| Are You Prepared for Marketing Success? |
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There was a terrific shoe sale recently and I had noticed a few weeks ago that some of my shoes really could use to be replaced. I was about to go to the store and I thought, “Where in the heck am I going to put the new shoes? My closet is full. I haven’t really thought about There was a terrific shoe sale recently and I had noticed a few weeks ago that some of my shoes really could use to be replaced. I was about to go to the store and I thought, “Where in the heck am I going to put the new shoes? My closet is full. I haven’t really thought about which shoes I was willing to part with as I don’t have one of those celebrity closets with room for 200 pairs.” Just like buying shoes when creating a marketing plan or even a single campaign, we need to make room for the new clients in advance. Without this step, you’ll sabotage your campaign before it gets a chance to take hold. Why Would I Pay Money for a Campaign Then Sabotage It? I didn’t say you’d do it consciously. “Let’s worry about it once it happens. That will be a good problem to have,” is the mantra of many companies. Instead of planning for the growth that a successful campaign will create, owners prefer to save money to see if it’s going to work. Why spend money upfront and find out later it was wasted, right? Am I the only one seeing how pessimistic this is? Yet, companies do it all the time. Their pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Change Your Attitude – Change Your Results – If you have done all the right things why wouldn’t you prepare for its success? When you plan for the success you are drawing it to you. It might be in the form of immediate sales revenue or it might be shedding light on a slight campaign change that you need to make in order to succeed. Either way, you succeed at getting closer and closer to your target. Prepare For All Results – If you have ever played a sport, you know you need to practice for every possible scenario – good and bad. Teams watch films of their opponents to learn their plays and prepare to counter them. A marketing campaign is no different. You plan for its success, but practice for all possible outcomes. Most companies and marketers do not go down this path because they don’t want to suggest the campaign could fail. Honestly, you need to plan ahead for failure, market changes and success equally. It’s not bad ju-ju, its smart business. Let’s Play “What If” - What is you sell more than 400 of the particular products can you still meet production demand and guarantee delivery in 30 days? What if there is a limited supply of the sale item, how can you capture your audience for future purchases? What if your COO has vacation scheduled the week you anticipate starting to ship products?
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The Moral: You need to give away a few pairs of shoes to make room for the new ones. Stay Connected!
