Marketing Strategy: How to use benchmarking and industry best practice
When it comes to marketing strategy, many companies choose to use in-house resources intricately involved in the brand and marketing activities of the organization.
Isolating regions such as Melbourne, Australia, when segmenting marketing strategies, is only part of what is necessary to be successful in business. Deep diving into target audiences, brand sentiment, industry best practices, and benchmarking can help companies to capitalize on their unique value proposition and communicate it effectively to customers and prospects.
Marketing strategy is a crucial aspect of any business that aims to achieve sustainable growth and success. However, with a fluctuating market and increasing competition, staying ahead of the market can take time.
By using industry-specific benchmarking and best practices in developing a successful marketing strategy, companies can continually improve marketing efforts and achieve greater return on investment (ROI) for marketing spend. In addition, by capitalizing on crucial insights and experiences of leading companies and organizations, companies can adopt successful tactics to enhance their marketing efforts and drive results.
Why companies should use marketing industry best practices
Using industry best practices for marketing strategies can significantly impact the success of a company’s marketing. Firstly, by benchmarking against other successful companies in the same industry, businesses can identify what works well for their competitors and adapt those strategies. This can reduce the risk of failure and increase the chances of success by avoiding common pitfalls and replicating proven tactics. This has been done by the online retailer Amazon. Amazon has used a personalized approach in its marketing strategies. Further, they have also implemented a customer review system. These approaches have been proven successful in the e-commerce industry.
In addition, industry best practices can provide valuable insights into market trends and consumer behaviour, allowing businesses to use marketing resources and budget more wisely to attract leads to the company, mainly through digital marketing campaigns.
Moreover, adopting industry best practices can help businesses to improve their marketing efficiency and effectiveness. For example, by following the lead of companies with a robust online presence, businesses can learn how to maximize their use of digital marketing channels to reach and engage with their target audience.
By learning from companies that have successfully integrated technology into their marketing strategies, businesses can identify how to automate and streamline their marketing processes, resulting in cost savings and improved outcomes. For example, an example of the integration of technology into marketing strategies is the utilization of AI. According to Salesforce, 23% of customer service companies are using AI. Furthermore, this statistic is forecasted to increase in the coming years due to the growing popularity of AI.
Another advantage of using industry best practices for marketing strategies is that it can help businesses to build their brand reputation and credibility. By aligning their marketing efforts with those of respected companies in their industry, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to excellence and expertise in their field. This can help build customer trust and credibility, leading to increased brand loyalty and improved customer retention rates.
Examples of marketing best practices
Marketing industry best practices can be broken down into several key areas, each offering opportunities for companies to benchmark their performance and improve their marketing strategies. Here are some of the most critical areas to consider.
Digital Marketing strategy
Digital marketing best practices can include measures such as website design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media engagement, email marketing, and online advertising. Companies can benchmark their performance against industry leaders to identify areas for improvement and stay ahead of the curve in digital marketing tactics.
Content Marketing strategy
Content marketing best practices can include measures such as content creation, distribution, and engagement. Companies can benchmark their performance in blog writing, video production, and infographics to ensure they create and share high-quality content that resonates with their target audience. Suppose the content needs to resonate with its target audience. In that case, the business may need to gain its desired reach, making content marketing counterproductive.
Data and Analytics
Data and analytics best practices can include measures such as data collection, analysis, and reporting. Companies can benchmark their website traffic, customer behavior, and campaign performance to gain valuable insights into their marketing efforts and make informed decisions about their marketing strategies.
Branding
Branding best practices can include measures such as brand awareness, brand image, and brand reputation. Companies can benchmark their performance in brand messaging, brand identity, and brand loyalty to ensure their branding efforts resonate with their target audience and drive results.
Customer Experience
Customer experience best practices can include measures such as customer satisfaction, customer engagement, and customer retention. Companies can benchmark their performance in customer service, customer feedback, and customer loyalty programs to ensure they deliver a positive customer experience and build strong relationships with their customers. According to Forbes (2019), 87% of customers who have a good experience with the company are likely to make another purchase. This highlights the importance of ensuring that customers have a good experience.
Marketing strategy Automation
Marketing automation best practices can include measures such as automation strategy, automation technology, and automation results. Companies can benchmark their performance in email marketing automation, lead generation automation, and marketing analytics to ensure they effectively leverage technology to streamline and improve their marketing efforts.
By using these best practices as a benchmark, companies can stay ahead of the curve and achieve their marketing goals.
How to measure email marketing campaigns
Several critical statistics of email marketing campaigns across various industries should measure to gauge their effectiveness. Some of these include.
Open rate
The available rate measures the percentage of recipients who opened an email. This statistic provides insight into how engaging the subject line and overall email content is. Campaign Monitor shows an acceptable open rate of 17-28%. However, this may differ depending on your business’s industry.
Click-through rate (CTR)
The CTR measures the number of clicks on links within an email divided by the number of email recipients. This statistic provides insight into how compelling the call-to-action (CTA) within the email is. Regarding the CTR, Campaign Monitor states that a 2-5% CTR is considered good.
Bounce rate
The bounce rate measures the number of undeliverable emails returned to the sender. This statistic provides insight into the email list’s quality and the email addresses’ accuracy. HubSpot advises that an email bounce rate should be ideally below 2%.
Conversion rate
The conversion rate measures the number of recipients who took a desired action after receiving an email, such as purchasing or signing up for a newsletter. This statistic provides insight into the overall effectiveness of the email marketing campaign in achieving its goals. According to a benchmark report conducted by GetResponse, the average conversion rate for emails sent by companies in the e-commerce industry is 2.58%.
Spam complaint rate
The spam complaint rate measures the number of recipients who marked the email as spam. This statistic provides insight into the relevance and value of the email to the recipient, as well as the potential impact on the sender’s email reputation.
List growth rate
The list growth rate measures the rate at which new subscribers are added to the email list. This statistic provides insight into the effectiveness of email list-building efforts. A report conducted by Mailchimp illustrates that, on average, an email list growth rate is usually 13%.
Delivery rate
The delivery rate measures the number of emails successfully delivered to recipients. This statistic provides insight into the quality of the email list and the sender’s email reputation.
These statistics provide valuable insights into an email marketing campaign’s performance and can help identify areas for improvement.
Examples of marketing performance measurement that can help your business reach its marketing objectives
Open rate in marketing strategy
A software company in the tech industry reported an average available rate of 27% for its email marketing campaigns.
Click-through rate (CTR)
A fashion retailer in the retail industry reported an average CTR of 5.2% for its email marketing campaigns.
Bounce rate
A financial services company in the finance industry reported an average bounce rate of 1.8% for its email marketing campaigns.
Conversion rate
A travel company in the tourism industry reported an average conversion rate of 2.6% for its email marketing campaigns.
Spam complaint rate
A healthcare company in the medical industry reported an average spam complaint rate of 0.2% for its email marketing campaigns.
List growth rate
A food and beverage company in the consumer goods industry reported an average list growth rate of 4% for its email marketing campaigns.
Delivery rate
A real estate company in the property industry reported an average delivery rate of 98.5% for email marketing campaigns.
Social media engagement rate
A beauty and cosmetics company in the personal care industry reported an average engagement rate of 2.5% for its social media posts.
Website traffic
An e-commerce company in the retail industry reported an average website traffic of 45,000 unique visitors per month.
Return on investment (ROI)
An advertising agency in the marketing industry reported an average ROI of 4:1 for its marketing campaigns.
An important point to note is that these statistics may vary based on your industry.
Marketing strategy: Example of website and search engine performance for a professional services firm
Websites from one industry to another will vary in performance, traffic, search engine optimization, and bounce rates. For context, a professional services firm statistics should look like this.
Traffic
An essential aspect of a professional services firm’s success is its website traffic. Website traffic is vital for attracting new clients and increasing revenue. Firms should target a minimum of 50-60% organic traffic. Organic traffic refers to traffic obtained from search engines. It is typically the most valuable because it indicates that individuals actively look into the firm. The remaining traffic comes from direct sources. Direct sources include users typing in the website’s URL and referral sources from other sites. Firms must maintain a balanced traffic mix to convert website visitors into clients successfully.
Unique visitors
A critical indicator that might affect a professional services firm’s success is the number of unique visits to its website. The number of unique visitors a firm targets may vary based on their industry. However, a good rule of thumb to shoot for is at least 10,000 unique visitors per month. This goal can guarantee that enough potential clients are interested in and involved with the firm’s website.
Conversion rate
A professional services firm should aim for a conversion rate of at least 2-3% from its website, which means that 2-3 out of every 100 website visitors take a desired action, such as filling out a contact form or scheduling a consultation.
Benchmarking and industry best practices are essential tools for any organization looking to develop a successful marketing strategy. By comparing their performance with their competitors and adopting industry best practices, organizations can identify their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for growth, and create a clear roadmap for success. Effective benchmarking requires a deep understanding of the organization’s objectives, target market and industry landscape. By analyzing key performance indicators and best practices of competitors, organizations can identify gaps in their marketing approach and find areas for improvement. Through benchmarking, organizations can gain valuable insights and create informed marketing strategies that can deliver better ROI and increase their competitive advantage. Combining the insights gained through benchmarking and adopting industry best practices allow organizations to create effective marketing strategies that deliver better results, build stronger brands, and help them succeed in an ever-changing business environment.
