GUIDE MARKETER S. 5 Critical Steps for Planning. Marketing Automation Lead Nurturing. Inbound Marketing Lead Generation

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1 MARKETER S GUIDE 5 Critical Steps for Planning Your 2017 Marketing Budget Insight Selling Strategy Education Content Marketing Seminars Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Mobile, Local, Social Marketing Automation Lead Nurturing

2 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 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. 2 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

3 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 results. For example: 67% 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. 3 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

4 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. 4 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

5 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 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 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

6 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 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 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. 6 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

7 3. CURRENT MARKETING SPENDING ANALYSIS Now we will take a look at where B2B companies will most likely spend their marketing dollars for We can begin by looking at the projected spend volumes for 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% 7 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

8 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 (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. 8 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

9 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. 9 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

10 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? 10 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

11 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, 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 11 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

12 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. 12 All contents copyright 2016 by KEO Marketing, Inc.

13 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 USA keomarketing.com audit@keomarketing.com