Download 5 Critical Steps for Planning Your 2017 Marketing

MARKETER’S
GUIDE
5 Critical Steps for Planning
Your 2017 Marketing Budget
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5 Critical Steps for Planning
Your 2017 Marketing Budget
Introduction
The first half of 2016 is over and it is time to begin planning your marketing
budget for 2017. With the upcoming New Year comes a new set of challenges for
marketers and next year’s budget will need to accommodate addressing those
challenges.
Take the following, for instance:
Your customers are incredibly savvy and more discerning about where they direct
their attention. Marketing fatigue is overwhelming prospects as more companies
reach out to them in a variety of methods through as many channels as possible.
In addition, prospects are spending less time connecting with companies and
more time researching products online.
● How will you attract the attention of your audience?
● How will you keep them engaged?
● How will you convert them into customers?
● Do you have the budget to support all of these efforts?
This Marketer’s Guide provides five steps you should take when planning
your 2017 marketing budget.
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1. BEGIN THE PROCESS
Start with your marketing strategy
Before you calculate your marketing budget, align your marketing goals with
your company’s strategic goals and vision for growth. It is important to develop
a written marketing strategy that your executive team, sales team and product
development team are onboard with. You need everyone to be driving their
activities in the same direction.
Set your overall marketing budget
Once you have aligned your company goals with your marketing goals, you will
need to identify your marketing budget so you can develop a detailed marketing
plan that supports your strategy. Many companies like to create at least three
scenarios that they can use to project both budget needs and expected
67% results.
For example:
Lean Marketing Plan
Budget 1-2% of your topline revenue. This plan commits to engaging and
retaining current customers with simple tools and strategies. This is ideal
for companies that want to maintain their market position and do not have
ambitious growth goals.
Target Plan
Budget 3-4% of your topline revenue. The goal is to attract new prospects
and retain current customers with advanced tools and strategies. This is
best for companies that have moderate growth goals or plan to solidify their
customer base.
Stretch Plan
Budget 5% or more of your topline revenue. The plan is to focus
resources on driving leads, conversion and sales. To do this will require using
complex marketing strategies and tools to penetrate new markets or greatly
expand current ones. This option is best for companies that have ambitious
plans to grow and/or increase their market share 20% or more annually.
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Allocate your marketing dollars
Now that you have goals and a budget, you can begin developing a tactical plan
to transform them into reality. The complexity of the strategies and tactics used will
depend upon the marketing budget you have identified.
You will want to consider:
● Marketing research
● Continuation of current strategies
● Addressing new markets
● Utilizing new online technologies
● Metrics and analysis
● Marketing automation
Determine how much of your marketing budget should be allocated to each aspect
of your plan. You may decide to spend more or less based on what your direct
competitors are spending, your industry and your specific goals.
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2. UPCOMING IMPACTS TO ONLINE
MARKETING
The online marketing world is both complex and volatile. Each year, new
hardware, new software, new companies and new user preferences dictate
changes that businesses can either adopt or ignore. 2017 has some unique trends
coming that will have a strong impact on marketing plans.
Video will dominate
Videos are not new, but they are taking on increased importance. According to
Hubspot.com, 78% of people online watch videos every week and 55% of people
watch videos online every day. Syndacast.com predicts 74% of all internet traffic
in 2017 will be video. As that trend continues, developing and optimizing video for
both websites and advertising will become an important part of marketing.
App indexing in search engines
App indexing lets Google search for and rank mobile apps just like websites.
In other words, if you perform a Google search on a mobile device, the search
results will include not just web pages, but also relevant content that is within an
app. This is already having an impact. According to SearchEngineLand.com, 27%
of searchers find apps through web search compared to just 3% in 2014.
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Mobile access will increase dramatically
In 2015, 52.7% of the global mobile phone population accessed the internet from
their mobile phone. This figure is expected to grow to 61.2% in 2018. Time spent
on the internet via mobile is increasing rapidly as well. According to Statista.com
in 2012 internet users spent an average of 74.4 minutes on mobile internet
services per day. As of the second quarter of 2014, this time had increased to
108.6 minutes per day.
Digital assistants are changing search
Currently, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
are two popular strategies for attracting visitors to your website. The rise of digital
assistants such as Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana will require new marketing
strategies. According to a Global Web Index Study, 20% of mobile users rely on
voice search to find information. Digital assistants use different search methods
and search more deeply so this will require significant changes in optimization and
marketing strategies.
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3. CURRENT MARKETING SPENDING
ANALYSIS
Now we will take a look at where B2B companies will most likely spend their
marketing dollars for 2017. We can begin by looking at the projected spend
volumes for 2016.
Digital advertising is expanding
According to eMarketer.com’s newest quarterly ad spending forecast, digital ad
spending in 2017 will equal 38.4% of total ad spending. Of this, mobile advertising
will comprise 26.2% of the total budget and digital video will comprise 15.15%.
Specific tactics will change as well. According to a study done by
SocialightMedia.com, the top marketing spend categories are:
Marketing Strategy
Percentage of Marketing Budget
Content Marketing
9.3%
Search Engine Optimization
8.8%
Influencer Marketing
7.1%
Community Marketing
6.5%
Social Marketing
6.4%
Online Reputation Management
6.2%
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Content Marketing
Buyers perform up to 90% of their research online before contacting
a sales representative, so companies are creating more content in
order to lead prospects through the buyer’s journey.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
As Google and other major search engines continue to modify and
adapt their indexing methods, B2B marketers adjust their SEO
strategies in order to maximize organic search results. This applies
to the website, social media and all content.
Influencer Marketing
B2B marketers understand the importance of getting the content
they create into the hands of people who have the biggest and most
relevant audiences. By connecting with influencers such as industry
news sites and thought leaders, a B2B marketer can reach new
audiences of potential buyers.
Data
The spending increases in digital channels are bolstering spending
on data as well, according to Winterberry Consulting. Data spending
forecast states that 2016 U.S. data spending in support of email
(i.e. lists, database management/hygiene, analytics) and display
(i.e. third-party data, data management platforms, analytics) will
increase 9.1% and 28%, respectively.
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Industry Breakouts
The amount of the budget spent on digital marketing varies among industries.
Research by SocialightMedia.com shows how six different industries plan to use
their budgets.
Industry Group
Percent of Budget Spent on
Digital Marketing
Software & IT Services
29.8%
Manufacturing & Industrial
26.8%
Architecture, Engineering, &
Construction
25%
Environmental & Renewables
21.8%
Packaged Goods
19.5%
Business & Professional Services
13.5%
Of the six industry groups, Software & IT Services firms invest 29.8% of the
budget. This partially reflects the increase in spending on data services by
marketing, as we discussed earlier. Software & IT is followed by Manufacturing &
Industrial and Architecture & Construction. Business & Professional Services is at
the bottom, which could mean they spend more time in physical outreach to their
potential clients.
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4. PLAN YOUR MARKETING BUDGET
How you choose to allocate funds for your 2017 marketing efforts depends on
your company, industry, target audience and company goals.
Examine last year’s plan and metrics
● What were last year’s strategies?
● How effective were they in achieving their intended purpose(s)?
● Where would you like to make improvements?
● Where is your industry headed?
● How do prospects within your target audience move through the
buyer’s journey?
Analyze trends in the industry (online and offline)
Consider if these channels would fit into your particular marketing model and if so:
● What is the cost and how will it impact the budget?
● How many people will be needed to implement and support it?
● What is the time necessary to implement it?
● How will the expected results be used to improve other marketing efforts?
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Put the strategies and tactics into a framework
Consider five areas of focus:
1. Awareness/Brand-building
● Goal: Increase audience propensity to purchase
● Example tactics: radio, display advertising, content marketing,
public relations, SEO, mobile ads, social media
2. Demand Generation
● Goal: Provide qualified leads
● Example tactics: inbound marketing, marketing automation, SEO,
email marketing, appointment setting
3. Sales Empowerment
● Goal: Empower the sales team
● Example tactics: expanded content marketing, case studies/use cases,
downloadable collateral
4. Retention and Loyalty
● Goal: Incremental revenue from current customers
● Example tactics: marketing automation, social media
5. Metrics and Analytics
● Goal: Targeted results/ROI improvement
● Track your conversion rates at every stage of the process
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5. COMMIT TO TAKING ACTION
Planning for effective marketing in 2017 begins with creating a solid and
well-thought-out budget. However, a plan alone is not enough. You must take
action and remain committed to following through. Implement the plan, track it
and analyze the results.
Quarterly and monthly review meetings are vital to ensure your plan is staying
on track and achieving the expected results. Any variations from the target goals
should be analyzed carefully and then appropriate changes, if any, should be
made.
By keeping your budget in mind when you make marketing decisions, you will
prevent overspending and you will have the opportunity to explore different
strategies to find the best solutions for your business goals.
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About KEO Marketing
KEO Marketing is a leading business-to-business (B2B) digital marketing agency
in Phoenix. The marketing agency develops and executes successful marketing
strategies and plans that help clients succeed online. Some of the world’s largest
brands have depended on KEO Marketing for marketing programs that deliver
tangible and substantial results. Led by a team of experienced marketing experts,
KEO Marketing specializes in B2B marketing strategies that deliver results.
Some of these solutions include website design, search engine marketing and
optimization, online advertising, social media, mobile marketing, local marketing
and more.
For more information and to request a complimentary marketing audit
visit keomarketing.com
1 E Washington St, Suite 500, Phoenix, AZ 85004 USA
keomarketing.com | [email protected] | 480-413-2090