The Overall Picture of a Great 2017 Marketing Campaign

2017 is going to be a fantastic year for business with the right marketing campaign.  If not planned properly and with good diligence, it can actually end in disaster! For instance, some of the biggest brands in the country suffered huge and embarrassing moments last year when their marketing plans flopped big time. Coca Cola put out an ad for their Russian market using an outdated map causing it to suffer major losses and a hashtag that went viral, #ban CocaCola. Closer to home, the $5 million marketing campaign of Rhode Island Commercial Corp lost its luster after their promotional video featured a shot from Iceland while talking about “home.”

Tips on Setting the Budget

While there are no guarantees with marketing campaigns, it is possible to avoid blunders and pitfalls. According to marketing professional groups, Web Strategies, marketing is not necessarily about increasing your budget. In fact, they stress the need for a plan before setting a budget and making sure that the budget is not set randomly but prepared with as much detail as possible. The bottom line is that your marketing budget should generate returns in increase in greater brand awareness and revenues.

• Budget should align with marketing goals increasing only if last year’s goals were successfully met; realigned if the goals were not met
• The campaign should always be a better version of the previous year although this does not necessarily mean a higher budget
• Push the marketing planning team to come up with fresh and unique ideas rather than copycat versions

Tips on Setting Marketing Goals

The best way to create a plan is to look back at what has been accomplished, what the previous objectives were, and the ideas that did not kick off well. This review is best done with the help of good analytics and solid data from the previous years. Tedious work, perhaps, but when you start to notice trends in your data, you will appreciate the inside look and confirmation or fresh revelations about your business. You should also:

1. Update customer profile.
2. Establish what makes you unique and different from your competitors.
3. If you are selling something, track the sales process and plot the sales journey of your average client.
4. Review your copyrights and other marketing collaterals
5. Update everyone on changes – in writing! This way everyone is on the same page and there is some form of accountability.

In addition, when setting your marketing goals, make sure that the results are measurable. This will make it much easier for you and your team to measure success or failure.

Learn to Delegate

What’s the point in creating a marketing campaign if you won’t let others help you? Whether “others” refer to employees, suppliers, or customers, you should learn to let go of some of the responsibilities.

• Your employees can help you with daily operations, clerical work, and ideas input.
• Your suppliers can provide assistance with logistics, payment terms, marketing advice, and meeting schedules.
• Your customers can be tasked with providing feedback, testimonials, and even help with marketing via work of mouth, sharing, or by Liking your content.

Your job as business owner is to oversee the campaign, set objectives, calendar events and milestones, make sure the product lives up to its marketing claim, and keep the customers happy and willing to come back and support your business. Finally, with a great marketing campaign, you will be able to look at the bigger picture and make changes when necessary. This will not be possible if your head is buried under a mountain of paperwork.

It’s 2017! Great things are in store for you and your business!