Expect Success, But Not Too Much

Here’s something a little different: a quiz. OK class, the question for today is "What should you expect from a marketing effort?"

A. It should help grow the business.

B. It should help get your name out.

C. It should generate leads.

D. All of the above.

The answer is D. Marketing should help grow your business, get your name out and generate leads.

So then, what should you expect from a marketing effort?

A. It should create or improve your image.

B. It should make the marketplace aware of your company.

C. It should keep your company at the top of the consumer’s mind.

D. All of the above.

Well, once again, the answer is D. A well-executed marketing program should definitely create or improve your image, make the marketplace aware of you and it should keep you at the top of the consumer’s mind.

OK, then what should you expect from a marketing effort?

You get the idea. A well-conceived, well-executed marketing effort should do all of these things and more. However, it’s sometimes a good idea to develop a marketing effort that focuses on accomplishing one or two of these results, not all of them at once. Over time, your well-conceived, well-executed marketing strategy will do all of these things, but on a tactical level, try aiming for a specific measurable result.

Your expectations may not be realized if you’re banking on accomplishing several objectives each time you do something. For example, a campaign designed to create awareness won’t necessarily translate directly into generating leads while you’re advertising. An awareness campaign focuses on who you are and how you’re different from your competitors. A campaign to generate leads usually aims for an immediate return and relies on a specific offer for a given period of time.

Let’s look at a couple of situations and consider how you can address them for maximum results while minimizing chances for failure.

MORE LEADS. During termite swarm season, if your business is already well known in your market area, you can use your advertising, regardless of which medium you use, to simply reinforce your reputation and guarantee. No specific offer, no big discount, no price point — just something that communicates who you are, how and why you’re different from everyone else and why the consumer should think of you during this time of heightened awareness. The rationale here is that people are going to be experiencing a need for service during this time. Make them aware of your business and unique properties so they can pick you out of the crowd. This approach will also help generate referrals from your existing customer base.

Let’s use the same situation, but say that your business doesn’t enjoy high visibility and you might strategically want to use your advertising resources to establish yourself as a price leader. Offer a substantial discount, or quote an "as low as" price for a specific "product" (baiting, conventional treatment, fumigation) that sets the bar and challenges the marketplace. Customers calling should be encouraged to refer to the advertising or present a coupon. During the period you’re advertising, leads should be abnormally high.

MAKING REFERRALS COUNT. On another level, say you’d like to improve pest route density in a particular area. As pest season comes along, you might consider a campaign that offers to eliminate the initial service charge for customers in a particular geographical area. Your delivery method might be highly targeted direct mail (taking pains to wash your list of existing customers), door hanging and telephone follow up adjacent to existing customers or something as simple as a zoned newspaper insertion. If you can’t eliminate your customers from your advertising effort, either by cleansing the list you purchase, or in case you’re mass marketing via a newspaper insertion or other print delivery, consider making a referral offer part of your message — for example, say "If you’re already one of our valued customers, refer another and we’ll give you a month’s free service!"

Obviously, the big idea here is to not try to accomplish too much each time out. Start with a strategy that makes sense, fashion a message that supports the strategy, determine to your own satisfaction what constitutes success for the effort and then go ahead and take your best shot.

I don’t want to complicate your thinking, but if you’re in an awareness strategy, one that doesn’t rely on incremental lead generation, then measure your results against performance over an extended period of time. On a year-to-year basis, look at leads, sales, net customer gain and revenue growth. If you’re in a direct response mode, a simple gauge for success can be answered with two questions: "How much did the effort cost?" and "How much revenue can be directly attributed to it?" I look for about $6 in revenue for every dollar invested.

There are no guarantees in this game, but if you play by some simple rules, you vastly improve your chances for success.