When you think about how to make your marketing stand out, it's tempting to want to use every marketing channel available: social media, outdoor advertising, event sponsorships, direct mail.
Marketing platforms will tell you their solution is the marketing magic bullet. If they're all that great, you should use them all, right? Not exactly.
For example...
We recently helped a credit union client as they open a branch in a new market. To say there were thousands of ways to market that new location is an understatement. But as we started the meeting to discuss different strategies and tactics, I began by saying one word: FOCUS.
Fortunately, we were also working with Julie Ferguson, a business development expert, on the project and she said these key words, “It’s often better to go deep rather than wide” with your efforts. So true.
Think of it this way: there are often many things you can do with your marketing. The bigger question is: should you?
Here are a few tips for how to make your marketing stand out by focusing your efforts:
#1. Own a medium/channel
Your credit union or community bank only has finite resources. So how you deploy those assets is vital. For example, if you have a $20,000 budget it may make more sense to spend $10,000 on two mediums rather than $4,000 on five mediums. You simply get more impact for your marketing dollar.
#2. Create an idea parking lot
One genius step Julie and the team did was to create a parking lot of ideas. That means if you hear of or have a good marketing suggestion but already have plans in place, put that new thought in a “parking lot” and come back to it at a later date. You are more than likely going to do your marketing in phases. So when you get to phase two or three, then you go to your parking lot for ideas you’ve not used yet.
#3. Create a plan and stick with it
Nothing can get you more off track than not having a plan in place. But having a plan is not enough: you also have to stick with it. That means doing what you said you’re going to do and not chasing squirrels. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has no place in your marketing. The challenge is balancing a firm plan with flexibility. In other words, don’t have such a rigid plan that when a really cool opportunity is presented you pass on it because “it’s not part of our plan.”
#4. Focus wins every tine
As Steve Jobs famously said, “Focus means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.” When it comes to your marketing strategy and tactics, good ideas will abound. Your job as a marketer is to narrow. To focus. To clarify. The more focused your marketing is, the better your marketing is.
Marketing is not about doing everything. It’s about doing the right thing. One way to accomplish that task is to go deep rather than wide.
