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Total marketing spend is not growing at most companies, and
marketers are working hard for every dime in their budget. To
accommodate new ideas, most have to reallocate money from other
programs, going through a justification and lobbying process
that can seem more like high level diplomacy than marketing.
What are some effective strategies to help you lobby for your
search marketing budget? A panel of experts shared some advice
for both search marketing agencies and internal marketing
professionals at Jupiter Media's Search Engine Strategies
Conference in Chicago.
Eight Practical and Effective Strategies
Applying these eight strategies will help you make a more
persuasive case to management and convince them that search
engine marketing is a priority and will be money well spent.
1. Find an Executive Sponsor
One of the first rules of marketing is to find an internal
champion. The same holds true for search marketing. Rob Gaudio,
Director of Client Services at MEA Digital, emphasized the
importance of finding an executive sponsor and educating them on
the unique benefits of search marketing. Ideally your champion
would be a senior-level decision maker or the company owner. As
part of your pitch, present market facts and data to illustrate
important findings, such as how search marketing 1) builds brand
awareness, 2) generates more qualified leads than other forms of
online marketing, and 3) delivers a superior ROI.
2. Showcase the Competition
Nothing motivates action like seeing your #1 competitor at
the top of the results page while you're nowhere to be seen!
Tony Wright, VP of Media - Interactive Marketing at Zunch
Communications, explained the benefits of showing decision
makers -- through screen captures or other illustrative data --
who IS showing up in relevant search results, in both natural
listings and paid ads.
3. Quantify the Missed Opportunity
Make a solid case for your campaign by quantifying the
possibilities. Bill Hunt, a search strategist from Global
Strategies International and head of IBM's Search Effectiveness
Team, urged marketers to quantify the missed opportunity. Start
by estimating the total number of relevant searches conducted
using tools such as WordTracker or Overture's Search Term
Suggestion Tool. Then show management how many impressions,
likely visitors, and conversions you could achieve if your
company was prominently displayed for these searches.
4. Minimize Risks
Recommend an initial limited test to minimize risks. Consider
a small pay-per-click program, which will allow you to
effectively demonstrate concrete results as well as the control
you have over the campaign. Focus on only one product group,
service offering, or location, or advertise with only one ad
network. Your test will become an effective advocacy tool when
you lobby for additional money.
5. Guarantee Results
One of the advantages of pay-per-click advertising is that
you can manage a campaign to ensure various goals. Make sure
leaders know that you will not exceed agreed upon spending
limits. Better yet, guarantee a maximum cost-per-visitor or
cost-per-conversion.
6. Estimate Business Value
Formulate your search engine marketing proposal in terms of
real business results. Instead of talking about impressions,
keywords, bids, and click-through rates, frame your plan in
terms of prospects, leads, sales, and customers. Susan Bowman,
Manager of Web Producers & Analytics at PeopleSoft Corporation,
explained how she uses a sales funnel to estimate and quantify
the following results: website visitors, online leads, action
takers, customers, and sales. The best way to justify your
budget is to clearly show business value.
7. Join Forces
Expand your search marketing plans beyond your immediate work
team. Sell the benefit of search marketing to your peers and
colleagues. Form a cross-functional team to promote and manage a
larger effort. The more people you have committed to the success
of your campaign the better.
8. Rely on Agencies and Consultants
Lastly, if you're already working with an agency or search
marketing consultant, solicit their help quantifying and selling
these ideas. Agencies have the means to gather market data,
conduct a competitive assessment, estimate results, and
formulate a compelling proposal.
In today's economic climate, it's difficult to secure new
marketing funds, but search engine marketers may have an
advantage. In the area of pay-per-click advertising, marketers
should capitalize on the fact that campaigns can be built
according to precise metrics -- limiting costs, guaranteeing ROI,
and minimizing risk. Remember, search engine marketing is a
relatively young discipline and helping people understand the
possibilities is important if new opportunities are to be
seized!
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