German Sacristan's Posts
Do you want to know where and why marketing campaigns fail?
Data bases represent information and it is not a mystery to anyone that with bad information we can not identify the right target audience neither can we tell them what they want to hear so that they buy our products.
Channel obsession is a trend that is spreading very rapidly. When you start a campaign with a channel in mind often you will fail. Every time you show me that one communication channel is the best for something, I will show you that it is not the best channel for something else. In most cases the channel should be at the end of the process. I believe being market/product/value focused is more important than being channel focused.
Most channels in the market today will increase productivity in terms of contacting/impacting more individuals in a given period of time. Also, they will allow more contacts per individual in a given period of time. But, in most cases they will not reduce the amount of contacts needed to make a sale to one individual. Sometimes we are so convinced that one channel is the greatest that we obsess with that channel and limit the opportunity to see the bigger picture and build the best campaign possible.
Last but not least, we often forget who we are copying when advertising. We should be copying a sales person on a marketing/sale cycle. How come often do we say things that we would never say face to face? It is very easy to understand the fundamentals of Marketing and Selling. It is about saying the right thing to the right person at the right time in the right way. So, when you put your next campaign together think what a good sales person would say to whom, when and how. The What, to Whom and When to say relate to the information that you have. The How relates to how that information is used (sensitivity), presented (creativity) and delivered (channel).
"Advertising is what you do when you can't be there in person." - Fairfax Cone
Comments
Posted By: christmas shopping (11/21/2009)
Comment: I am amazed at how many people tell me they wanna get on Digg because they hear it can bring a ton of traffic - OR - because someone told them they need to get their content on it. They don't even take into consideration the kind of content they are submitting (in most cases a homepage of a retail site - or an article talking about a product) They fail to realize the power of the linking and setting the campaign up correctly so it can help you rank for those crazy words you could only wish about obtaining.
Posted By: German Sacristan (10/24/2009)
Comment: Vahaaj, thanks. We are running in La Hulpe Belgium 4 business/marketing seminars a year where we share best practices, the next one is on Nov 16th. Also we will be running webinars online. We partner with EADIM (European Academy of Direct and Interactive Marketing) where we also share best practices. You could also find some at www.marketmover.kodak.com or at podi. There is another innitiative in Europe called PRINTPOWER where you will be able to find best practices in the near future. In my opinion de best ones are through seminars on a face to face basics, most likely our next business/marketing seminar will be filmed and we will be able to share with customers. The last EADIM seminar full of fantastic ideas was filmed and might be shared in the near future. Also marketing seminars and webinars targeted towards marketers and brand owners will take place next year. This way print service providers can also provide great value to their customers by bringing them to these seminars/webinars. Let me know if you need more info. Thanks.
Posted By: Vahaaj Khan (10/23/2009)
Comment: German- nice write up. Can you please share best practices, success stories whereby with intelligent marketing campaigns help drive sales. That will be something all the sales folks can benefit from. Vahaaj
Posted By: Magnus Blad (10/21/2009)
Comment: Great post German, keep up the good work! Best regards // Magnus