Marketing to drive the right outcomes

For many companies, marketing success is measured by the ‘outputs’ generated – the collateral produced, a redesigned website, the number of e-shots sent and so on. For others it is more about the ‘outtake’ – what their audiences think when exposed to the ‘output’.

However, the most successful businesses see things a little differently – they really focus on planning the ‘outcome’ or the results of such ‘outputs’ and ‘outtakes’, making sure these are aligned to their business goals or objectives. To make sure we know what that looks like at Clear B2B we use a process to clarify our thinking and stay focused on what we aim to achieve for both our clients and ourselves.

Clarity of Vision – What do you see?

Vision refers to what it is your organisation wants to be … the most innovative … the most profitable … the most trusted… the list of possibilities is endless. However make sure it defines your organisation in a way which is timeless, aspirational and believable both to employees and customers. If it doesn’t inspire you, be brave and rethink it.

Clarity of Mission – What do you do?

A mission can be a powerful guide to the direction of your business. Unlike the vision, which is passive, the mission should be dynamic and active. If your mission is a rather grand or even bland statement, that serves no purpose, take a second look and make sure your mission defines what you do. After all you go on a mission to achieve something so making sure that it’s the right mission is vital.

Clarity of Values – How you do it?

Values are human and reflect what we value in people we interact with … thoughtful … analytical… committed… detailed… confident. Most organisations have a set of values, often including worthy words like integrity, honesty, openness. Many of these are too generic to have meaning. Strong values again bring clarity to difficult decisions. They are a powerful tool helping you make the right choices from recruitment through to corporate or brand identity. This is the final step in creating your clear thinking groundwork about your business direction.

As easy as one, two, three then?

… Not quite, with your vision, mission and values clarified there is still work to be done to develop your brand positioning, marketing strategy and objectives. The final task should then be to develop a communications plan that outlines which marketing activities (outputs and outtakes) achieve the right ‘outcomes’. However this will be a far easier task with your groundwork in place.

One thing is certain; the clearer the thinking at the start the better the understanding you and your organisation will have about what you want, and this will lead to better results.