.

The Guide recommends using the first two parts of a SWOT analysis—determine strengths and weaknesses—for this introspection. This step is especially necessary for entrepreneurs, who are often in the process of creating the company that will develop and deliver the innovation or disruption. These first parts of a SWOT analysis can be tailored to tell the innovator which strengths should be incorporated into the new organization and which ones should be avoided. Instead of asking, “what are our company’s strengths based on past successes?” the entrepreneur can ask, “what strengths do companies that have succeeded with similar products and services possess? And how can our new company get them?”

Marketing Strategy identifies four inputs that can aid in this process: senior management direction and insights, organizational capabilities, assumptions and constraints and existing market research reports. Obtaining senior management insights may seem impossible for a new company with no senior executives; however, innovation does not happen in a vacuum. That’s why both Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell had to defend themselves against more than one hundred patent suits. There are sources for expert opinion and insights.

Organizational capabilities will have to be tweaked again for entrepreneurs starting companies. Instead of taking an inventory of existing capabilities—in all areas such as finance, operations, human resources, location, intellectual property and organizational culture—startups must determine what capabilities they will need in each of these areas.

“An assumption can be defined as anything that is considered to be true without proof,” says Marketing Strategy. While assumptions are necessary when making plans that deal with the uncertainty of the future, “assumptions related to Sales and Marketing should be clearly thought through and explicitly stated, validated and agreed upon before deciding on any specific strategy or marketing plan.” Assumptions are the home of unrealistic expectations for many innovators and visionaries. They should be agreed upon with extreme caution, clarity and common sense.

Most industries have numerous associations that produce researched reports on current developments and market trends. For example, project management has the Project Management Institute’s Pulse of the Profession report. Governments and institutions of higher learning issue reports almost constantly.

Whatever information the next super child needs, it is out there. And if it has to do with sales and marketing, it is available from SMstudy.

For more interesting articles on sales and marketing visit SMstudy.com/articles