Outcome marketing has been the base of how we do things at WS for years. And with so many successful, award-winning campaigns on our record, we ask you and ourselves, – is there anything more effective than starting at the end?
No, there isn’t. Outcome marketing is an approach that urges us to envision and define the ultimate goals to then develop achievement strategies from the bottom up. In contrast, the alternative marketing approach is to focus on outputs, the what’s and how’s of a campaign.
And while the product-first mentalities give plenty of space for exercising creative talents and generating vanity metrics, they might not always work. To be more exact, some of them definitely won’t work. Achieving an X number of ad impressions for the sake of achieving the number and hoping a certain percentage convert is unreasonable, to say the least.
Outcome marketing, on the other hand, begins with a why. A thorough understanding of the project’s expected results invites data-driven, more calculated solutions. The tools, executions, and assignees come in afterward in the same precise and considered way.
As one WSer bluntly put it, if it gets measured and the result nets you a bonus – or gets you fired -it’s probably an outcome. And this is why it’s so valuable to our clients. With different sales cycles, deeper nurture campaigns, and so much value placed on a very targeted audience, you can’t bank on the traditional outputs that agencies have relied on for so many years.
Switching to an outcome marketing mindset requires a shift in general thinking. But the results prove more valuable year over year, whether you’re selling software or fertilizer.
Whether B2B or B2C, outcome marketing puts the audience at the heart of every strategy rather than focusing strictly on your product. The end goal for any marketing plan should be growth, whether you’re creating new demand, capitalizing on existing demand, or driving and retaining current demand, and outcome marketing does just that.
The goal is quality, not quantity. Ten million views of a video are worth less than 200 qualified leads if none of those viewers are engaging with your brand to create real business results.
Outcome marketing brings your sales and marketing teams closer together, connecting marketing data, behavioural analytics, and customer insights into your CRM. Combining and properly using this data helps create support materials for retailers and sales reps to empower their sales process.
With professional execution, outcome marketing is a scalable, automated, lead-generating system that arms reps, retailers, and your customers with everything they need for successful purchase experiences. It also builds the pathway for measured brand loyalty.
As much as we would love to pretend that successful campaigns are all dark arts and magic, it’s more like a blend of creative thinking and data, with a handful of industry experience sprinkled throughout. WS has worked out a practical yet agile approach to implementing outcome marketing for the skyrocketing performance of any campaign. The four key phases of the WS way are:
Front-end planning
Front-end planning is the process of evaluating opportunities, determining business-to-marketing alignment, and weighing the benefits and risks of any strategy on the table. At WS, client relationships equal partnerships, and the performance of every tactic directly translates into the marketing value we offer. Therefore, we ensure to take enough time at the front-end stage – to guarantee flawless and resultative execution.
Engineering
This is where all department experts come together to develop solutions to achieve the defined outcomes. We design the plans, and create messaging maps and KPIs. Just like in anything we do, we leave room for expansion and flexibility during the engineering stage if the client wants an adjustment or if there is a shift in the market.
Execution
With the clear strategies outlined during engineering, execution is a straightforward, well-calibrated process that leverages the strengths of each contributing team member. WS is an entirely remote team that excels in online collaboration, fast technology adaptation, and ongoing professional development to deliver the utmost quality every time.
Optimization
Once the campaign elements are in the market, we continuously track their performance. We want to see that we are moving towards reaching the outcome. If we aren’t, we move back into the engineering phase to realign. This way, a campaign’s success is entirely on our shoulders, not the client’s – a radically different marketing approach.
When appropriately executed, the results of outcome marketing are markedly different from what you might be used to. Suddenly you’re not just banking on a certain amount of impressions, hopefully translating into increased sales, awareness, growth, etc. You are operating with tangible data and adjusting the course to achieve and overachieve the established outcomes.
Connect with us to continue the outcome marketing discussion and implement the unique WS way towards the benefit of your project.
This article was originally published in August, 2021.
