Four things e-marketer must always bear in mind

A business guru named Michael Gerber has discovered a marketing methodology to cope with today's environment. It comprises innovation, quantification, orchestration and documentation and is the key behind major marketing successes for many well-known brands.

INNOVATION

You'll probably get the same results if you do what everyone else is doing. Most often those who excel in any market are the innovators, those who are continually trying new things, creating new methods of doing business or standing for something unique.

Regardless of the business you are in, innovation should be baked into the sales, marketing, and product development process. This innovation sense gives you the ability to try something new. This "something" can take a variety of different formats, but most importantly it is something that can move you towards greater success.

QUANTIFICATION

To be truly effective with your marketing you must measure your results. With each innovation, action is taken, a product sampled, research conducted, a new sales pitch or value proposition delivered. The most successful marketing programmes are always working to improve their return on investment (ROI). The key is to measure each independent element that could possibly influence your result. Try not to change too many things at the same time: that will make accurate measurement next to impossible.

Now that you've tried something new and measured its effectiveness, you're ready for the third component, orchestration.

ORCHESTRATION

After trying something innovative and measuring the result, you now know what works and what doesn't, and once you have your successes identified, you need to roll them out in a systemic fashion. The faster you implement your innovation across the business in a consistent fashion, the better your results become. If an innovation is quickly shared and implemented, the result is innovation on a massive scale which has a direct and positive influence on your ROI.

DOCUMENTATION

As new personnel come into your business, you want to make sure that the innovations and enhancements you've made to your marketing practices are fully implemented. The best way to do this is to not expect an employee to memorise a 700-page employee instruction manual. Rather, they should become familiar with your way of doing business, which needs to be documented in a simple, easily understandable format. It's those companies that create living documentation that is easily understood and implemented that excel.

In conclusion, if you're trying to enhance your marketing programme, keep Gerber's methodology in mind: innovation, quantification, orchestration, documentation. This process will ensure constant growth and improvement in your marketing results.