The eloquent bar chart here speaks long and loud about changing the marketing mix. It shows where marketers report their business lead come from. Look at it and tell me what it says about the businesses that aren’t at all online:
I picked this chart out of literally dozens of great charts related to marketing, media, advertising and such offered for free in Hubspot’s Marketing Data Box. I realize I frequently criticize survey results and the conclusions people draw, but I love a whole lot of data condensed into a good-looking chart (like this one) so much that I don’t even want to drill down into the methodologies and poke holes in the conclusions.
What I draw from this chart goes back to the absolute fundamentals with the concept of the marketing mix, with emphasis on the word mix. I don’t think every business should run from everything on the right of this chart over to everything on the left. I think it’s a mix because you’re sending messages to different people using different media, hoping to optimize results from a given unit of resources. I do think you have to take a fresh look at regular intervals, so you change your business plan to keep pace with changes in the business landscape.
Comments
In regards to your last sentence, and in the context of the point you made earlier this week, would you adjust your business plan document or your business planning? Or both?
Charles, thanks for asking that. My plan-as-you-go framework recommends reviewing the plan regularly and revising it as needed; but what I’m calling the plan lives on your computer and doesn’t become a document until you have a business plan event (like seeking investment or a commercial loan, or needing to communicate to an outsider). The document is output to the plan, it isn’t the plan. So I’d adjust the plan and wait until the next business plan event to adjust the document that’s actually output of the plan. Tim.