"Oh, you're in Marketing?"
"Can you help me with my company's marketing? I think that's really where we're lacking."
This is one of the biggest, broadest and hardest terms we encounter, and for good reason. It's such a huge "umbrella" term that can span so many facets of work, and as the marketing industry gets more complex, the term gets harder to understand and takes on more meanings.
Here's how we've learned to define the Marketing Journey:
PHASE 1: BRAND
This is generally NOT what most people mean when they ask about "marketing." It's often the most overlooked aspect – but one of the most critical.
We define it as the "headwaters," the "upstream" source of the marketing journey.
Crafting and clarifying the Brand directs and dictates everything else that happens later, so taking time in this stage creates enormous value and efficiency.
Solidifying a brand has many residual benefits, too, beyond "marketing." Today's strongest companies and organizations are built on the tenets of their brand. It becomes the framework of their corporate culture – how they operate and interact internally and externally. Thought processes, decision-making, and even office decor and visuals are run through the filter of the Brand.
This is generally done under the guidance of a Brand Strategist.
(Read this post to dig deeper into Branding.)
PHASE 2: CREATIVE
The framework of Brand is turned over to a creative team to "make the stuff to tell the story."
This is generally the "fun phase," where elements that were conceptual begin to take tangible form. A website, print materials, video or other "real" assets come into view.
These are the elements that are needed further downstream, but taking time to expertly craft them in the context of the brand is an essential step. We find too many organizations trying to quickly jump in and "make a website," and quickly discover that creating in a vacuum is impossible. Invariably, deep questions need to be answered first, and taking at least a couple of steps back toward exploring "brand" is necessary for any successful creative effort.
(See DontRedoYourWebsite.com for more information!)
This phase is generally done under the guidance of a Creative Director.
PHASE 3: MARKETING
While the entire span of these 3 phases is a "marketing journey," we consider this last Phase 3 as the real work of "marketing."
This is where all the work of "Brand + Creative" gets activated and begins to reach an intended audience.
It necessarily involves defining that audience, discovering where they are watching, looking, reading and listening, and placing your brand assets in their path to turn their attention toward your business.
Marketing is deeply data-driven and analytical. No matter what channels are chosen, there should be research conducted before, during, and after to discover if and how your efforts have performed and, hopefully, optimize them to perform better.
This work is generally done by a Marketing Director.
THE BIG PICTURE
While over-simplified, this is a clear and broadly accepted big-picture snapshot of the stages and phases of an entire "marketing journey."
Ask yourself:
Where is your organization in the journey?
How would you grade each phase?
How much guidance do you have internally or externally?
How much alignment do you sense is present?
What would help create strong alignment?
We'd be glad to help assess any of these questions with you!
Feel free to schedule a Fit Call today.
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