Turning marketing into R&D can be a strategic approach to drive innovation and meet customer demands. Here are some ways to accomplish this transformation:
Identify what you’re testing: Determine the specific capabilities and talents you want to test within your marketing team. This could involve exploring new service offerings, developing innovative ideas, or mapping out goals to move customers further in the sales funnel. Align your marketing and leadership teams around a common goal.
Measure success or failure: Like any other marketing strategy, it’s important to measure the success or failure of your R&D initiatives. Define metrics that align with your goals and evaluate the time, cost, and improvement measures required for each test. For example, if you’re testing the ability of your team to write a book, measure the time consumed by each team member and assess whether the project was completed within the timeline and budget.
Consider time and investment: Understand the time and financial investment required for your research and development efforts. This will help you determine the cost to your company and enable you to quote a budget to clients when rolling out new services.
Be transparent with clients: Communicate openly with your clients about your experimentation and testing process. Let them know that they are the first project to expand this new service with and set realistic expectations. Transparency builds trust and ensures clients are aware of the experimental nature of the offering.
A/B testing and client feedback: Once you have gained confidence in your new services, conduct A/B testing to understand how actual clients respond to the offering and refine your processes. Use client feedback to make necessary adjustments before fully introducing the service to all clients.
Roll out the new service: After successfully clearing the testing process, executing the plan, and achieving your goals, you can confidently roll out the new service to all your clients. Keep track of its performance and continue to iterate based on client feedback and market trends.
By following these steps, you can effectively transform your marketing team into a research and development department and offer innovative services that meet customer needs while driving business growth.