Article courtesy of Mike Dickerson and Forbes Magazine
Mike Dickerson is the Chief Executive Officer of ClickDimensions, the leader in marketing for Microsoft Dynamics 365.
In today's world, top-line growth is mission-critical, and marketing — the right way — is key. Gone are the days where all you needed to promote growth was awareness, recognition, likes and shares. If everything you're doing doesn't result in an action tied directly to revenue, then your efforts (and dollars) are wasted.
Simply put, marketing must be revenue-focused.
Pivots across companies are geared toward new sources of revenue generation, which often include new ideas and digital tactics, as well as reviewing existing assets and deploying them to new audiences or packaging them in alternative ways.
When I talk to my executive team, I like to explain generating revenue as a complicated algebra problem with many activity inputs and conversion rates that yield one revenue number. We start by determining what drives revenue — sales, marketing, personnel, technology, etc. But how can we tell if all these variables added together equal success? It might help if we instead think of revenue marketing like a recipe.
While there are several ways to approach revenue-focused marketing, there is a simple recipe for success. The ingredients? Data, technology and insights.
Data
Data doesn't lie, and it tells a compelling story when leveraged properly.
A study from Forbes Insights indicates that data-driven marketing leaders report significantly higher levels of customer engagement, conversion and growth than organizations that don't rely on data. Gathering, maintaining and understanding a robust database is the foundation upon which effective sales and marketing strategies are built.
There are many techniques and tools you can leverage to capture data. Common digital marketing tactics like email, Google Ads and SEM, for example, not only provide information in real time, but also allow marketers the opportunity to test multiple different messages and strategies to understand what does and doesn't work — and then optimize accordingly.
Technology
According to ChiefMartec.com, there are 8,000 marketing technology (martech) solutions on the market today, ranging from comprehensive marketing cloud platforms to niche tech designed to support specific objectives, industries or customers. The technology you employ should provide a simplified way to combine data and deliver reporting that demonstrates to your C-suite the significance of various marketing tactics.
Employing the right technology stack allows the marketing team to focus on campaign development and serve up marketing that directly contributes to revenue.
When assessing whether or not a marketing tool will work for your organization, look for tech that integrates well with existing solutions and also evokes collaboration across various departments. Marketing technology should be approached as if it has a seat at the organization's table.
Insights
The data you gather tells you exactly who your customers are and what they want, and it can inform strategy and execution methods. According to Google, nearly two-thirds of leading marketers say decisions made with data are superior to those based on gut instinct.
Gathering actionable insights from traditional business intelligence tools has been a challenge for marketers in terms of time, budget and skill sets, but marketing dashboards resolve this problem. These tools can help users see and assess their campaign performance data, which can give them further insights on revenue.
Building a marketing dashboard yourself may offer the best options in terms of customization, but keep in mind it can often take too much time and financial commitment, which can cause roadblocks to implementing campaigns, attaining results and optimizing for the best revenue potential. Purchasing a tool that builds marketing dashboards for you allows organizations to pull key data and highlights the KPIs that matter most for your business and its stakeholders.
Marketers can use these insights to make decisions and deliver personalized messaging based on audience profile, which in turn, can truly impact the bottom line.
The Finished Dish
Similar to a chef and a completed dish, the finished outcome is often how a marketing team gets scored. And in the case of a business, the C-suite and key stakeholders often serve as the main critics.
Whether your marketing efforts are acclaimed or don't turn out exactly as you hoped, there are always ways to improve and adjust to generate more revenue by focusing on these key recipe components and optimizing until you achieve a consistent outcome.
Let's connect on your company priorities so we can help you achieve them.
Reach out today.
Let's Talk
We respect your privacy.
Featured
Aug 3, 2021
3 aspects to consider when migrating to Dynamics 365 in the cloud.
Aug 3, 2021
Migrating your on-premises business applications to the cloud can be like building your very own dream home. It's incredibly exciting and will be perfect for your unique needs but can feel daunting when going at it alone. Ensuring you have a strong plan is crucial. Let's explore this metaphor a bit more as we examine three critical components in your cloud journey and how you can leverage the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Migration Program all along the way.
Aug 3, 2021
May 27, 2021
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing and Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
May 27, 2021
May 27, 2021
Jan 14, 2021
Pricing and Quoting Software Benefits Many Vertical Markets
Jan 14, 2021
Price-and-quote software helps manufacturers and distributors address many challenges including product complexity, regulatory requirements, global competition, supply-chain volatility and skilled labor shortages.
Not only are these challenges mitigated, in many instances, the best Configure Price Quote software delivers a decided competitive edge to the using enterprise. This edge is evidenced by increased selling velocity, decreased time to market, a better customer experience and, ultimately, higher customer satisfaction.
Jan 14, 2021
Jan 14, 2021
7 Advanced Features to Specify in a Pricing-and-Quoting Solution
Jan 14, 2021
Pricing-and-quoting solutions for complex products are built around three major functionalities:
These three elements work together to ensure the correct price for the correct product is quoted and documented based upon the information known at the time of the quote.
Jan 14, 2021
Jan 14, 2021
Manufacturing During The New Normal of COVID-19
Jan 14, 2021
COVID-19 has resulted in the transformation of office environments to facilitate what has been called a “new normal” for workers.
Working during this time features a higher percentage of stay-at-home workers, office-environment signage and traffic-flow products designed to maintain the physical separation of onsite workers.
The elimination of meetings and common areas are typical of most offices, and the continuous and ongoing sanitizing of printers, copiers and other jointly used equipment is all part of the new work reality.
Jan 14, 2021
Nov 13, 2020
Build targeted user experiences efficiently by using app profiles in multisession apps
Nov 13, 2020
Nov 13, 2020
Oct 15, 2020
How Dynamics 365 is Allowing Credit Unions to Excel in The Digital Age
Oct 15, 2020
The upside to prioritizing the need to jump on board the digital revolution, is adopting technology that is designed to get you ahead of the competition, and when it comes to your Credit Union being able to stand above the rest demands insight into what your customers are looking for from your brand.
Oct 15, 2020
Oct 8, 2020
How the Miami Heat Digitally Transformed Their Fan Engagement
Oct 8, 2020
By using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, a customer data platform, Jafarian’s team has a deep understanding of their fans in a 360-degree view with every touchpoint. Combining data sources like external ticketing, food and beverage systems, point of sales, and e-commerce in one place provides the insight on what concessions fans visit or what jersey size they buy.
Oct 8, 2020
Sep 30, 2020
Sep 30, 2020
In today’s environments, your customers are facing a new set of challenges to digitally transform their business effectively. Businesses are required to be even more agile, adjusting and adapting existing processes in response to new employee and customer needs. Microsoft business applications are built to help customers respond and adapt in real time, navigate current environmental challenges, and make powerful planning decisions for the future.
Sep 30, 2020
Sep 24, 2020
Dynamics 365 - New voice channel streamlines omni-channel customer experiences
Sep 24, 2020
Microsoft is announcing the expansion of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service omni-channel capabilities to include a new voice channel. The addition of this channel gives businesses the scale and reliability of the calling platform that powers Microsoft Teams worldwide today. With native voice, businesses receive seamless, end-to-end omni-channel experiences within a single solution, ensuring consistent, personalized, and connected support across all channels of engagement. This end-to-end solution unifies all points of customer interaction data, enabling businesses to simplify and streamline their processes, gain instant insights into trends, and deliver faster resolution from AI-driven assistance—all while ensuring your data remains secure and compliant, backed by the trusted Microsoft cloud.
Sep 24, 2020
FOLLOW US
