How To Get The Most Out Of Your Marketing Budget - SIINDA Dublin 2015 [READING VERSION]

@BridgetRandolph
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF
YOUR MARKETING BUDGET
Bridget Randolph
bridget.randolph@distilled.net

@BridgetRandolph
And I have a confession -
I’m kind of addicted to
personal development books.

@BridgetRandolph
I’m always trying to figure out
how to optimise my resources
- time, money, knowledge -
to get the best return
and achieve the
BIG WINS.

@BridgetRandolph
But for a long time,
despite my best intentions,
I didn’t manage to achieve those things.

@BridgetRandolph
And then one day, I read a story
about Warren Buffett, a man whom Google
tells me is the ‘most successful investor of
the 20th century’.

@BridgetRandolph
Warren Buffett is a businessman,
not a productivity guru or a life coach.

@BridgetRandolph
But his advice stuck with me because it was
so surprising but so helpful.

@BridgetRandolph
Warren Buffett is a busy man,
and he uses an executive jet service.
And he happened to strike up a friendship
with one of the pilots, a man called Mike.

@BridgetRandolph
Warren wanted to help Mike achieve his
goals, so one day he sat him down and said,

@BridgetRandolph
“Mike, I’m going to help you achieve your
goals. The first step is that you need to write
down your 25 biggest goals for your career.”
So Mike did.

@BridgetRandolph
And Warren Buffett said,
“Ok, Mike, now I want you to circle the 5
most important things on that list.”
So Mike did.

@BridgetRandolph
“Ok, Mike, now let’s make a plan for how
you’re going to achieve those top 5 goals.”
So they did.

@BridgetRandolph
And then Warren Buffett said,
“Ok, Mike, now you’ve got a plan for the top
5. When are you going to work on the rest?”

@BridgetRandolph
And Mike replied,
“Well, they’re all pretty important,
I guess I’ll fit them in in my free time.”

@BridgetRandolph
“No, you won’t.
Those 20 things that didn’t make the top 5:
now they’re your ‘Avoid-At-All-Costs’ list.”

@BridgetRandolph
“Because if they’re not in your top 5,
they’re actually just a distraction.”

@BridgetRandolph
And this is why, if I’m honest, the title of my
talk is slightly misleading.
Because today I’m not going to talk about
budgets and money, or throw a bunch of
stats at you about how quickly mobile
media spend is growing or how the next big
trend is apps for smart watches.

@BridgetRandolph
The reason for this is that often, stats and
trends and even budgets themselves
can become a distraction from the
Real Questions™:
what are my goals?
how should I prioritise?
how do I maximise my limited resources?

@BridgetRandolph
So instead, what I want to do today is show
you how you can apply the principles which
Warren Buffett gave to his pilot Mike --

@BridgetRandolph
to help clarify your thinking when it comes
to creating a marketing strategy and
planning your activities for the next 3
months, 6 months, year.

@BridgetRandolph
So really this talk should be called
something like

@BridgetRandolph
A TOOLKIT FOR CREATING YOUR
MARKETING ROAD MAP
Bridget Randolph
bridget.randolph@distilled.net

@BridgetRandolph
Let’s get started.

@BridgetRandolph
STEP 1
Set the right goals

@BridgetRandolph
The first step in this process is all about
figuring out what you want to do.

@BridgetRandolph
Just like Warren Buffett asked Mike to do,
in this stage you need to be able to list all
the goals you are hoping to achieve.

@BridgetRandolph
What we’re trying to get to in this stage is a
comprehensive list of:
- all the possible goals that could result in
more revenue, and
- all the activities that could contribute to
achieving each goal.

@BridgetRandolph
So you should start with the
WHAT

@BridgetRandolph
WHAT
are you trying to achieve?

@BridgetRandolph
EXAMPLE
My B2B SaaS client

@BridgetRandolph
EXAMPLE
What did my client want to achieve?

@BridgetRandolph
The obvious answer is
MORE REVENUE.

@BridgetRandolph
But at this stage we want to get a bit more
granular.
What are the different ways that we could get
more revenue?

@BridgetRandolph
Some of the most common ways to grow revenue
● sell more to new people
● sell more to current customers (upsell or
increase number of return visits)
● upsell customers from one-off purchase to a
subscription/rolling model

@BridgetRandolph
WHAT
are you trying to achieve?
For my client, the answer was:
more new contracts.

@BridgetRandolph
But we’re not done. We need to sense check our
assumptions by asking the next question:
WHY

@BridgetRandolph
How many people here have ever had a
conversation with a 3 year old?

@BridgetRandolph
Those who have will know
that a toddler’s favourite question is
WHY?

@BridgetRandolph
And when you give an answer, they ask
WHY
again.

@BridgetRandolph
The Five Whys Test
after asking ‘why’ five times,
you should have a concrete, satisfactory answer.

@BridgetRandolph
Why
Why
Why
Why
Why

@BridgetRandolph
If it passes the “5 Whys” test,
CONGRATULATIONS!
It can go on the list.

@BridgetRandolph
1. What do you want?
2. Why? (why, why, why, why)
3. Satisfied that it’s the right thing?

@BridgetRandolph
HOW
could you achieve that goal?

@BridgetRandolph
HOW
could you achieve that goal?
Answer: more qualified leads (via the
website).

@BridgetRandolph
NOTE
That’s not actually an activity, it’s just a more
specific goal.

@BridgetRandolph
HOW
could you achieve that sub-goal of more leads
via the website?
Answer: leverage offline marketing activities
for online (e.g. use exhibition events to get
email signups, etc).

@BridgetRandolph
WHY
is that the answer?

@BridgetRandolph
Brainstorm + Data
List of Goals (WHAT)
Sense Check (WHY)
List of Activities (HOW)
Brainstorm + Data
Sense Check (WHY)
Final List of Goals and Activities

@BridgetRandolph
WHAT increase the number of qualified leads
coming via the website
WHY ● increase number of new contracts
● our avg contract value is $50k/year,
and
● customers tend to stay with a provider
as long as it’s working for them
HOW leverage offline marketing activities for
online (e.g. use exhibition events to get
email signups, etc).

@hannah_bo_banna@BridgetRandolph
STEP 1 - SUMMARY
1. What → Why?
2. How → Why?
3. List of goals with corresponding
activities

@BridgetRandolph
STEP 2
Prioritise

@BridgetRandolph
So you have your initial list
of all the goals you could go after.

@BridgetRandolph
Now it gets a bit more tricky.

@BridgetRandolph
We have limited resources,
so just like Warren did with Mike,
we need to narrow it down
to our top 1-3 goals.

@BridgetRandolph
And this can take a while, but it’s important
to invest the time to get this stage right -
because it's like steering a ship.
If you set a course that's only 1 or 2 degrees
off from where you need to get to,
eventually you'll find yourself heading in the
completely wrong direction.

@BridgetRandolph
the
EFFORT /
IMPACT
framework

@BridgetRandolph
SaaS business (B2B)
Goal: obtain more qualified leads through
- run paid advertising on LinkedIn -
- EFFORT: 1
- IMPACT: 2
- build a social media community for brand awareness
- EFFORT: 3
- IMPACT: 1
- use existing offline efforts for online leverage
- EFFORT: 2
- IMPACT: 3
the website

@BridgetRandolph
1
2
3
1 2 3
IMPACT
EFFORT

@BridgetRandolph
SaaS business (B2B)
Goal: obtain more qualified leads through
- run paid advertising on LinkedIn -
- EFFORT: 2
- IMPACT: 2
- build a social media community for brand awareness
- EFFORT: 3
- IMPACT: 1
- use existing offline efforts for online leverage
- EFFORT: 2
- IMPACT: 3
the website

@BridgetRandolph
CAVEAT
this is not the answer to everything.

@BridgetRandolph
Q. What if you’re not sure of the
IMPACT (or the EFFORT)?
A. That’s when you need an expert.

@BridgetRandolph
OTHER FACTORS
● risk
● cost
● expertise

@BridgetRandolph
IDENTIFY BIG WINS
to narrow down your top 1-3 goals,
and then

@BridgetRandolph
CREATE A TIMELINE
based on the EFFORT/IMPACT scores

@hannah_bo_banna@BridgetRandolph
STEP 2 - SUMMARY
1. What? (Mike’s “25 goals”)
2. EFFORT/IMPACT framework
3. Not sure? Ask an expert
4. Don’t forget other factors
Output: 1-3 top goals with activities
and a concrete timeline

@BridgetRandolph
So now you have your list of top goals,
a ranking of priorities for achieving
them, and an action plan/timeline.

@BridgetRandolph
The next step is to focus on sticking to
the plan.
...that’s harder than it sounds.

@BridgetRandolph
We know this from every horror film ever.
The main character only has to do one thing
- stay on the path.
or: don’t go in the attic/basement/woods,
don’t open the book/cupboard/box, etc.
In short - they have to avoid distractions.
And they fail every time.

@BridgetRandolph
THE MORAL
Don’t go off the path…or you will die.

@BridgetRandolph
Step 3 of this process is
both the easiest and the
hardest.

@BridgetRandolph
Because even though you have a plan, there will
always be shiny new things clamoring for your
attention. The CEO will ask why we don’t have an
app for smart watches. The devs will want to
prioritise something else.

@BridgetRandolph
so this is my
CHALLENGE
to you:

@BridgetRandolph
1) Set the right goals

@BridgetRandolph
2) Identify your biggest opportunities

@BridgetRandolph
3) FOCUS on the finish line

@BridgetRandolph
It won’t be easy, but
it will be worth it.

@BridgetRandolph
That’s what Mike learned from
Warren Buffett.
That’s what I’ve learned from applying
these principles to my work.

@BridgetRandolph
Now let’s go win this race!

@BridgetRandolph
Links for image attribution
Productivity books -
http://dropping40.com/do-i-have-to-moving-from-plans-to-commitments/
Warren Buffett - http://www.businessinsider.com.au/warren-buffett-best-quotes-
shareholder-letters-2014-3#buying-a-stock-is-about-more-than-just-the-price-1
Mike -
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TagJxlxAnhU/maxresdefault.jpg
“Don’t go into the woods” -
http://popculturezoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/DontGointheWoodsSign1.jpg
Finishing line -
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02304/clarke_2304484b.jpg

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Marketing Budget - SIINDA Dublin 2015 [READING VERSION]

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How To Get The Most Out Of Your Marketing Budget - SIINDA Dublin 2015 [READING VERSION]