Over the last six years I have helped build marketing programs for multiple businesses. Whenever I speak about this topic at industry events, I always get a variation of this question from business owners who are expanding and looking to add a marketing team into their mix: “Do you have a structured program in place that highlights what each marketer should be doing on a daily basis?”
The answer to that would be a strong NO!
In fact, I think the most detrimental thing you can do for your marketing program is to hire a marketing professional and then tell them step-by-step how they should spend their time every single day. Sure, you should guide them on some of the things you want them to do, but telling them what to do on a daily basis is a surefire way to find colossal failure. Here are four reasons why:
Reason 1: Different Markets Equate to Different Tactics
It may sound a bit cliché, but every market is different. What works in one town may not work in another town. While it might make sense to spend every Friday night at a football game when you’re in a small Texas town, that same marketing strategy may wind up failing you in a metropolitan area where your primary demographic has nothing to do with the local high schools.
Reason 2: Creativity Shouldn’t be Stifled
Additionally, a good marketer is always thinking outside the box and looking for new ways to reach your target audience. By telling marketers what you expect them to do on a daily basis, you stifle their creativity. While each of our marketers is given a suggested marketing plan complete with information and statistics on what has worked for us across different markets, they are free to pick and choose the majority of the tactics they focus on.
Reason 3: Different Stages in the Lifecycle of Your Business
Another reason it does not make sense to tell your marketers what to do on a day-to-day basis is depending on which market they are working in, and how successful your center in that market is at the time, the strategies and tactics they may be implementing are entirely different. A marketer focused on getting the word out about a start-up business will have an entirely different brand message and arsenal of tactics to utilize than a marketer who is simply participating in events to maintain top-of-mind awareness for your brand.
Reason 4: Accountability and Goals
Perhaps, however, the most important reason you shouldn’t structure your marketer’s day-to-day activities for them is because it takes away your ability to hold them accountable for the growth of your new patient volume. Instead, I find the best tactic is to sit down with your marketer on a yearly/quarterly/monthly basis and set business growth goals for those periods of time. Then have the marketer submit a plan to you on how they will ensure your business reaches those goals.
