The Value of Doing Research Before Developing Your Marketing Strategy

By Michelle Matura Hentzell

With any business, including health care related businesses, it is important to do some research before developing your marketing strategy to maximize your return-on-investment. Here are some steps to follow:

1. What is the goal of your research? Do you want to increase revenue or do you need to improve your customer service? Or, are you looking to market a new product or service?

2. Find out the buying habits of the customers in your target market. You can find this information through trade publications, marketing magazines, government reports or your local chamber of commerce. There are also companies where you can purchase data.

3. Conduct a survey. You can do a random mail or telephone survey to test your ideas.

4. Learn as much as you can from your current customers. You can do personal interviews, surveys or focus groups about the products or services you provide.

5. Observe…observe…observe. You can learn valuable information by watching the different points of customer contact in your business, including reception, sales or even customer service.

6. Know your best customers. You can find this information but reviewing your sales records. You can then identify your most profitable products or services so you know where to focus your marketing efforts.

7. Develop your marketing strategy. Once you have collected your data, you can build or re-evaluate your marketing strategy with the appropriate focus.

The Importance of Determining Marketing Return-On-Investment (ROI)

By Michelle Matura Hentzell

As budget dollars become scarcer, determining an ROI on marketing investments becomes more important than ever. ROI does not only tell you the cost of the campaign but it tells you the effectiveness.
You may ask, “How do you determine campaign effectiveness?” First, you want to start with establishing your goal and then think about what types of measures would help you get to your goal. Here are a few examples:

• Number of leads
• Revenue generated
• Number of web hits or visitors
• Sales Volume

There are many ways to determine ROI but the most common are expressed in terms of a dollar amount or as a ratio. The formulas are simple.

The dollar amount formula shows how the campaign increased profit.
(Cost savings and earnings) – (Dollars invested) = ROI

The ratio formula shows, in dollars, how much you got back for every dollar invested.
(Cost savings and earnings) / (Dollars invested) = ROI

It is important to measure every marketing initiative to determine its success or possibly its failure. But, if the campaign is not a success, then you can re-evaluate and not run the same type of campaign again.

Marketing During an Economic Downturn

By Michelle Matura Hentzell, Insight Marketing Group

Many contemplate on how did we get here? Are we really in a recession? Regardless of the state of the economy, companies have to find a way to grow and/or sustain their business. Here are a few tips on ways to market in a down turn environment.

1. Rely on ROI
The key is to evaluate in advance what your potential return-on-investment (ROI) will be for any marketing or sales activity. With dollars being tight, you want to make sure that you are focusing on activities that will provide you with the greatest return. Here are a few questions you should answer when determining your best focus:
· What programs or products have the best margins?
· What programs or products have the highest demand? Lowest demand?
· What is the cost to acquire a customer?
· What is the cost to retain a customer?
Once you have this information, you can then determine what dollars will be available to you for your marketing efforts. The return will be greater than the expense of doing the marketing or sales initiative.

2. Segment and target markets
Sometimes businesses fall into the trap of trying to be all things to all people. To avoid this pitfall, segment your market and select the segments that are best to target for your business. You will have the ability to know in advance what is happening in your target markets and how they may be reacting to a recession. You will then be able to be proactive and possibly change a product or the direction of a program that you have to offer.

By doing this you will:
· Better identify unmet needs
· Match what your customers need so you can use your resources more effectively
· Be able to promote your strengths and exploit your competitors weaknesses
· Employ more sharply focused marketing and sales activities

3. Re-focus on your current customers
If you have established good customer loyalty, when times are uncertain and money is tight, they will turn to a trusted source where they already have a relationship. You should continue to market to them, so during these tough times, they think of you first.