Upstream marketing is the realm of effective growth. This requires a different set of skills.

A majority of marketing leaders are finding the going tough today. They are unable to prove the value of marketing, and therefore their budgets are being pulled back.

It happens each time an organization goes through a rough patch. Marketing budget is usually the first to be slashed off.

Why is this?

It is my argument that the reason this happens is because leaders are too focused on downstream marketing at the expense of upstream marketing.

What is upstream marketing?

The terms “upstream” and “downstream” refer to two different, but equally important aspects of marketing.

In oil and gas industry, these two terms take on a different meaning. We will not get into that here.

With regard to our topic today, upstream marketing is focused on strategy and the long-term market situation, while downstream marketing looks at tactics, activity and supporting the company’s sales team with their objectives.

Understanding these types of marketing activity can assist you to further develop the connection between marketing and sales teams, benefiting your company’s growth and overall sales potential

What is the goal of an upstream marketing strategy?

It is very important to have a clear strategy when engaging in your upstream activities.

You will thus be required to have a process of identifying and serving customer needs. This forms your objective for the strategy.

Upstream marketers try to answer two key issues:

• Where is the market moving?
• What will the customers want next?

Have this information will help you in driving your business growth and increase revenues.

Conclusion

In conclusion, and as a recap, it is very important that as a leader, you focus on upstream marketing activities within your organization.

The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks of such an investment. This marketing approach focuses on innovation.

Your marketing team should engage the sales team and conduct research focused on long-term trends within the oil and gas industry.

Understanding emerging trends will provide you with potential to create new marketing and make new sales.