According to CB Insights, 14% of businesses fail due to poor marketing, and research from the Sales Benchmark Index shows an estimated 71% of companies fell short of their marketing campaign revenue targets in 2015.
So, what is going wrong?
The problem is that many marketers are staying ‘in their own head’ and don’t understand that successful strategies leverage an ‘outside-in’ approach.
This means talking to others from outside your ‘bubble’ and getting their unbiased opinion on what’s working and what isn’t.
Here are some reasons why a peer-to-peer perspective could be what’s lacking in your marketing strategy.
A 2017 PwC survey conducted on 1,200 business executives found only one-quarter of companies saw themselves as leaders in innovation, which is worrying, as innovation is a crucial part of brand growth strategy.
Sometimes, all it takes is speaking to others and learning about what they have been doing to inspire innovation and new thinking for your own campaigns.
This isn’t about ‘copying’ or mimicking the work of others. It’s an opportunity to learn about what has worked well [and not so well] and new approaches you could take to get the most back from your unique audience.
An outsider’s perspective can have a huge impact and prompt you to look at problems and opportunities from a different angle, generating new ideas that you may not have thought of otherwise.
Beyond being a source of new ideas, outsiders can also help vet and reimagine the ideas you already have.
Once you have an idea on the table, bringing it to others outside your field can be a godsend.
Firstly, they can provide a neutral opinion on how new the idea really seems and whether it actually is innovative.
Secondly, they can suggest ways you could adapt your marketing that are common outside your industry but that may never have occurred to you.
The average marketing budget accounts for nearly 12% of a company’s overall budget and 10.4% of its revenue, according to the 2022 CMO Survey. Therefore, every pound spent needs to work hard for your business.
As a small business, you can’t always afford to experiment with new and potentially risky ideas.
But, by getting the opinion of someone externally, you can identify ways to improve and streamline your ideas, and cut costs in the process.
Outsiders can look at your approach from the consumer or customer’s perspective.
This can help you understand whether you’re clearly explaining the idea to someone who doesn’t live and breathe your internal lingo.
While the benefits of your new product or service may seem obvious to you, your campaign might not resonate with your external audience.
Therefore, speaking to someone on the outside could be key to whether your marketing does its job well or not.
The benefits of an outside perspective on your marketing are clear, but one of the most difficult things to do as a business owner is to view your business from an external point of view – like an outsider looking in.
By seeking opinions on your campaigns from someone who isn’t within your business, you can see how your ideas are viewed though a different, unbiased lens, and ultimately take your strategy to a whole new level.
Roger Jackson – founder and CEO of SenseCheck