SHARE OF SEARCH – THE ARGUMENT FOR NOT CUTTING YOUR MARKETING BUDGETS
Top 3 argument that Make the Case for increasing your marketing budget
1) SHARE OF SEARCH
Share of Search (SoS) is a metric that correlates to Market Share, it shows how much market intent your brand owns compared to your competitors, and will be your secret weapon for growth in the coming weeks, months and years.
All things equal, a business that has a Share of Search (SoS) greater than its Share of Market (SoM) is likely to obtain a higher market share in the long run 3-5 years). Why is this you might ask? As you continue to invest in your marketing activities, your brand recognition and equity will only grow, enabling your brand a greater market share.
In every market, there is an equilibrium between your SoS and SoM, which sets your position. Gradually as you invest in your communication, advertising etc. Your business will move closer towards the tipping point, naturally increasing your brands market share.
Because Share of Search is further down the funnel, it works even in low-involvement categories like FMCG. Comparison of search frequency provide us with a good proxy for interest and consideration. Searching for pasta is less common than searching for house loans, but in relative terms the balance of one brand’s share of total search in a category is what matters.
2) EXCESS SHARE OF SEARCH (ESOS)
Market Share / Share of Search * ESOS = Future market share growth.
Your brand has a 20% market share but enjoyed 30% of the total search frequency last month. Well done! you have +10 ESoS and we know that translates into X% of market share growth in your category per year.
Of course a number of factors such as the size of the competition, price points and quality of your campaigns will contribute to your overall success in driving ESOS and gaining market share.
With an increased Share of Search, your competition is naturally likely to see their Share of Market reduce, as it follows in line with the market equilibrium.
To grow your Share of Search and create a positive ESOS there are two ways to achiving this
Invest more in marketing than your competitors
Hope that your competitors cut their budgets
3) LONG-TERM GROWTH the 60/40 split of marketing budget
Secure long term growth by investing in your brand.
Binet and Field’s core principles of B2B and B2C growth is to maximise mental availability, build a strong brand, harness the power of emotion, budget for growth, and balance the budget between long term brand building and short term activation. In other words the principles are the same in B2B and B2C marketing.
How fast a brand grows to a very large extent depends on its ability to create a positive ESOS. Growth will depend in particular whether its Share of Search is above or below its share of market.