Iterative Marketing Podcast Episode 9: Applying Iterative Marketing To Your Existing Marketing

There are four areas to apply Iterative Marketing to your existing marketing, without starting from scratch. They are through Discovery, Setup, Reporting and Iteration.

Episode Show Notes

Introduction To Applying the Iterative Marketing Methodology 

(0:00 – 2:14) Introduction To Iterative Marketing Podcast: The Iterative Marketing Podcast provides actionable ideas, techniques, and examples for marketers and entrepreneurs to improve their marketing results. In this episode, hosts Steve Robinson and Elizabeth Earin discuss applying the Iterative Marketing methodology within existing marketing organizations. Most organizations can’t simply stop and restart their marketing efforts in an Iterative manner, so this episode aims to provide insights on how to integrate the methodology into current practices. 

The resources discussed on the show can be found at brilliantmetrics.com, which includes a blog and a LinkedIn group for community interaction.

(2:14 – 3:22) Implementing Iterative Marketing Within Existing Marketing Activities: In this episode, the hosts discuss four main areas of implementation: Discovery, Setup, Reporting, and Experimentation & Optimization. It is important to first document and understand these components of marketing before introducing Iterative Marketing. To learn more about the Iterative Marketing methodology, please watch episodes one through eight of the Iterative Marketing podcast.

Discovery Phase 

(3:22 – 6:14) Laying the Groundwork for Iterative Marketing Implementation: In the discovery phase of implementing Iterative Marketing, the focus is on laying the groundwork and documenting your brand, target audience, and customer journey map. Starting with your primary decision-maker persona, it is crucial to define this persona to get the most out of the process. Resources such as Episode 3 of the podcast and our free B2B and B2C persona templates can help with this first step. Documenting the primary persona’s buyer journey is also beneficial, with Episode 4 covering this topic. After completing the discovery phase, the next steps involve setting up the foundation for Iterative Marketing within the organization.

Key Elements for Continuous Improvement

(6:14 – 7:03)  Three Key Elements in Iterative Marketing: 

1. Continuous programs: Shift from campaign-based marketing to a continuous program approach, where efforts are ongoing and repeatable, allowing for continuous improvement and optimization.
2. Measurement and KPIs: Establish clear measurement and key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and assess the effectiveness of marketing efforts, enabling data-driven decision-making and improvement.
3. Alignment of content and channels with the primary persona: Ensure that all marketing content and channels are tailored to address the needs, preferences, and behaviors of the primary target persona, maximizing engagement and effectiveness.

(7:03 – 10:07) Converting Campaigns to Programs: 

1. Identify consistencies: Analyze recurring themes, tactics, or objectives in past campaigns that can be leveraged for continuous, long-term efforts.
2. Create ongoing, repeatable programs: Develop a programmatic approach by building on identified consistencies, focusing on long-term and sustainable marketing efforts that can be adjusted and optimized over time.

(10:07 – 10:36) Documenting Personas for Targeting and Personalization:

1. Persona documentation: Thoroughly define and document your primary target persona to provide a clear understanding of their needs, preferences, and behaviors.
2. Content and channel alignment: Use the documented persona to tailor marketing content and channel selection, ensuring they effectively reach and resonate with the target audience.
3. Personalization: Leverage persona insights to provide personalized experiences, enhancing engagement and driving better results.

(10:36 – 11:07) Experiments And Iteration:

1. Persona-driven experimentation: Design experiments and iterative improvements specifically to test hypotheses and assumptions about your primary target persona, maximizing learning and insights.
2. Action-based learning: Analyze how your primary persona reacts to marketing efforts and use this information to guide future optimizations and adjustments.
3. Avoid general audience approaches: Focusing on the primary target persona ensures that insights gained through experiments are specific and actionable, as opposed to diluted learnings from a general audience approach.

Setup Phase 

(11:07 – 12:27) Starting Small and Scaling Up: To implement Iterative Marketing, it’s important to start small and scale up. This means starting with a minimally viable marketing program (MVMP) and building upon it over time. To do this effectively, it’s important to identify the smallest set of tactics that can be applied at the beginning and then iterate and improve from there. However, it’s crucial to reset stakeholders’ expectations and communicate the benefits of this approach. Clear communication and setting expectations from the beginning are key to the success of these programs.

(12:27 – 14:56) Determining KPIs: The second component of the setup phase in Iterative Marketing is to have measurement and KPIs in place. It is crucial to figure out what to measure and how to measure it early on, as it cannot be created later. The See, Think, Do methodology can be used to structure KPIs as they will be different depending on the prospect’s stage. For example, in the See stage, it is essential to measure brand awareness and how effectively the message is being delivered to the audience. In the Think and Do stages, direct response tactics are used. Measuring the quantity and quality of people doing a particular action, such as visiting a landing page or making a purchase, is crucial. Putting some forethought into KPIs is essential for the success of Iterative Marketing.

(14:56 – 15:49) Tools for Measurement Success: The next step after identifying KPIs is to ensure that you have the right tools to measure them. Google Analytics is a great tool for measuring metrics, but it needs to be set up correctly to measure what you need to know. It’s important to have someone who knows the tool inside out to ensure you’re getting the right information to make educated decisions. For instance, if you want to know how long people are spending on web pages, Google Analytics might not measure it correctly out of the box.

(15:49 – 18:08) Steps for Effective Personalization and Channel Alignment: After establishing KPIs and measuring them, the next step is personalizing content for individual personas and auditing all channels to deliver that content effectively. The customer journey is crucial for matching content and media channels to personas and the buyer’s journey. Without documentation, it’s easy to get off track. This covers the discovery components and setup required before reporting and iterating for continuous improvement.

Charity Outreach

(18:08 – 19:02) Charity Break: Pathfinders

The Importance of Reporting

(19:02 -21:04) Connecting the Dots to Revenue: Reporting is vital in connecting the data to revenue and building assets for long-term growth. It is important to use the KPIs established during the setup phase to prove the value of marketing efforts to stakeholders. Additionally, reporting on long-term assets can demonstrate the contributions of the marketing department to the organization’s future success. 

The Importance of Executing Experiments 

(21:04 – 22:47) Executing Effective Experiments Through Focused Targeting: To set up a successful experiment, one should focus on a single persona and ensure that the channels and content are unique to them. Targeting too many personas can result in inconclusive results, and it is important to understand the need to align channels and content with a single persona to gather valuable insights.

(22:47 – 24:03) Experiment Tips and Examples: The next step in iterative marketing is to start executing experiments to identify opportunities for improvement. A successful experiment requires targeting a single persona with unique channels and content so that insights can be applied to that persona. Experiments are essentially A/B tests and can involve testing headlines, calls to action, and graphics to generate insights on personas and evoke the right emotions in the audience. For more information, refer to episode seven or the blog posts linked in the show notes.

Join Us Next Time

(24:03 – 25:40)  Conclusion: In this episode, we talked about applying iteration and continuous improvement to marketing. We emphasized the importance of targeting a single persona in experiments to gain clear insights and learnings. 

The topic of the next episode: breaking down the silos between marketing and sales. 

By providing actionable tips for immediate implementation, we aim to help marketers integrate these key components into their existing strategies and workflows for a more effective and efficient approach. 

Have a great week and we’ll see you next time. This concludes this week’s episode. For notes and links to resources discussed on the show, sign up to the Brilliant Metrics newsletter.

Iterative Marketing is a part of the Brilliant Metrics organization. If you would like more information on the marketing services provided by the expert team at Brilliant Metrics, reach out today for a free discovery call.

The Iterative Marketing Podcast,  a production of Brilliant Metrics, ran from February 2016 to September 2017. Music by SeaStock Audio.

Learn more about Iterative Marketing and listen to other episodes on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.