You’re the expert when it comes to your business. Nobody is better equipped than you to shout about its uniqueness and why people should choose you over your competitors.
But how do you turn your ideas into strong marketing campaigns that help you get the best return on investment?
Your audience should always come first and foremost when planning your campaign. Think carefully about who you’re targeting; what sort of campaign will catch their attention? Which of their needs will your campaign address? For example, a florist might offer a last-minute deal on Valentine’s Day flowers to men who need to buy a present fast, or a coffee shop might offer a mid-afternoon happy hour on food and drink, targeting stay-at-home parents who want to socialise but can’t afford expensive outings. Keep asking yourself how you can deliver the most value to them with your marketing activity.
Running a marketing campaign that achieves all things at once would be great, but unfortunately that’s a bit unrealistic. We recommend deciding on one clear goal to make sure you turn your idea into a focused campaign so that you don’t confuse people with too many different messages.
Do you want to attract new customers, or re-connect with existing customers? Do you want to generate new leads, or raise awareness of your business? The more specific you can be with the desired outcome of your campaign, the higher its chance of success.
Selecting the right channels is one of the first steps for any successful marketing campaign. There are plenty of tools to help you communicate your message – it’s simply a matter of finding the right one to promote your campaign.
For example, you could try running a campaign on your website including a form to gather people’s email addresses to help expand your email database. However, if you’re advertising an event or want to get the phones ringing then placing an ad in your local paper and on its news site has the potential to reach a wider audience.
Every good marketing campaign has one thing in common: a strong call to action. This is what gets your customers to do what you want, whether that’s going to an event or giving you a call.
Without a clear call to action, a campaign can fall flat as customers don’t know what their next step is. Remove any barriers that might distract your audience from completing the one thing that you want them to do. For example if you want to gain email addresses, don’t show people an offer on your new season stock, or direct them to your blog page. You also need to be clear with your messaging to let them know what’s expected of them and what they’ll get in return.
Next time you have a great idea for your business, try working through the above four steps to see how it can be developed into a well thought-out marketing campaign. If you would like further help on creating the most effective marketing campaigns, read our planning guide.
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