Have you ever heard of the saying, “Fail to plan, plan to fail”? Putting effort and energy into planning, whether it is for an upcoming vacation, presenting the annual end of year report, or even something small like writing up a grocery list for the week, is almost always worth it. Why? Because planning allows you to stay organized, on task, and increases the probability of reaching your end goal, whatever it may be; plus, it often helps save resources! Yes, at times, success is the product of good luck; but for the most part blood, sweat and tears – a.k.a. planning – produce results.
The same applies to marketing. While coming up with a new marketing strategy and brainstorming creative ideas is exciting; implementing said strategies can be daunting. Be not afraid – Entrepreneur.com highlighted seven helpful planning tips to keep in mind.
- What is your end game? Obviously, for any business, making a profit is always important. But when it comes to marketing, you must think beyond the obvious – a profit is great, but what’s going to get you there? As Entrepreneur.com points out, questions including, “Are you trying to drive more traffic to your site? Are you trying to earn more conversions? Are you simply building more brand recognition?” and even deeper, “Are you looking to achieve a certain growth rate? Are you working within a specific period of time?” will help you narrow things down. Remember, be detailed and specific – “the devil is in the details.”
- Know your audience. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – know whom you are trying to target. And by that, we mean really know them. The more you know, the better you are able to position yourself and your strategy for success. “Knowledge is power” wasn’t said for nothing.
- Competition creates campaigns. We know what you’re thinking – what the heck do they mean? Well, think about it. If you’re in the know about what your competitors are doing, it only motivates you to work that much harder to create something even better. So, single out your biggest competitors, research their strategies, and use them to pull inspiration from and adjust your own to be better, and eventually, the best. “Good, better, best – never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”
- Be versatile. No one wants to receive the same boring newsletter from you every week. Don’t be afraid to try new mediums and experiment with various forms of content to generate more excitement and interest for your product or service. In our world of digital marketing especially, the options seem endless. But, don’t say we didn’t warn you – be sure to research each method and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each carefully before making a commitment. The last thing you want is to waste your resources and get little return – “Variety is the spice of life.”
- Who are you? Even better, what are you trying to say? No, not you personally, but your business. Figuring out what you want to say is the first step. Figuring out what you want your message to evoke is next. The thoughts, emotions, and impressions that your audience experience will ultimately translate to your campaign’s success, or failure. “Build a brand. Or a brand will build you.”
- It’s all about the money, honey. Well, kinda. Cost ranks pretty high on how successful your marketing campaign will be. The hope is that the more you invest, the greater your return will be. However, this is not always the case, which is why we say “kinda.” In an ideal world, we’d all have an endless stream of funding to use on any of our creative marketing ideas. However, for most, this is not realistic. So, we recommend researching all methods and keeping an eye out for lower cost options that will still be effective always. “Get the biggest bang for your buck.”
- So, will I be successful? That’s the million-dollar question. If we had psychic powers and could tell you that your marketing campaign would be a win or loss, we’d be billionaires. However, we don’t. What we do have is data and ROI. Look at previous campaigns and extrapolate information based on the numbers. What worked last time? What didn’t? How can I adjust my strategy? As for ROI, estimates are great and you can create benchmarks for where you’d like to be by a certain date. However, until you begin the actual campaign, you won’t have an idea what your return will be until you get things moving. So, the best thing you can do is plan, plan, plan. Got it?
Obviously, the hope is that by integrating these seven tips into your upcoming marketing strategies, you’ll be successful. And with a bit (okay, a lot) of hard work and dedication, you’re pretty likely to be. But, don’t forget to do your own research based on your industry and audience and the handy dandy tips in this post!
If you have any questions about RenderTribe and what we do, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you!
