6 steps to a successful marketing campaign.

6 steps to a successful marketing campaign

1.Target Audience

This is the most important step in a SUCCESSFUL marketing campaign.  Define who your target market is.  Are they people or organizations, what are their characteristics? The rest of the campaign will be built around this critical information.  Everything from ad design, language, method, time, channel, and location of the ad are based around your specific audience.

2. List

Now that you know who your audience is, it’s time to identify specific individuals or entities to engage.  Where you find them depends on who your audience is.  Newsletters, special offers, sign ups, and opt-ins are great ways to help grow your list.  Ideally we focus on building a relationship with our list, rather than just transaction interactions.

3. Value Proposition

Your value proposition explains to your customers how you’re going to help them.  Its time to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what problems you’ll be solving for them.  What needs to be communicated about your brand for them to see the value in your product, and be moved to the point of making a purchase.  It’s important to consider the needs, wants, and EMOTIONS, which drive our purchasing decisions.  Your value proposition should be clear and with out lofty jargon. Use real life examples and stats to paint a picture, rather than just description.

4. Call to Action

Study after study supports the need for calls to action(CTA).  A call to action, tells your readers what to do next, where to go for more info, where to subscribe, where to purchase, and they present upselling opportunities.  CTA’s guide potential customers through your sales funnel and are an important part of your campaign.  Additionally, for customers who haven’t decided to purchase yet, CTAs help to keep them engaged, learning more, and greatly increase the likelihood of closing a sale.

5. Execution

The campaign must be delivered to the target audience.  Ads can be carried out through a variety of channels depending on the product, audience, goals, and budget.  Will the campaign be: digital, local, email, print/mail, television, partner based, radio, virtual reality (yes that’s on the horizon), phone, computer, promotional? Planning ahead and data driven decisions are key.

6. Follow up: Follow up has three parts.

First – It’s important to follow up with your leeds.  Many potential buyers may be interested in purchasing, but require follow up. Our customers have busy lives like we do, without follow up many customers never end up purchasing.  A simple email or phone call makes all the difference.

Second – Afer a customer make a purchase, there ought to be follow up.  This is a chance to thank them for their purchase and to establish an ongoing relationship. This is also an important opportunity to upsell.  These people have already found trust and value in your brand. Now is the perfect time to show them how else you can be of value to them.

Third – DATA.  Data must be tracked to optimize performance on future campaigns.  This is one of the key things that makes digital marketing so powerful.  Instead of spending large amounts on blanket advertisements, data can be tracked, and your advertising budget can be focused for maximized returns. Ads that broadcast to a laser focused audience, perform better by increasing sales and decreasing waste.  Why spend 50% of your advertising budget on male viewers if your customers are 90% female?

Keep these steps in mind when preparing for a marketing campaign.  Don’t be discouraged if your first attempts are not successful.  Even the most successful marketers know that it’s a game of trial and error.  The key is to learn from your mistakes, adjust your methods (based off data), and try again.  If you’d have any questions when preparing for your next marketing campaign feel free to reach out, we are happy to help.