- Planning is everything
- Choose the right strategy for your goals and current situation
- Different tools accomplish different things, and should be measured differently
- Rebalance often to keep your strategy on track
- Be disciplined
- It takes time
- Understand your available options so you can make informed decisions independent of outside parties
Clay contends that planning ahead is critical. “It’s important to build a plan, execute it, and track and measure results along the way,” he says. “Just like you set goals for your investment portfolio, setting goals for your marketing plan helps you track progress.”
Tools are also key. “Create models that help you understand the relationship between channel vehicles and the additional value derived by integrating channels. One approach to creating a model that reflects multiple channels is to structure your data as you would your investment portfolio. In this approach each investment and the entire portfolio is built for the purpose of creating value and reducing risk,” says Laura Patterson on LinkedIn.
Be patient. Just like you track the long term performance of a given stock before deciding to sell, you also need to give each marketing channel a significant amount of time before deciding whether it is worth the investment.
And remember that communication tools work harmoniously to build a whole that is greater than the individual parts.