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By Abhiraj Banerjee, Online Marketing
Expert, eDynamic
I came across an exciting job post just
today for Madagaskar. It was an exciting role for marketers such as
me who are thirsty for unknown territory. But remember Grade 5
geography? Madagascar is in Africa right? The ‘k’ put me off just
like a lot of B2B marketers around the world are put off when they
see the CEO or CFO’s diktat. Reduce spend, get more ROI…branding be
damned.
I swear I love ROI because I know
what I would do. I would say – “You need to only spend for 4 months.
That’s a quarter & a bit. Beyond that I won’t bother you with
budget haranguing.” But in those first four months I would need:
1)An analyst endorsed, syndicated content
piece. Industry thought leadership they call it.
2) 3 Webinars with 2 of our
clients targeted at geographies we work in. The Webinars have to
be necessarily in partnership with a business media of choice with
the latter driving promotion of the webinars.
3) Some budget for paid search
& PRs.
That is all. Once I have these, I would spend
the next 2 quarters simply peddling my fare on the Internet while
the Webinar leads keep my ever nagging sales team on ‘Run Forrest
Run!’
Every marketer worth his/her salt needs a cushion when
they can strategize on ROI. But in the real world this cushion
never materializes because you are always chasing the eight ball.
When I was handed this real world challenge at several places, all
I asked for was a budget for 4 months that gave me the cushion to
experiment without ever letting the pipeline run dry.
It is
almost impossible to predict a model for lead generation that
ensures highest bang for your buck. But what I have found is:
1) Organic Search can be the
cornerstone for free, high quality leads from month 4 onwards
since kick off
2) Paid Search should come into
the mix only after 3 months into your annual marketing
program
3) Social Marketing can provide
the odd gold mine but only after your Organic Search is firmly in
place
The day you enter the 3rd quarter, you are primed
to get rich. And then come the focus groups & discussion
laundering for you to sing aloud on the Web.
If you are reading
this piece, then I shall talk about how the magic starts unfolding
from the 4th month onwards in my next dig.
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