A fully integrated marketing strategy should engage all three phases of the marketing funnel:
Awareness – Engagement – Action/Conversion.
The marketing ecosystem’s shift to digital has led many marketing tacticians to focus obsessively on engagement or conversions, while discounting the first and most critical step of the customer journey: A thoughtful and effective approach to building Brand Awareness. Brand Awareness is the foundation of an effective marketing strategy. It will consistently drive down funnel activity by introducing more prospective customers into your pipeline.
The mounting pressure on Business Owners, CEOs, CFOs, and Marketing decision-makers to demonstrate ROI is driving more focus and ad dollars to a down-funnel conversion focus. The drive to measure the impact of every dollar often leads to “improved” short-term results at the expense of a sustainable long-term marketing strategy that’s fully integrated.
How can a marketing professional balance the need to measure the true value of awareness with the growing intensity to drive revenue in the short term? Successfully tracking the ROI and Conversions from your Brand Awareness Campaign requires following 4 Basic Steps.
- Identify Your Customer
Identifying your target customer profile(s) is a critical first step. Analyzing your website traffic, CRM data, and surveying customers and employees will help build demographic profile(s) for your target customers. - Reach Your Customer
After identifying your target audience segments, you need a plan to reach them and start building your brand. Your options to reach your target audience likely fall into three buckets, two of which have major limitations:
Traditional Media – Can be expensive and highly fragmented. For example, there are 108 radio stations in Dallas-Fort Worth and you still need to reach listeners of podcasts, satellite subscribers, audiobooks and phone users.
Social Media – Limited to engaged subscribers for each platform with increasingly convoluted and inaccurate reporting tools.
Digital Media – Digital Media can take the guess work out of your marketing! 100% of the population is on the Internet and 80% are Streaming Television. You pick who sees your ads, thereby maximizing the impact of every dollar you invest.
- The Message
Knowing who to reach and how to reach them are critical to your success, but a poorly crafted message or ineffective creative will doom your results. High quality, eye-catching creative that connects with your different audience segments is critical to maximizing your campaign and making every impression work. - Test & React
Reaching your audience targets with a message that is relevant, timely and emotionally appealing puts your marketing plan on the path to success. Choose a digital partner that allows you to track campaign performance across audiences, by targeting tactic, and by creative messaging. The digital landscape affords you the opportunity to measure on-line conversions and track the customer journey from the first impression through the sale. Test and react repeatedly as you fine-tune your messaging and examine your customer journey from beginning to end.
A thoughtful and effective awareness campaign is the foundation of a fully integrated marketing strategy. Following four simple steps will allow you to develop deeper insights into your customer journey and allow you to optimize your message and approach, while demonstrating the ROI numbers that your C-Suite Leadership demands.
