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There are a lot of moving pieces involved in creating a successful marketing campaign, and making that campaign work. I’ve created a list to help simplify the process in a way that makes sense to a normal person. Yes, I’ve been resigned to the fact and accepted that I’m probably not the most normal person. I’ve had the good fortune of being involved with a number of marketing campaigns that have provided a great deal of satisfaction, capturing my imagination with their spirited nature, making my work seem more like an adventure and less like a job. .
Buckle up, it’s gonna be fun.
The first and obvious step in a good marketing plan is to properly define what your campaign is really about. It probably sounds silly, but this step gets overlooked more often than you would think. So, what do I mean by properly defining your campaign? You need to clearly define your “campaign objective.” tThe more narrow you can focus this now,the better. It sounds good to say something like, “I’m going to sell things and grow my business.” Yes, that does sound good, and yes, I imagine that’s your end goal. But how are you going to sell things? What marketing vehicle(s)are you going to use to do this? Online is a possibility, but do you have the correct channels or ability to accomplish this? What about selling locally ? Maybe getting a vender or two that will sell for you? The number of options can be overwhelming, and once you’ve sorted through the vast number of choices available, you can select those that are best suited for your . You have to honestly assess a situation, evaluate your objectives, and recognize whether or not you’re prepared to take on the challenges and responsibilities associated with the campaign. . The idea of going forward initially with a gravity-weighted strategy, placing an emphasis on blitzing your campaign with such great effort, may cause you to lose focus on your strengths and what you do well. . If you can hone in on this, you’ll find the latter parts of your campaign will flow much easier.
Make a plan
Ok, so we’ve made the decision about our campaign’s direction and it’s objective. At this stage, we’re able to identify the variables associated with the direction of our marketing plan, recognize the definition of its complexion and identify its strengths and weaknesses. . It’s time to define our campaign goals into a cohesive thought. This is the point where we really need to work out the kinks and choose our marketing path wisely. An emphasis should be placed on research,and we need to consider all the factors that could ultimately make our campaign into a huge success or a miserable failure. Something as insignificant as the current weatheror seasonal patterns that have proven to be reliable on an annual basis can influence the complexities of the strategy. We need to understand the product availability, what it would bring to market, whether we rely on venders or are making the product in-house. Also, by closely looking at the competition that’s already in the market you’ll understand where you fit in. Then you’ll be able to ask yourself “What do I offer that stands out? What do I have to offer that will make potential clients choose me over my competitors?”
Create a profile
If you can answer those questions, you’re ready to start defining your target market. Where are they? What’s their age? What are their hobbies? Why do they need your product and how often? What are they currently using in place of your product? The better you’e at building and identifying your audience, the more effective you will be at finding them, establishing a successful client base and ultimately selling to them. Once you’ve completed this step,, you should have established a familiarity and be far more comfortable with your audience, so much so, that you might even just start giving them names. This can be fun, if not a little odd and off putting, for anyone who isn’t part of your group. This is also a good time to make sure that your product caters to them in both practicality and tone. You could have the best joint pain relief lotion in the world, but the possibility of selling the product to your grandmother will be greatly diminished, if it comes in a tube that looks like a bloody cow tongue. When you find yourself with all of the parts, you can begin the process of piecing itall together, and start to refine how you can make your product have a good value proposition. You should devote your energies toward working on the “why” they’re going to be drawn to your product, and make sure that it fits in with everything we’ve put together so far, and we are finally ready to…
Full Stop!!!
Let’s circle back around a bit, so we canmake sure our avenue to market still makes sense. Are we all-embracing with the the process of how we’e getting our product to market? If not let’s re-evaluate and make sure we have set realistic goals. You might discover at this stage that you can tweak your market plan to include other options including those previously notconsidered or those that may have been discarded because at the time they didn’t seem to fit. Maybe once you’ve properly defined and set realistic goals, you find that you’ve discovered a whole new audience through your research. Make sure they still align with each other. You should touch on every possible strategy approach, including but not limited to trade shows, online web sales, direct marketing, boots on the ground, grass root marketing and network marketing. Think you have it all figured out?
Let us move on to putting it all together.
So, we have decided on what we want to do. We’ve targeted the audience we want to market to, and we’ve built a comprehensive profile, one that is so complete and thorough,you find yourselfwanting to invite this person over for dinner. You’ve selected your approach as to how you’d like to present your campaign to the marketplace and you have yourstrategy in place..
Let’s go back and re-examine by concentrating our focus on the product. I apologize for all the doable checks. I J have done enough of these to know things change. You need to be flexible. At this point, after you’ve finished conducting your research, you should have a pretty good idea of what your customers are willing to pay, where they expect to find your product and what they expect once they have your product in their hands. You should have worked through how much you can invest in getting to market, how long you can feasibly remain there, and what your cost will be to meet those goals.
It’s time to set some realistic goals, so that we can track and decide whether your campaign was successful or not. You need to be honest with yourself because setting unrealistic goals isn’t going to help anyone. Now, if you’ve far exceed the agreed upon goals, congratulations you are an instant superstar!
The Big Day!
The big moment has arrived. It’s time to really put this campaign in motion. Once this has happened, you’d better be prepared to adjust on the drop of a dime as there’s no telling what’s coming your way. Even with the best laid plans you are still bound to run into some turbulent waters. What did you expect with all of these moving parts, right?
So, now your campaign has launched and you’ve righted any wrongs along the way. You’ve bobbed and weaved and it looks like you’re going to make it. You’re probably wondering just what you’ve gotten yourself into. Persevere and be strong, this is what you’ve spent your time building. Even the most successful campaigns can feel like a struggle, so don’t be discouraged. All the time, you’ve spent planning and re-planning should produce results. You’re now running a full-on marketing campaign. Once you’ve begun the process, you’re either going to become a star or go bust…get ready to analyze what you’ve just went through. You should develop the mindset that you’re going to track every sale, record every lead and take note of everything you’ve just learned – It’s going to help you on your next big adventure into the world of marketing.
Respectfully,
Mikel Reynolds,PPC Consultant
