I left college and then the Great Recession occurred. When I first went into marketing, I’d often hear that in times of trouble my role would always be first to go. But, here’s the thing. Today — especially today — marketers can and should show how their role directly results in revenue.
Successful marketers understand exactly how every initiative they undertake corresponds to business goals and growth. Here’s how to connect marketing to revenue and remain indispensable.
Identify Goals & KPIs
To do this, you’ll need to understand your business goals. Sit down with the leadership team and review the numbers. What are they projecting in terms of revenue for the year? And how can you help them reach it? Then identify the sales and marketing metrics that help you measure whether you are reaching those goals.
Read More: Creating a data driven marketing strategy.
Invest in Marketing Tech
As marketers, we have myriad tools at our disposal that automate processes, improve efficiencies, leverage AI, and offer in-depth analytics. Even small businesses should be investing in automation and data. Luckily, Google Analytics is free, and with the right setup and assistance from Google Tag Manager, you can track most digital initiatives through it. Automation won’t be free, but it saves time and manpower. Here are the essential marketing technologies you must invest in:
- Analytics and reporting
- CRM and marketing automation
- Social media management
- Ecommerce (if you sell online)
Assess Activities in Terms of Profit and Loss
Every marketing initiative should relate to business goals. While some activities can be harder to quantify and directly tack to revenue (PR, organic social media), others like Google Ads are cut and dry. And even with those harder to analyze activities, you can gather anecdotal data, make educated assumptions, and even prove the connection to revenue using Google Analytics. Did you track an increase in website traffic and leads back to referrals from a publication you were featured in? That’s solid data.
Shift The Mindset
If your company’s leadership still views marketing as a cost center, now is the time to shift their mindset. Provide regular reports showing how your activities are resulting in revenue. It can take a long time to change a viewpoint someone developed over years, but the numbers will be your strongest ally.
