Is your company practicing Momentum Marketing?

Do you have momentum in business?

"…the initial state of the body, either of rest or of motion, will persist." Mechanica sive De Motu, Tractatus Geometricus: by John Wallis.

What is Momentum Marketing?

It’s a consistent set of marketing activities executed by a company in pursuit of an overarching strategy of growth, both in terms of revenue and brand identification.

Why should you be concerned about Momentum Marketing?

Because, as the definition cited above, a body in motion tends to stay in motion (I believe Isaac Newton said something similar around the same time). Companies with a track-record of consistently active marketing will tend to remain active. More importantly, history shows that companies with a well-defined and consistently executed marketing strategy tend to be more successful than companies with no strategy and a haphazard approach to marketing. In short, if a company is not marketing itself regularly then its chances of growing are slim to none.

How do you start Momentum Marketing?

You start by determining what your revenue growth goals are for the upcoming 12 months. Once that’s known, you can then figure out how many sales you have to make to reach that goal over the 12 month period.

A word of warning: Be realistic about your goals as we all tend to over estimate our sales numbers. A good rule of thumb is to take half of the goal you first set and make that your target.

You should then build out a marketing calendar full of activities you think will help you reach your revenue goal. Make sure you are consistent in your marketing approach. This ensures your brand becomes known by your target audience over time. The benefit? Your company will more readily come to mind when prospects are contemplating a purchase than if you only communicate intermittently. Trigger events – events that prompt somebody to make a purchase – happen at unpredictable intervals which is why a steady stream of marketing is so crucial to keeping you on their short list of possible vendors.

What are the tools of Momentum Marketing?

Marketing tools vary widely. I really don’t think there is one marketing tool that's better than another. I’m a bigger fan of consistency (that word again). If you are a business that has had success with direct mail, then keeping that activity in your marketing arsenal is smart. If it makes sense for your business to distribute flyers to houses in certain neighborhoods, then you should do so with a vengeance. Follow that approach and I guarantee your brand will be more easily recalled by your target audience than the brand of your competition. Point in case, I can still recall the names of two real estate agents over the previous 10 years who regularly put flyers and “newsletters” in my front door. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure there were at least 2 dozen or more who did the same thing but because they did not practice Momentum Marketing they failed the memory recall test.

How do you know you are practicing Momentum Marketing?

You’re marketing calendar is full of scheduled activities in varying stages of completion. You’re seeing the fruits of your marketing grow in the form of prospect inquiries, sales leads, quantifiable opportunities, closed sales. You’re recognized as a leading provider of goods and/or services to a specific set of customers as determined by an industry, a geographic region or consumer demographic. You’re never satisfied and believe there’s always something more you can do to improve: tweak your marketing messages by doing some A/B split testing, refine your target market further, try newer marketing tools, solicit customer feedback, etc. 

What’s the cost of Momentum Marketing?

As my good friends in the Sage North America channel have wisely pointed out, there is a major consideration often forgotten when weighing a major process change: cost-not-to-solve. Also known as opportunity costs, your cost-not-to-solve accounts for what you will be able to achieve should you proceed with a new business strategy. Conversely, not making a change – in this case to Momentum Marketing – could result in a completely different cost: failure to grow, risk of marginalization, chance of lower profits. You get the idea.

What’s your next step?

Start building your sales forecast and marketing calendar—ASAP. Then look at the marketing activities you currently employ and decide how effective they are at getting you more leads and building your brand. (You may need to ask some deeper questions like am I targeting the right market or is my company offering the right products/services?)

Review your marketing messages and consider alternatives you can test over time. Make sure you’re keeping count of the results too or your efforts will be less effective. Measurable data is what you need to be sure you’re following the right course.  The data often come in various forms: clicks to a landing page, downloads of a whitepaper, phone calls from a flyer or newspaper insert, responses to a blog or tweet, etc.

Finally, the only way to succeed with Momentum Marketing is to make sure your Momentum is carrying you in the right direction. Frequent, small course corrections are a sign that you are continuously improving your execution. The sales results will naturally follow—just give it time.