The world of marketing has drastically shifted over the past couple of years, and it’s unfortunate to witness corporate companies still grappling with how to advertise to consumers of diverse backgrounds.
After the life-changing events that took place in 2020, marketing teams hastened to evaluate how they should use their budget to cater to the needs of their customers to retain their support. It’s been a wake-up call for companies to prioritize diversity, especially when it comes to their marketing dollars.
An article from Maryville University revealed that a Newscred survey found that more than 91% of U.S. marketers agree with the statement “there is still room for growth in using more diverse images by marketers.” In the past, executives believed their marketing budget should go toward buying followers or PR boxes, but that’s proven to be the bare minimum. These efforts are not enough to move the needle in business.
As I mentioned in a previous article, executing an integrated marketing strategy must come with humility. Companies have to demonstrate they want to evoke change through their platform. To do so, they have to reevaluate their approach and learn from their past to uphold the reputation of their brand.
Let’s take a deeper dive into common questions about how and why companies are struggling with properly allocating their budget below:
What are common mistakes or misuses of marketing spending?
No matter the industry, executives have shown that they believe simple efforts like a website or a logo are enough to promote their products or services to their target audience. This narrow view of investment spending has done a disservice to the masses because it’s a miscalculation of their expenses and the time, which causes them to have a failed return on investment (ROI).
For example, companies believe that investing their advertising dollars in a specific area like social media engagement is enough to garner attention. But, investing in various realms is crucial for an integrated marketing program to thrive. Companies can’t only invest their dollars in an ad or a paid search. They have to be knowledgeable about how they should spread the wealth so that customers can find different ways to engage based on their preferences wherever they encounter advertisements or brands. It’s essential to invest and be consistent across all marketing verticals.
Why are executives hesitant about investing in marketing resources?
They’re trying to take the cheapest route. Plain and simple. Executives are also relegating it as an afterthought. Instead, it should be a forward-thinking thought. Organizations only become proactive about investing in marketing when sales have decreased or when perceptions become negative, along with many other reasons. To succeed, they must understand that this business component is so integral for the overall strategy to grow and scale. From vision to concept to delivery, executives must sustain these aspects throughout the company.
If brands want to be inclusive and diverse, they have to engage with other audiences because we are not a myopic society. We all have very diverse interests, and we are very particular about what appeals to us. To be successful, brands must understand audiences from different cultures and observe how they engage with their brand to make pivots. Consumers have to see themselves in a brand.
What steps should marketing executives follow to see an ROI?
The leader or the organization’s CEO needs to have a clear vision of what they want their desired outcomes to be over a year to five years. They have to figure out the ethos of the company and how they want to serve their audience.
Another critical component is how do you build and identify your marketing team? The team must help the company understand the audience and define its vision, mission, beliefs, and figure out what most strongly resonates with their targeted audience. Most importantly, keeping a diverse mix of cultures, expertise, and thought leadership is key to driving innovation on the team.
Next is sitting down and evaluating where to allocate money. How much are executives administering time for consultants to do brand and asset creation and develop a social media and PR strategy? On average, I think that allocation should be anywhere between 15% to 20% of the marketing budget. Suppose a company is in its brand launch phase. In that case, I consider it appropriate to increase up to 25% budget allocation for social and PR combined and incrementally decrease once the company can begin repurposing content assets over the life of a campaign. It’s essential to reevaluate and identify all of the most cost-effective places to avoid wasting money.
Then once the brand has evolved and established an identity, preserving the brand becomes a matter of keeping in tune with consumer sentiments and consumer behavior shifts. The team must evaluate how people engage with the brand across integrated marketing channels inclusive of PR, social media, outdoor, paid search, and website. Analyzing ROI through performance metrics that follow brand engagement across marketing outreach channels all the way through to conversion (i.e. website visits, sales, donation, event attendance, etc.).
How do you prepare for “what ifs,” pivots, and change management when developing a budget?
I’ve learned in my experience and had leaders teach me to reserve 10% to 12% in contingency. In other words, those unexpected investments that can help drive the brand and help generate awareness in moments of consumer behavior and sentiment shifts.
It’s worth doing reconnaissance to plan a budget that will fill in the missing parts and prepare. There may be an aspect where the organization may be dismissing a particular type of consumer. Hiring a diversity marketing consultant can be valuable because their expertise can help inform how to authentically connect with BIPOC communities.
Similarly, for a company, how is it trying to be innovative in this space of inclusion? How is it guaranteeing that everyone has a seat at the table, ensuring that it is open to diverse perspectives? Bringing varied disciplines of expertise and people with culturally distinct lived experiences puts companies ahead of those who are just trying to stay in a safe space from a homogenous point of view.
