Putting Your Marketing Programs Into Motion

Once you decide upon a particular marketing program, you are likely eager to take some action. Before implementing a program, however, you should set measurable goals that tie into a supporting strategy. When planning your programs, be sure to build in ways to track and measure so that later, when analyzing performance, you can tell if a marketing program was successful. Also be sure to document any assumptions you made when goal setting. This will help with post-program analysis. Finally, when choosing any outside vendors for your marketing programs, check out their reliability and reputation.

Developing Action Plans

Some marketing programs will require detailed action plans, others will not. There are likely some you have a handle on – those you can just do. For those programs, there is often little need for formal pen-to-paper (fingers-to-keyboard) planning. A start and completion date may be sufficient. If, however, your program is unfamiliar or complex, something like “Set up an effective, complete affiliate program for my company,” for example, then an action plan could save your sanity. Your action plan should include a description of the program, reference to the general marketing strategy it supports, a budget amount, the person accountable for the project’s completion, and a timeline.

Timelines

The major portion of an action plan is the timeline, which you can reference throughout the project. With a timeline for your project, it is easier to:

1) Know when you are off schedule,

2) Identify why you are off schedule, and

3) Figure out how to get back on schedule.

To create a timeline:

First, list the project’s major tasks in the order they should be finished.

Then, for each task, assign someone the responsibility for completing it. This can be you, someone in your company, or someone outside of your company. (A freelancer, agency, supplier, etc.)

Finally, starting with the first task, fill in a completion date for each. Also include a start date and the number of days needed for completing each task.

You may want to include other information on your marketing program’s timeline as well. Your budget amount for the project, cost of each task, and comments are all useful features. To make adjusting your timeline easier, you can put it on a spreadsheet, use project management software, or set it up on a planning Web site.

Example Action Plan

In this example, a marketing department decides that client research is a high priority item, as input into development of its new Website. If kept completely in-house, an action plan for the research project may look like the one below.

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Client Research Project

Program: Conduct research with key clients to identify specific content for Website. Supports General Marketing Strategy to enhance client service through improved online communication, information, and education.
Budget: $500
Person Accountable: Arthur

Develop client research list
Start - End Date: 2/4/06 - 2/6/06
Cost: $0
Comment: 15 - 20 key clients.

Develop questions for questionnaire
Start - End Date: 2/4/06 - 2/18/06
Cost: $25
Comment: Includes studying up on proper questionnaire form ($25 for market research book).

Conduct Telephone Research
Start - End Date: 2/18/06 – 3/08/06
Cost: $0
Comment: 1-2 respondents per work day.

Compile Research
Start - End Date: 3/08/06 – 3/10/06
Cost: $400
Comment: $16 hours at $25 per hour for assistant.

Interpret Results
Start - End Date: 3/10/06 – 3/12/06
Cost: $0
Comment: Prepare in format useful for input into Website design.

Total Cost: $425
Budget Amount Remaining: $75

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From the timeline, the Marketing Director knows he can begin working on the Website redesign soon after March 12th, the research completion date. Should he fall behind in the research schedule, he will have to either make up the time or delay the site redesign.

Short Term vs Long Term Marketing Efforts

In order to create consistent sales cycles and a positive growth trend businesses usually engage in both short and long term marketing efforts.

Short-term marketing efforts tend to cause sudden sales spikes which rarely last. These sharp sales increases are usually the result of a targeted marketing campaign or time limited offer. While short-term marketing produces sales, long-term marketing efforts must be mixed in to sustain sales.

Short Term Online Marketing

Mentions

Positive product mentions in forums, newsgroups or within trade organizations can result in a traffic or sales surge. Product endorsements and newsgroup conversations are difficult for marketers to control and time, so while product mentions in forums are short-term marketing, they lack the organized exposure necessary to maintain sales momentum.

Discounts

Marketing campaigns that involve coupons, discounts or time-limited offers can also generate product interest. It is important to use promotional offers sparingly or long-term sales could be jeopardized by having customers "wait" for the next offer to purchase.

PPC / Advertising

The easiest and fastest way to generate product interest is, of course, to pay for it. Pay-per-click campaigns are known to drive significant targeted traffic. Sadly, when the campaign funding ends, the traffic and sales generally do, too. Regardless, it is important for marketers to realize that with short-term marketing, sellers can often control sales and infuse cash into a fledgling product, service or business.

Short-term marketing is also useful for test-marketing new products or split-testing to find the appropriate price point.

With pay-per-click advertising marketers can control the ebb and flow of site visitors and make a determination about what banners, keywords, text copy and graphics convert at the highest rate. The lessons learned in short-term marketing can then be implemented in the long-term marketing strategy. Marketers can determine the effectiveness of sales copy and landing pages, implementing them in a long range of marketing activities.

Long Term Online Marketing

Search Engine Optimization

Undoubtedly the most time consuming, yet important aspect of long-term marketing involves preparing and optimizing a website for search engines. Currently the majority of Internet surfers seeking a product or information look to search engines. Most Internet surfers use keywords to search for the product, service or information that they are looking for. Knowing your audience and optimizing a site for keywords and phrases that potential consumers would use in their search for a product or service is critical to being found on the Internet.

Search engine optimization pays long-term dividends, but is an ongoing process, as the search engines themselves are constantly evolving their algorithms. The goal of search engines is to provide web surfers the best sites suited to the web surfers' search terms.

Often, changes implemented will not be "seen" by search engines for several months. It is important to follow search engine guidelines and be patient.

Fresh Content & Communication

A stream of fresh content like newsletters, tips or blog posts will result in long-term quality traffic. Fresh content that is posted and updated on a regular basis will encourage visitors to return. Archived content will build a base for a variety of related keywords.

Syndicated Articles

Related industry articles will result in genuine interest from a very targeted audience. Providing related content articles that are available for syndication will result in links back from websites that contain similar content. Over time, articles can define a company's expertise on a subject area. Ultimately, syndicated articles can build confidence with prospective customers and a level of trust.

When designing a marketing campaign, consider threading long-term and short-term marketing efforts so that sales are stable and consistent. By implementing a marketing plan that involves both short and long-term efforts, sales success can be achieved.

Marketing Strategy : Celebrity Endorsement

The recent Tiger Woods 'confessions' opened a whole lot of debate on the role of celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy. The issue of celebrity endorsements and its 'side effects' is one of the most widely discussed topic in the branding world. Every time there is a controversy involving the celebrity, these chatter arise and dies down soon .

In this context, it should be understood that celebrity endorsement is a powerful promotional tool . If used creatively, celebrity endorsement can propel a brand to a high growth trajectory. But like any strategy, this option too has its own share of disadvantages. The latest Tiger Woods episode again highlight the issues brands can face when their endorsers ran into trouble.

Will this episode refrain marketers from using celebrities any more ? Never. We will be seeing more of these endorsements in the future also. But there are lessons to be learned from this current developments.

The problems that brands face when their endorsers land up in trouble is more when brand depend heavily on the celebrity for equity ( common sense !). When brands use Celebrities as a pivot upon which the entire brand equity is generated, the risk is more and any adverse actions on the part of the celebrity will affect the brand's strategy.

In the case of Accenture, Tiger Woods was the axis for all their promotions. The brand was so closely associated with the celebrity that coming out of that association will cost both money , time and energy. But the silver lining for Accenture is that Tiger Woods was only a symbolization for the corporate brand. The current controversy is in no way going to affect Accenture's consulting business. Only issue is that the brand needs to find another powerful symbol to convey its message.

For other famous brands like Nike and Gillette too, there is only less impact of this controversy because Tiger Woods does not play a crucial role in their brand building strategy. Both these brands have other celebrities to bank upon.

Marketers should understand that using celebrities should only be a part of the big picture and not the picture itself. There are no short cuts to fame. If at all one is using celebrities as the main talking point, derisk by using more than one (if you can afford that). Otherwise run parallel theme based campaigns to help the brand stand on its own.

Indian brands tend to rely heavily on celebrities for equity. The brand owners should understand that this tendency is because of the focus on short-termism and lack of creative thinking. Celebrity endorsements should only be a part of the strategy not the strategy itself.

How To Choose A Network Marketing System

A network marketing system is crucial to your online success. But, is your network marketing system lying to you? Here are some things to consider when choosing and following a network marketing system. Duplication Slap Search engines do not like duplication. That’s why we work hard to put out original content. That’s why we rewrite our articles. If your network marketing system is not fully customizable, they are setting you up for failure before you ever begin. When choosing a marketing system be sure that you have the ability to place your own unique content on your pages. Link Love One method of keeping your pages search engine friendly is having most links point directly to your own website. However, most systems have your website links pointing directly back to their main website. They might have your name tacked on at the end, but it is always pointing back to their website. This gives them higher authority and guarantees that their page will be displayed before yours. So, when choosing a network marketing system be sure you can host your website on your own domain and all links point directly to you, not anyone else. Who’s Primary Business? The ultimate goal of any network marketing system is to lead your prospects back to your primary business. Does your system allow you to use your own business and not theirs? Who is ultimately going to benefit from the system you choose? It’s a question most definitely worth asking. Complete Training The first 2 years of my network marketing career was nothing but failure. It took 2 full years for me to figure out why. Here it is in a nutshell. My upline was giving me just enough information to give me a little success without being competitive to them. When choosing a network marketing system make sure that you are given complete training. This includes both free and paid methods. Everything from social media to content marketing all the way to email marketing and yes, even personal development. Generating Leads Many systems give you a way to generate leads. If not they are not even worth considering. However, who has control of these leads? Who is emailing these leads. If you do not have 100% control over the leads you generate something is wrong. Even if your system sends out just one email to your list that means they are storing your list somewhere. When choosing a network marketing system make sure you have complete control over the leads you are generating. Cost Many systems claim to be free only to, at the last minute, spring costs on you. Now, I am not saying anything is wrong for there to be a cost involved. Quite the opposite. In fact, if they are asking for money to use their system I know they are not using sneaky methods to benefit from me in other ways. The point is, make sure the network marketing system you are thinking about is completely transparent. Both in their intentions and their cost. A good network marketing system will be of huge benefit to your online business. They will save you time, money and save your downline from attrition. However, be sure to do your research on any system before settling in. If they have a free or very low cost trial period do not feel bad about taking it. This will allow you to fully sum up what they are about and allow you to form an educated opinion.

A Target Marketing / Unique Selling Proposition Article

Note from publisher: Targeting customers through a unique selling proposition (USP) is critical. Here, Steve Hill explains six ways to effectively "tell them what you do for them" with the USP.

"Don’t tell them what you do. Tell them what you do for them.” As a small business owner, service provider or medical professional, one of the biggest challenges you will face is telling others what you do. The challenge comes from the fact that most people are only interested if what you do fits what they need or want.
Otherwise they are not interested. You must tell the listener how your product or service can benefit him, and how you can do it better than others who do what you do.

This is your unique selling proposition (USP).
A great USP has these key elements:

1. Outward Focus.

Instead of talking about you, your offering or your credentials, your USP should focus outside, on the prospect or customer.

2. Targets a specific group or niche.

The best USP statements are personalized to the group or individual you are addressing. For example, when speaking to a doctor, I would say

“I help medical professionals find more profitable candidates for their elective procedures.”

When speaking to a diverse group (such as the chamber of commerce) I would be more general:

“hofcommunications designs hair-on- fire marketing programs that help you attract more clients and earn more money.”

3. Easily understood and retained.

Detailed discussion of process should be reserved for a sales presentation, and are not appropriate for an introduction.

Stating your USP clearly and quickly makes it easy for your prospect to remember you when you follow up. What you do should be self-explanatory.

4. Offers an obvious benefit.

Tell your prospect how you can ease his pain. This presupposes that you understand the problems of your target market, and have a solution.

Some people get this backward, and create a solution in search of a problem (or create a problem in search of more problems!).

5. Avoids jargon.

Engineers and purveyors of technical services love to talk the talk. Here’s one I heard recently:

“We create enterprise software for core competency implementation.” (Huh?)

Even if your target market is highly specialized, you should assume that you share only one common language – English.

6. Integrates easily with your marketing materials.

Your USP should become of your branding efforts, and should appear on all your marketing materials, including your business cards, stationary, and website and brochures. In some instances, your USP becomes your brand:

“Have it your way. At Burger King.”

Ultimately, your USP becomes your primary marketing message, your elevator speech.

Much like scriptwriters who are coached to sum up the plot in one sentence, your unique selling proposition provides a clear, concise benefit statement that positively represents you and your company, and leaves a memorable and favorable impression in the mind of your prospect.

7 Ways to Improve Profit Through Both Long- and Short-Term Strategies

Your marketing mix is the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you choose for products, services, and the overall business. It is important to strike a balance between those four "Ps". By including both short- and long-term marketing strategies of each, you can create an even more profitable marketing mix.

Long-Term Marketing Strategies

Long-term strategies build brand and company awareness, and give sales revenue a gradual, permanent boost. Some of the benefits are indirect and cannot always be directly associated with profit. For this reason, long-term strategies can be difficult to execute when the focus is short-term.

Branding activities.

High profile activities and general-purpose advertising contribute to your company's image by building familiarity and trust. This, in turn, can create customer loyalty. Successful branding can have a large impact on market share, but is a gradual process so cannot always be definitively measured.

Industry relationships.

Building healthy relationships with distributors and others involved in the industry puts you in a position to know about new opportunities and potential problems as they occur. Long term, this improves the flow of product from you to your customers and creates new distribution channels.

Giving.

Donating money, services, and time can build a positive image with customers and employees. Over time, this increases a company's trustworthiness. When they see you consistently giving something back to the community, they are more confident you will take the same care with them.

Research and development

A new product pipeline and research are short-term expenses, but represent future sales. Conduct research with customers (or potential target markets) and design products to meet their needs. This ensures future growth.

Short-Term Marketing Strategies

Short-term strategies create immediate revenue. Sales and accounting people often prefer these to long-term approaches because the results are direct and quantifiable. The disadvantage of relying strictly on short-term approaches is the effect is temporary. They tend to be limited-time techniques that do not work well over time. Some examples ...

Reduced price sales.

Sales encourage customers to act. Holding a sale will give customers who have been "meaning to buy" an incentive to do so, resulting in a revenue boost. Frequent sales can erode profit over time as customers become "trained" to wait for a sale instead of buying at full price.

Group discounts and offers.

This is a good way to introduce your products or services to a new set of customers, or give important groups a permanent discount. Carefully evaluate long-term impact, however. Over time, the gain in sales may not offset the cost of continual price reductions.

Blended Marketing Strategies

Some marketing strategies have both long- and short- term benefits. Pay per click (PPC) advertising, for example, is a way to communicate temporary price reductions or highlight a promotion. PPC can also build long-term brand awareness, however, as you expose more people to a Website.

Together, long- and short-term marketing programs help achieve immediate sales goals while building business reputation and goodwill. Implement both and your business will prosper for years to come.