I just walked out of the management meeting this morning, and based on the numbers the finance team presented earlier, it’s clear the company has hit a growth plateau. No, we aren’t losing customers, but we aren't gaining new ones either. In short, our business growth is stagnant. I’ve told the CEO that we can turn the situation around. And, I need another 3-4 months to do it since we are already in the middle of the marketing transformation journey, right now.
This is the gameplay we’re going to do. But first, before I share it with you, please be informed that this info is strictly internal. Please, I repeat, please keep it confidential.
Here goes.
Introducing BOBI, as in “better outbound, better inbound" operation. Effective immediately, we are going to prioritise outbound marketing to spark awareness. This means proactive outreach. We will start with three methods first, paid ads, referrals and strategic partnerships. Without a strong outbound marketing push, there will be low inbound. This low inbound will guarantee that there will be no qualified leads that we can convert into paid customers. This is not good. Instead of waiting for them to find us, we are going to find them.
This is what will happen when we reach out to them. Logically, the initial response is usually quiet. This is normal. You see, those targeted prospects don't just respond to our cold emails or ads immediately. Instead, they validate us. Quietly. They will immediately go into "search mode" to see if we’re the real deal. They’ll check our website, scrutinise our social media, look up our Google Business Profile, and even query AI to see what our reputation looks like. Some will go even further to see who the founders, co-founders and management team members are.
Here, we need to showcase that we are legit, we are reliable, we are credible, trustworthy and so on. We also need to showcase that we have a strong authority level in this industry, and they can trust us. To do this, our assets must be solid. The inbound traffic is crucial for us. Our social media must be there, looking fresh and vibrant. Our search presence, be it on search engines or AI platforms, offers strong and authentic answers to their queries. Our website must be as top-notch and professional as Volvo Cars'. This would mean we will get rid of our Linktree as soon as possible and start sharpening our website instead. These are the positive signals I want them to see in us. And, these signals must be so strong that those visitors would want to talk to us, to direct-message us, to fill out our forms and to ask us more questions.
The formula is simple. Better outbound will give us better inbound. Better inbound will bring us better raw leads. And, better raw leads will help us with better qualified leads. The more qualified leads we have at this stage, I believe our conversion rate will be way better and more predictable.
All these milestones will be monitored closely via our KPI Dashboard. Now, I’ll be sending an invite for a meeting tomorrow at 10.30 am to brief everyone on the specific details of Ops BOBI and the targets I intend to secure. Attendance is mandatory for all in the marketing department. The Sales team will join too, since I want them to beef up their processes, as in how they will take the qualified leads from there.
PS: Team leaders, drop by my office for a 45-minute pre-briefing session later at 4 pm. Kindly prepare your questions about this before coming.
Azleen.
P.S. Thanks for reading. Text now if you require a CMO.
