Gosh it’s been a cold one, my fingers have almost forgotten what it’s like to enjoy full functionality! But fear not, I will struggle on to bring you this week’s topic…How to use different marketing communication channels to meet your objectives.
Now this should really go without saying, but you can’t make much progress unless you have defined your objectives and set KPIs to measure your progress towards achieving them.
For example:
If you want to launch a new product – set yourself a timeframe in which to achieve a target number of sales. Easy, that’s step one out of the way.
Now that is done and dusted, you can go on to looking at channels available to you. There is no law that says reaching goals must be done in this way but it helps to keep you focused whilst maximising your chance of success.
So what is a channel? Well, a marketing channel is simply a source used by a marketer to send a message to consumers and potential consumers. These channels can be personal and involve two or more people communicating directly like in a customer/salesperson environment or impersonal and be done with no face to face meetings ever taking place like promotion through outdoor posters or television advertising. Which channels are available to you?
You may find that the answer to this is constrained by budget but some of the most commonly used ones, by both marketers and consumers, are the www, face to face, newspapers, email and telephone contact, flyers, catalogues and brochures…so on and so forth and really don’t cost that much at all.
Once you have chosen the right channel or channels for you, you must then choose the right message and know how to convey it clearly.
And it is with that statement that we go back to marketing 101 and good old AIDA. Now we all know that AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire and action and ultimately we need to be asking whether the message we are conveying drives customers to take action that will meet your objective.
You may find that you need to try a few channels as common consumer behaviour tells us people tend to stick to what they know so you want the best chance to widen your visibility and reach. An integrated campaign using multiple channels can help meet sales objectives and increase brand exposure. For instance web, newspaper and radio advertising can get your brand heard and visible (well, not on radio) and create the impression of being everywhere.
The important thing to remember when setting objectives and going about trying to meet them using multiple channels is to always be in control. There is no point meeting your sales target of selling 1000 units and making £1000 profit if it has cost you £1m in tv advertising to do so!
And learn from your past campaigns and tests. If it was successful then the chances are you would and should repeat your action. But if it wasn’t deemed to be successful then look for the light at the end of the tunnel and learn from it.
Something that I find useful when thinking about new communication is building on experiences I have had and asking ‘what would I have liked to have seen’. Why not give it a go?
Next week I will stay on communication, or more specifically, talk about Trigger Communication – The Who? What? Why? When? openers and how they can trigger beneficial interaction.