Putting Together a Promotional Campaign
In today’s economy companies are getting desperate! Some of the most established companies have lost sight of the basic elements of a promotional campaign. So, here are a few pointers. Be sure to ask yourself the following questions before you hit the ground running:
1. What’s the point?
Identifying your marketing objective is the first step to developing your promotional campaign. All goals should be SMART: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time related. You have to make your objective clear to everyone involved in your campaign so your team knows exactly what is expected and your final destination. Is your goal to increase customer retention by 5%? Close on 5 new clients? Increase revenue by $2,000? The possibilities are endless…but they should always be clearly communicated.
2. Who’s your target?
Next, you’ve got to identify your target market. You have to make sure your campaign is seen by the demographic that will benefit from your product most. If your target market sees how your product will benefit them, they will be more likely to purchase your product of service.
3. What do you have to say?
The whole idea behind a promotional campaign is to make customers aware of your product or service. Your brand message should be consistent and clear. What’s your story? What are your values, the core essence of your company, your competitive advantage? The message that you send can affect the type of promotional media you will use-viral, internet, guerilla, radio, TV, etc.
4. How much is it going to cost?
Marketers hate the “B” word. That’s right…BUDGET. I know, I said it. Sorry. A marketing budget is actually a good thing. It gives planners a guideline for what they have to spend. It will also help you determine the type of promotional media you can afford to use.
5. How are you going to mix the market?
You must then determine the mix that you will use to promote your product. The marketing mix consists of the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Depending on your product or service, you may have to put an emphasis on one function more than another. Identifying the correct balance for this mix may be the most important part of developing your promotional campaign. You need to research the competition, conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, and determine how you will differentiate yourself. You may also want to identify how the other (added) 3 Ps will affect your campaign: People, Processing, and Packaging!
6. How long do you have to send the message?
When will your campaign start and end? Will it be completed in phases? As you set these time-oriented goals they should be measureable and realistic. It’s okay if you have to reevaluate your goals as you make progress. Goals must still be set. It’s easy to put things off if you don’t have a clear goal for the completion of each task. It may be most effective if you create a calendar that shows what will be completed each day until the campaign is complete.
7. What’s the benchmark?
Finally, you must identify how the success (or failure) of your campaign will be measured. How will it be evaluated? There are several marketing campaign evaluation templates available online. A good evaluation can help you determine how to keep your current campaign going and will give you insight on how to plan for future campaigns.
