The Part of marketing marketers hate.

Phrases like Pakalast, Kyusa Levo and Mpola enjoyments have made their way into our cultures and are an integral part of our urban dictionaries,

As they launched in the UK, Red bull dropped off thousands of empty cans at most rubbish collections points creating a perception that its been highly consumed recently, This of course unlocked thousands of orders and millions of pounds in sales. Making it one of the most successful guerilla marketing tactics.

Say the word marketing and minds will naturally rush to the exciting clever campaigns, controversial taglines and edgy posts on social media, the glamorous events that bring brands to life. Some people will go as far as to call them gimmicks. And the misconceived stereotype that marketers are flashy loud extroverts that love the limelight doesn’thelp either.

I have said this before, The exciting part of marketing, The part you will usually see is about 10% of what marketing realistically is, It is basically a derivative of endless, thankless hard work that goes on behind the curtain or under the covers,

Just like an iceberg, the comic commercials, witty social media engagements and creative posters are only a small part of the entire operation. However, Below the cover, you might not be able to see the days of consumer behavioral analysis, the endless number crunching across the different matrices and KPIs, the comparing and contrasting, going through slides and slides of research. The reverts to the previous reverts before going to market.

This is the part of marketing most marketers hate, and it is easily the most critical. Most marketers have learned to love this part or simply made peace with it. If you are marketing without this part, it is akin to shooting in the dark. You might ‘somehow’ get some targets right. But there are higher chances of missing, and in so doing miss invest marketing resources.

The numbers are critical for understanding consumer behavior, The consumers are the cardinal stakeholder in marketing, It is also important to understand and simulate the impact to the bottom line, KPIs like return on marketing investment, and objective setting in terms of trial, awareness, business development  and salience among others

To calculate and analyze big data to the most granular details to enable them tell a story of how consumers perceive you and your brand, How and when or where the consume, and what triggers this behavior, What they like or not like to do, What shifts in perception they have experienced and what is driving the perception. What story do your most detailed sales, equity, and distribution numbers tell. And how do customers feel about your brand, what feelings and actions does your brand evoke. 

As a marketer, the business is also your customer. It is important that you gun for solving their problems and achieving key business objectives like sales growth, Margin, and even behavioral change. 

Matching the numbers against your consumers and the business concerns in pursuit of solutions while maintaining what this means for your brand, its purpose, persona, growth trajectory and customer promise will be the right foundation for successful marketing campaigns and optimizing resources. 

Dear fellow marketer, this is not the most pleasurable or invigorating part of our work, but in the words of the Marketing Manager of Spirits at Uganda Breweries, Rhona Namanya, you will always deliver better if you are one with your numbers.