Effective marketing campaigns rely on a well-thought, researched strategy with a clear execution methodology.
Two very important things when planning a marketing campaign are;
- Have a plan and commit to it.
- Be flexible. If things aren’t working as planned, make the necessary appropriately.
That said here are 3 things you need to address in order to be successful with your marketing campaign.
- Set your goals
Before you even think of what channels you want to use for advertising, you should know what you’re trying to do and ensure that it is achievable. The best way to do this is to revise you marketing plan. This should be achieved in three steps
- Redefine your products and services, describe them and list down their key features and benefits. Note down how they differ from competing products. Pricing, distribution, and customer service are a few things you may want to be different at because they are likely to directly influence customer decisions.
- Know your ideal customer – this will require that you look at your target market in detail and identify people who are most likely to buy your products or services. Describe this customer in terms of age, gender, family, lifestyle, geographical location, purchasing patterns, and the likes.
- Find out how best to communicate with your customers – what do they like to read? Which TV programs do they watch? Which radio programs are they ken on? Once you have this information you can then worry about affordability.
Your choice of a media channel should be guided by several things among them the behaviors of your target market and what’s unique about the business. For even greater success, narrow down your market as much as possible. For example, if you sell fashion products, you’ll be best off advertising in fashion magazines and fashion shows because you’ll be addressing people who are interested in fashion.
There are several marketing platforms out there, the most popular ones being traditional channels such as Print adverts, TV and radio, and more modern platforms particularly social media.
- Print advertising comes in the form of newspaper and magazine adverts. It’s easy to get ad space on newspapers; however, they only have a lifespan of 24 hours. Magazines allow you to target interest groups and have a longer shelf life.
- To succeed with TV and radio, you need to be very clear with your messages and must use feedback to improve.
- Decide whether you’ll handle your social media on your own or if you’ll get a professional to do it for you. Remember that social media is all about continued engagement.
You must always have a budget and work within that budget; this is very important. Instead of trying to reach the mass market, work to discover your niche – this will be cheaper. And you’re not showing off so there’s no need to have your ad filling a whole page on the Wall Street Journal especially if you’re just getting started with the business. If it’s a tradeshow, before you commit any dollar to it, think about how many sales you can expect to come away with.
Final tips
Just like you’ll do everywhere else; be purposeful, be compelling, and be consistent.
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The Handy Tool Kit for Launching & Measuring a Remarkable Campaign
