 ...that is if you want your
effort to be successful. You've done your strategy work. You've defined
your target market, developed compelling positioning, established a
competitive analysis and advantage, and packaged your products
and/or services in a clear and relevant way. Now you're ready for the fun
stuff—the marketing mix. You know, direct mail, email, brochure, web site
refresh, public relations, and all of the various tactics you've determined
make the most sense given your strategy.
But that's the hard part isn't it?
Translating your strategy into an effective and efficient (and
therefore more affordable) Marketing Plan. We
have had several consulting audit engagements lately where we have
reviewed the marketing mix for our clients and provided feedback on what
they're doing well and where they can improve. In almost every case, one or
more of the following elements is in need of work:
- Consistency: It
is important to your marketing efforts that everything—and we do mean
everything—looks, feels, and sounds the same way. In order to get the
benefits that repetition provides, this element is absolutely critical.
If your targets hear the same message over and over again, the same
way each time, they are much more able to spread the word in
the way you want it to be spread. This is where the "and
they tell two friends" becomes your most powerful marketing tool.
We recommend that you audit all marketing communication pieces, as well
as other customer touch points (invoices, fax sheets, email signatures,
etc.) for consistency of your brand use and message. Where it is not
consistent...fix it immediately.
- Frequency: It's
true, frequency makes a difference. But, how often is frequent
enough? It truly does depend on your market, your business goals,
and your offer, however there are some guidelines. Once you've
prioritized your primary, secondary, and tertiary markets,
we'd recommend you "touch" your primary market 2x monthly,
your secondary market 1x monthly, and your tertiary markets 1x
quarterly. Without this level of frequency your momentum is lost between
marketing touches and the impact severely diminished. Unfortunately, as
humans, our memory is somewhat short, so constant reminders
that you exist and have something to offer is necessary to
establishing the brand awareness we all aspire to achieve.
- Variety: Don't
put all of your eggs in one basket. Consistency is good and frequency is
even better, but if your marketing mix lacks variety, your efforts will
suffer the consequences. Having your marketing rely on one or two
vehicles (i.e. direct mail, email, and web site) lacks the power of
"touching" your audience from the many angles they take to
review their options. A combination of activities (i.e. a monthly
newsletter, an email promotion, public relations, and networking)
working together in concert allows you to develop a
"relationship" with your prospect list long before you ever
meet them. And, don't forget this variety should include both value-add
content and promotional content and not be too heavily weighted on
either.
As you can see, designing the marketing
mix to support your marketing strategy is much more complicated than just
picking the communication vehicles you'll use to "get the word
out." You must also be sure that your implementation plan includes all
three of the above elements. Audit your own marketing mix for these elements,
making adjustments as needed, and you'll be on your way to a more effective
and efficient marketing effort!
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...that is if you want your
effort to be successful. You've done your strategy work. You've defined
your target market, developed compelling positioning, established a
competitive analysis and advantage, and packaged your products
and/or services in a clear and relevant way. Now you're ready for the fun
stuff—the marketing mix. You know, direct mail, email, brochure, web site
refresh, public relations, and all of the various tactics you've determined
make the most sense given your strategy.
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