Marketing that Works!!
From the CEO's Desk
Marketing that Works!!
If creating effective marketing is so easy, why do so many companies experience marketing failures or marketing that doesn’t live up to its hype? If your marketing isn’t working, you just wasted a lot of money! While you are working on your marketing plan, how do you project its success? There are some actions you can take to help make it more effective.
Competitive Intelligence
Let’s start with competitive intelligence. This gives you some indication of what the competition is doing. Study and evaluate the direction they are pursing. Does it sound right? Do you think it will work? Do you want to do something similar? Or – do you want to go off in an entirely new direction? It’s easy to make a decision when you have some background material to go on.
Re-look at Your Target Market
Next, look at the state of your target market. Is it expanding, contracting or is it static.
Should you be looking at new markets exclusively or create a two-pronged program, deepening your penetration in the target market while at the same time looking for new markets where your products are also a fit. This may be a good time to consider an alliance, that is, pair up with another company who knows that market and can help you penetrate it. In return, you can help them achieve one of their goals with respect to a new market.
Stretching the Budget?
Would such a two-pronged approach stretch an already tight budget? One suggestion is to use publicity and public relations, usually the least expensive of all media to support your new market venture. A very good way to get exposure for a new product or service within a new market is to exhibit at a trade show. This gets you face-to -face with representatives from that market. You might consider using social media to sustain the message. As you see signs of success, you can slowly add other marketing such as advertising and possibly direct mail.
Branding Can Help
Look into branding your most popular product(s) and establishing a trade mark or sales mark, i.e., TM or SM. This will start to build credibility and protect all the financial and marketing support you invest in it. As you pursue what ever direction you have chosen, you must create built-in milestones to gauge your program’s success at various intervals and tweak the program as indicated.
Post Marketing Evaluation
You can use post marketing evaluation programs to gauge the product’s success overall and in specific markets. Subsequently you can use this success and many of the techniques employed, both product and name recognition, to introduce new products, that would fit the market.
What About Sustainability?
Although individual tastes change for products and services, the impact on a specific market can be measured. It may be possible to make such business sustainable, however, this situation must be very dynamic, that is, constantly changing just to keep up. Apple’s i phone is a good example. They keep upgrading it and there are those people who absolutely must have the latest iteration of the product.
Epilogue
No matter which marketing element(s) you use, it must be dramatic and catch people’s attention. The copy must be exciting and truthful. The reader can usually spot hype and is often turned off by it. Your ultimate goal is to build a reputation for your company and your products or services, as one of integrity, credibility, and high standards.
Franklin Cooper ©2018