With the new year upon us, the time to set your marketing plan into action is now. Many advertisers faced a challenging time in 2011 and hope to not repeat it. Most ask this simple question: “how do I create a successful ad campaign”? While the question is simple, the answer isn’t. What everyone ultimately wants is a campaign that increases brand awareness, sales volume and profits.
The following is a 12-step plan that can help your business make 2012 the best year you’ve ever had. By implmenting these ideas, you’ll be on your way to hearing your cash register sing.
1): Be different. The very first thing you should do is take a look at what your competition is doing, and start doing something else. Place your ads on different mediums, create a unique and different message, employ a different style of message delivery, and create a different image.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to be different. Imitation might be the greatest form of flattery, but it will fail to generate sales growth. Huge gains can be felt quickly when you look, act and talk in a manner that is different from your competitors.
2): Be familiar. People buy what they know and are familiar with. They also buy from the people and places they know and trust. You can become familiar and trustworthy by implementing a campaign that makes you familiar. If you’re the owner, President or CEO and actively work in your store, considering hiring yourself as the spokesperson.
3): Be emotional. Every decision is emotional. It’s either need or greed. Your ads need to reach and talk to the heart of the consumer. Speak in their terms. Step inside the shoes of Joe Consumer and find out what moves him.
4): Be the leader. At all times, look and act like a leader. When you present your company as the leader, consumers will think that you are. Always be proactive and don’t react to tactics used by your competitors.
5): Be consistent. Your media sales rep is telling you the truth…success comes with consistency. Next to creating the most compelling message possible, consistency is the strongest force in advertising.
6): Be decisive. Decide in advance what you’re aiming for. You’ll never reach your goal if you don’t know what the target is. Are you expecting your ads to bring customers in tomorrow, or generate calls, or capture names, create goodwill or build an image? What do you want tomorrow, next month or next year?
7): Be focused. You’ll never sell everyone and you can’t reach everybody. Focus your efforts on in-market prospects. Spend some time researching and defining who they really are and target them. Imagine yourself in a room filled with 100 people. 10 have the desire and means to buy what you’re selling. The other 90 don’t. Who do you talk to? Don’t waste your time or money.
8): Be memorable. Lots of water-cooler conversations go like this: “I saw this great ad last night. I can’t remember what it was for, but it was funny/stupid/clever…” Your ads need to draw attention to you, the advertiser, not the advertising. Are your ads advertising or entertainment? Will consumers remember you? If consumers can’t name you, what good was the ad?
9): Be informative. Package your ads as useful, relevant and meaningful information the consumer can actually use and relate to. The most effective advertising doesn’t look like an ad at all. The non-ad contains useful information your prospects are interested in. Tell them what they want to know.
10): Be positive. Why waste time bashing the other guy when you could be convincing potential customers that you are the better choice? Ads that focus on the negative traits of competitors rarely generate the desired response. In fact, when you tell consumers that your competitors are guilty of some poor practice, deep down they’re thinking you might be guilty too.
11): Be Simple. Resist the temptation to load your ads with multiple messages and offers. Complex thoughts, a laundry list of details, lots of product offerings and price points will have the audience tuning out in less time than it took for you to read this line. Each ad should contain one main point. If you find yourself with nine points you want to share, create nine ads. Now you have a campaign.
12): Be ready. Many advertisers sweat and fight over the details of the ad campaign behind closed doors. They’ll then give the OK and those charged with implementing it go to work. The ads hit the airwaves and consumers respond. Only the front line employees don’t have a clue what’s going on. Make sure you keep everyone on your team informed.
