Understanding Revenue Drivers in Marketing
Comes Across As revenue drivers - bit of a minefield, right. Most marketers will tell you that revenue is simply the profit after subtracting costs from the selling price. But in a world where there are far more competitors than ever before, most businesses fail at creating enough buzz around their product to actually make sales.
This leads us to an important marketing principle. Any business with an end goal of making sales should have a revenue-driven approach to marketing.
The biggest pitfall of most marketing frameworks is that they don't focus enough on measurable, quantifiable results. And worse, most marketing campaigns have an overdependence on awareness as a marketing objective - which has no real revenue-driving potential and often comes with a loss. So what does it mean to be a revenue driver in your industry.
Simply put, if your marketing activities lead to more sales or conversions - you are a revenue driver. Take Apple's iPhone for example. Each new launch involves fresh innovation and features; the result is customers lining up for new iPhones every year. That's quite the revenue-driving phenomenon.
From this perspective, let's explore how 5 framework-based tricks can typically make your business more revenue-driven.
The Importance of Frameworks in Marketing Strategy
I Imagine when you think about it, frameworks in marketing can seem a bit like scaffolding – sort of helpful to keep things straight, but a touch restrictive if you're the kind who likes to build things on the fly. And yet, every time I've resisted one of those pesky frameworks, I find my work drifting into the grey swamp of what do I do now. The art in marketing isn't always fun and games; it can be fairly challenging to get right.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you forgo being creative entirely. It seems like it just works better when that process is shaped by a proven method - no matter how un-sexy that may sound. Frameworks in marketing are particularly useful in driving revenue for brands and businesses because they help teams focus on outcomes and results rather than vanity metrics or what’s on fire right now.
And with all the distractions we’re constantly exposed to in this day and age, there’s no shortage of things trying to draw attention away from what matters most – getting paid. The best part about using these frameworks is that they can be used individually or together depending on your goals and stage in growth.
Sort of. Even if your thing is being spontaneous, having a more dependable approach doesn’t have to spell disaster for creative types either. You can sometimes fill in a framework with your own unique flair and ideas – it sort of just helps keep the big picture intact.
I think there’s nothing wrong with letting yourself meander once in a while if you work best like that. But when it’s down to the wire (as it often is), you’ll be glad there’s a plan you can stick with that leads you right back where you need to be.
That way you know every action has its place in the larger story and your marketing efforts drive revenue instead of drama for your business.
Trick #1: Leveraging Customer Segmentation
I find it fascinating how not every shopper sees themselves the way we marketers see them. Brings To Mind we look at them as numbers, leads, and target groups. More or less. They think of themselves as the main character in their own story.
This is where customer segmentation comes into play, if you ask me. Some people are a little more committed to your brand than others. Instead of trying to get everyone to love your brand and spend all their money on it, segmenting your customers helps you focus your time, efforts, and resources on those with the highest chances of conversion.
You might think about dividing up your potential customers based on things like behavioural or psychographic factors like values and beliefs. There’s other ways of going about it too, based on what kind of product you’re selling. Sort of.
If it’s a women’s fashion brand, demographic segmentation could be based on age (think: Gen Z vs Millennials) or location (urban vs rural). If you’re a jewellery designer with a high AOV (Average Order Value), you could consider income as a factor for demographic segmentation. And yes, some would say that speaking to only one kind of person would leave out plenty of others but that isn’t always such a bad thing if it means increasing your revenue by tapping into those with higher conversion rates.
Trick #2: Implementing the AIDA Model
The way I see it, i think the aida model is one of those old school frameworks that has not only stood the test of time, but is still being used by businesses big and small. It refers to creating marketing materials that work through a process of: attracting Attention, increasing Interest, building Desire and inspiring Action. More or less. A neat, methodical process.
It’s sort of like a guided tour. Your copywriter is the experienced guide and your audience is the crowd - excited to see something new. When you create content (no matter where it’s going), your ideal client needs to know that what you’re offering grabs their attention right away.
Then, make sure that you are showing them what’s in it for them - why they need to care about what you’re selling and how it benefits their needs or wants. Building desire means showing your potential customer how their life will improve after using your product or service and what that could look like for them. Lastly, when they are on board with everything else, they need clear guidance on what to do next - whether that’s scheduling a call, booking a session or purchasing a product.
In most cases, it can be challenging to get someone from stranger to customer with one piece of content. So AIDA works best when every step offers them something tangible - maybe a freebie lead magnet for booking a call. Or some credit towards their first purchase in exchange for signing up for emails.
With so many options out there, something as simple as this could help you stand out from competitors.
Trick #3: Utilizing Behavioral Targeting
I Think behavioural targeting is marketing for an audience of one. It's about understanding our consumers so well that we know their needs better than they do. If you're thinking it sounds a bit manipulative, you might be right.
But is typically it. Not really. Our consumers are smart enough to recognise when they're being sold to, and they can just as easily move on if they're not interested.
But it would be a waste not to take advantage of our knowledge of what makes our audiences tick - even if sometimes they don't like it. That's the thing about being an 'audience' or 'target market'. We can't keep advertising to people who've already bought from us, and no, casting a wider net doesn't work.
What does work, though, is speaking directly to someone who's already interested in what we have to say - and sell. Behavioural targeting isn't rocket science, but it does mean we have to be clever with what we know about our audiences. It's making sense of the traffic data we receive from social media, Google Analytics, and the cookies that follow them around after they've visited our website.
It sounds sneaky, but it's not - everyone knows it's happening. Sort of. There's value in telling people exactly what they want to hear because that's why they're looking for us in the first place. And there's also value in not bombarding them with advertisements that are completely irrelevant to their needs and interests.
Trick #4: Measuring and Analyzing Performance
I once read that a marketing strategy without data is like driving with your eyes closed. And while that's a bit dramatic, it's not far off from the truth. I mean, sure, you could probably reach your destination at some point but you've most definitely missed a few turns, haven't you. When it comes to scaling revenue and increasing profitability for your business, what you measure is likely what you'll grow.
If you have no idea what's working or flopping within your marketing system, you're only ever going to be spending more than earning. To optimise for maximum growth and profitability, you need to be able to look at things through an objective lens - and this can only happen when measurement becomes the norm. So how do you know what to keep doing and what to stop. Well, on paper it's simple.
Metrics are indicators of performance so every time you run a campaign or test something new out, look back at the numbers after a certain period of time and see how well - or not - it did. You'll also want to have performance indicators for your overall marketing efforts. This includes things like website traffic, conversion rates, cost per acquisition (CPA), average order value (AOV) and so on.
The way I see it, the trick is in knowing that all these indicators can mean different things for different businesses - based on what's being measured and who's measuring them. To avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the numbers that come with successful marketing systems, remember this: never lose sight of the one thing everything comes down to in business - revenue. Even if marketers do love their graphs and everything else about reporting numbers.