Implementing a Marketing Campaign

I have an inkling that most Independent Professionals are in the dark about doing promotions. As if marketing wasn't hard enough, promotions are a real mystery!

Last week I wrote about "The Anatomy of a Promotion" and I didn't get one single comment on my blog about promotions that have worked for your business.

It made me think that very few people are actually doing promotions, so I wanted to attack this from a different angle.

Another word for promotion is campaign.

You can think of a campaign as a very proactive marketing activity designed to produce a specific result. If you start to become campaign-oriented, you can multiply your business dramatically.

But the thing is, most marketing is very passive, not proactive.

The passive part of marketing is necessary. It's getting clear about who your ideal clients are, refining your message and developing your marketing materials.

All of this is essential; but if your marketing "just sits there" waiting for something to happen, you can wait a long time before you get much response.

When you implement a marketing campaign, you are creating a step-by-step plan to get your message in front of your intended audience, identifying qualified prospects and following up to get meetings with those you can help.

Last week I spoke in detail about a promotion or campaign for an information product. This week let's look at a campaign for a professional service. And the marketing strategy I'll employ for this is networking.

Most networking is not campaign-oriented, it's activity-oriented. That is, we do networking activities and hope that some useful connections and ultimately, a few clients, will come out of it. But there's usually not much of a plan behind it.

If you're a campaign-oriented networker, you think about this quite differently. You have goals, a plan and very specific networking tactics to reach your objectives.

Here is an outline for a marketing campaign that utilizes networking in a very focused way:

Purpose of Campaign:
Gain six new consulting clients worth $25,000+ each in six months through proactive networking.

Intended Results:
Increase credibility and visibility in my target market; grow my mailing/email list to 500 people; have meetings with 25 centers of influence; have appointments with 25 prospective clients; prepare proposals for 12 prospects; close six projects.

Game Plan:
Search out and join three business networking or professional groups; attend and participate actively; gather names for my mailing/email list; send out a newsletter or other keep-in-touch marketing piece twice a month; set up appointments with centers of influence as I meet them; get leads to potential clients; contact and send follow-up articles; offer introductory presentations; follow-up for sales appointments; prepare proposals.

Marketing Materials:
Verbal and written marketing message; business cards; executive summary; web site; series of articles; email newsletter and other mailing pieces; printed information for centers of influence; scripts for contact and follow-up calls; outline for presentation; sales process outline; proposal template.

Now this is a proactive marketing campaign that actually has a chance of working. It's not a series of random, unconnected activities with vague aims and indefinite strategies.

If you are not getting the marketing results you want, it may be that you simply have no real marketing campaign you are following. The time and effort it takes to put this together will pay for itself many times over.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you want to get better results with your marketing, you need to develop and implement a very focused marketing campaign designed to bring in new clients consistently and predictably.

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What's missing in your marketing campaign? What are you committed to putting into action? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[Melanie Benson Strick]

I've noticed there are a few challenges entrepreneurs face with marketing campaigns/promotions in general.

1. Knowing the right campaign to implement to produce desired results.

2. Having enough resources to do the right campaigns in a timely manner.

3. Actually tracking effort and financial investment against results to determine what to keep vs. what to get rid of.

I actually thought I was doing a pretty good job with all three until recently when I realized that I wasn't tracking the right statistics.

I personally get the best results when people can experience me live (telephone, live speaking, being introduced via someone else's network, etc.) But networking doesn't work for me unless I'm a speaker. I've learned it all comes down to trying, testing, tracking, then tweaking till you get it right. Takes time but the results are worth it!

Now if I can just find a good affiliate manager to manage our great affiliate campaigns I'll be all set!

Melanie Benson Strick
The Entrepreneur's Success Coach
www.successconnections.com
www.virtualteambuildingsecrets.com

[Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD]

I enjoyed both Robert's column and this discussion very much. Clearly, something went awry with Rob's attempt. As others have noted, it's highly likely that he chose the wrong context. Kammy's suggestion to "find organizations where your dream clients are most likely to belong" is right on target. I might broaden that to suggest not only thinking about where your dream clients are, but also where the individuals are who might generate referrals to your key clients can be found. The key is to determine who's "missing" in your business network and then assess where you can come into contact with those people. Get a list of professional and civic associations in your community (if it's not too large) and consider whether each one might provide access to the kinds of contacts you need. If you need a business mentor, find a group with lots of business owners, for example.

Once you're "in the right places," the skills become key. I'd suggest that you forget about "elevator speeches" that summarize your business and focus instead on LISTENING intently, then using what you hear as a basis for identifying the common ground that can help you build a relationship. Kammy's idea of thinking of "giving" not "getting" is critical--and it applies not only to the organization but also to the people you encounter. When you meet someone, think of ways that you might help him or her in THEIR business--that's a great foundation for a relationship. And remember that networking should be fun!

[Kammy Thurman]

Hi Rob,

Don't let one experience turn you off of networking. But also, don't network with the intention of "getting." Network with the intention of giving. If you're not in an organization to pitch in and help make it better, you shouldn't be there at all. People know instantly if you're serious about building relationships or if you're just "workin' the room."

I believe people put you off because they quickly figured out your motives. Networking is about building relationships, not making a one-shot sale.

My husband and I have had great results networking in our Chamber of Commerce because we go to the board meetings, even though we're not required to. We get involved in the committees. We volunteer to help at events. We go there because we genuinely care about helping the Chamber improve the business climate in our town. People sense our intentions, so they're very enthusiastic about referring our photography services.

We opened our studio just 6 months ago, and our name is spreading very quickly through the community. In fact, we've been so busy taking portraits, we're WAY behind schedule getting our permanent studio built!

So, Rob, I encourage you to find organizations where your dream clients are most likely to belong. Then show that you care about giving to the organization and its members -- not that you're just there to get something from them. It will make all the difference in how you're received by the members.

Kammy

[Cheryl Lohner]

There are two reasons that I love marketing campaigns. 1) They provide focused approach to marketing, which always produces stronger results, and 2) often the process of structuring a marketing campaign can flush out areas that may need strengthening. Using Robert’s example, he listed the marketing materials needed to implement his marketing campaign. By going through the process of structuring this marketing campaign, it immediately become apparent whether or not he needed to create additional materials to increase the success of his campaign. And Rod, try not to get discouraged. I would use this as an opportunity to fine-tune your audio logo. Perhaps is too broad and doesn’t clearly speak to your qualified prospects. Although it appears that you missed your mark with this group, in fact you may not have been speaking to the decision-makers within their respective organizations. Stay encouraged and embrace every networking event as classroom to learn and improve from.

[Robert Middleton]

Following up on Rob Wendes: Rob, you did exactly the right thing. And you perhaps discovered that this is the wrong group for you. So you don't give up there. You attend a lot of other groups and you'll discover in the same way if they are right or not.

Some people say, "I tied networking once. Went to a meeting, didn't get any clients. What a waste of time." This is like saying, "Went to a gym once, tried a few machines. Didn't look like Arnold Shwarzenegger by the end of the session. Obviously a con."

So keep searching for group until a few click. And don't give up on that first group too soon either. You really shouldn't decide after one meeting. After all, I'm sure you didn't meet everyone in the organization in one meeting.

Good luck!

[Rob Wendes]

Although I can see a lot of sense in what Robert says, the big problem I have is a knowing what is a good venue for promotion and what is not. Let me give you an example. If you were selling professional services and you followed your marketing plan, in which you said you wourd join 3 professional or business groups, then the problem I have is in deciding what types of groups would be most likely to provide some yield. Here is an example.

I went to a social function to do with my University recently. thinking that this would be an ideal place to do business.

I thought this would be an great place to make contacts. I was wrong! My wife will tell you that I worked my socks off that evening introducing myself to anyone who would talk to me, being introduced to others, engaging everyone in general conversation and bringing them around to talking about the main point of my being there.

Although people were interested in what I had to say, it seemed that busienss networking was off the agenda.

'We do that offshore these days'
'We outsource'
'Not my line of business'
'My degree was an MBA so I know how to control that situation'

etc.
So after a huge amount of energy and effort I didn't meet any of my objectives.

This emphasises one huge point for me, that I have no idea what consitutes a good venue at which to implement a marketing campaign.

[Karl Seidel]

I try to read these emails because there is always something good in them. And I agree with Robert on this issue of active marketing. The passive kind is necessary but for a business owner to get their money's worth we need to make campaigns and monitor the results. I use a couple of tools to do this for myself and my clients - mostly along the lines of online project managers. At this stage I'm developing what I hope will be a better tool that will include budgets and commissions/revenue tracking. In this way I'll be able to show results based on campaigns (in the near future). Now that's active marketing!