Megan Jasinski
Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. The cost of not pre-evaluating marketing campaigns through analytics and account services can be deadly. We’ve all been there before.
“I have this great idea for a marketing campaign! Let’s get this campaign out the door as soon as possible to every prospect in our database! Agency, database team, printer, mail house… Ready… set… GO!”
Needless to say, the success of the campaign won’t go far. It will burn out as quickly as it started and leave a hole in your pocket at the same time. Plus, you’ll have to explain to your management that even though the creative was pretty (and you looked good executing it), the campaign didn’t get past the first few miles. So what can you do in order to ensure a high return on a low investment? Follow these proven, and logical, steps for executing successful marketing campaigns at a marathon pace you can maintain.
1) Define your business objectives – What would you like to accomplish? Who would you like to target, why are you planning this marketing campaign? How are you planning on reaching your target? What are you planning on communicating to your target? These seem like simple questions to answer, but once you have these answers you are on to the next step in your training plan.
2) Share your plan with others for additional insights and guidance – You can’t run a marathon without the support of others, so why would you proceed with your marketing campaigns without consulting your Marketing Analytics Coaches first? Marketing Analysts are able to use your company’s data and secondary data to help define your target market and opportunities to ensure you are reaching the right audience to meet your business objectives. Also, at this stage, consider testing a few creative ideas and messages within your market – a simple qualitative study or focus group will do, and will carry you successfully throughout the race.
3) Define how you are going measure the success of the campaign. What data metrics are you going to capture in order to prove to your management that this program was a success? This will come in handy during the post-campaign evaluation and you will thank yourself later (trust me!). Especially consider this step if you plan on implementing multiple similar campaigns to different segmented targets. Consult your Marketing Analytics coaches for advice in this area as well – don’t be shy!
Congrats! You have your campaign strategy all documented, reviewed internally and ready to start the race (AKA implement your campaign) with a smart execution. In the next post, I’ll continue going through the steps for a successful execution and campaign evaluation, so you don’t burn out too quickly.
About the Author:
Megan Jasinski is an Account Manager with SIGMA Marketing Group. Connect with Megan on .
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