Maximizing the Effectiveness of Marketing Investments   Business leaders expect marketing executives to optimize their marketing budgets to deliver substantial revenue growth. There is an increasing urgency to link marketing investments to tangible results. Profit pressures are also impacting the need to do more with less.   Asset allocation in marketing requires a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers of revenue growth and customer loyalty in the marketing mix. A strategic approach to marketing effectiveness requires new approaches to ensure marketing is viewed as an investment and not an expenditure. Product Supply Optimization A critical and often overlooked area for cost optimization is vendor optimization management (VSM). The approach requires a hard look at vendor policies and		Branding      Customer Insights      Customer Loyalty      Customer Relationship        Management      Marketing Organization      and Capability Building    Marketing Effectiveness       Marketing Strategy   Pricing    Sales and Channel      Management
implementing evaluation processes that stress a match between customer needs and supply optimization. Marketing spending can be reduced by over 30 percent with these optimization efforts. We recommend applying VSM approaches to investments across the entire marketing spend chain. One client saved over $2 million in marketing investments following an audit of vendors and new competitive bidding processes. Our recommendation for a VSM program resulted in an incredible 40 percent saving in the clients marketing investment in the first twelve months of the program. Growth in a market with established brands. An interview with Mr. Anthony Lacavera, CEO of Globalive Communications Corp. Mr. Lacavera says its critical for companies to be prepared to grow in a profitable and sustainable way.   Marketing spending efficiency and effectiveness: Today leaders at companies expect more for less. Corporate priorities and increasing pressures for growth have resulted in an imbalance between cuts and brand performance. A strategic approach to brand building requires proven methodologies to identify ways to invest in brands and yet reduce costs. We have helped reduce costs by up to 30% and increase revenue by up to 40% by applying some basic principles for building brands. Exhibit 1 . Identify growth opportunities   A key to accelerating growth is to focus marketing spend on drivers of strategic priorities. The core of any successful strategy is to focus on the most profitable customers to strengthen loyalty and frequency of purchase. Arcus research shows that over half of a company’s marketing budget can be refocused on profitable customers resulting in a 15 to 20 percent increase in revenue performance.  Focus on marketing programs that deliver results The tendency of marketers is to repeat programs each year with limited understanding of tangible results of the programs in the previous year. Identifying the root cause of inefficient marketing investments requires a fresh look at how marketing programs have performed historically. The process identifies programs for improve or elimination. One client found that marketing investments in sponsorship was not delivering incremental awareness and purchase intention. Our recommendation to stop the program resulted in a 30 percent increase in investments in programs that delivered tangible business results.    Identify benefit barriers A benefit barrier is a reason a target customer isn't buying a product at the desired level. An in depth understanding of the customer engagement cycle will enable marketers to target customers clusters with different needs. Refocusing spending on the appropriate cycle point linked to a specific benefit barrier can deliver dramatic business results. For example, a customer base of a food brand may have low awareness in younger age groups. But high brand loyalty in an older aged customer group. brand awareness to brand loyalty. To increase penetration in the younger group the brand needs to increase awareness and understanding of the brand's benefits. For example, one food marketer found that younger consumers felt their brand was for older consumers or they were not aware of the products benefits. A new brand positioning strategy was developed to strengthen brand engagement. The results were outstanding, with a 40% in crease in purchase intention in the younger target group.   Strengthen brand engagement Emotional and rational benefits coupled with distinct and relevant points of difference can have a dramatic influence in engaging customers. Messages need to be customized to strengthen brand equity resulting in higher residual impact and lower investments. Effective brand messages can reduce the need for constant reinforcement as the brand strengthens its relationship with a customer.   We invite you to learn more about us by browsing this site, or by contacting us by phone or e-mail.