Don’t waste time and money on an ineffective marketing campaign. Get the results you’re looking for with these 9 ideas to make your marketing campaign pop from Pacific Color’s experienced marketing and design team.

1. Have a Marketing Strategy

Have a specific goal in mind with a clear end to your campaign. Effective messaging is easily received and sparks action or fear of missing out. Engaging your audience is crucial to achieving your marketing goals. Successful marketing campaigns group similar ideas/tactics together to support a common theme. They know what they’re trying to achieve, how to hit the target and the time span in which they want to achieve it.

2. Keep it Simple

Content is king – it pushes your plan forward. Consider each word with care. Be straightforward and concise. Less is more when it comes to getting your marketing message across. Don’t try to fulfill all your marketing goals in one campaign – choose one, such as drawing attention to an innovative product or increasing foot traffic at a new location.

Create a theme – not a tagline – using compelling copy that guides customers on their journey. One that conjures clear imagery that remains consistent in every channel used in your campaign. Your strategy may be keyword-driven – but make sure it benefits real people, keeping customer desires front and center.

3. Make it Memorable with a Unique Approach

Consider which marketing tactics might improve your direct marketing response:

• Address a problem

Anything that boldly states the solution to a problem in a short sentence will snag customers. What can you do that offers a faster, cheaper, easier solution to life’s daily challenges?

• Communicate value

What makes your product/service better or essential? What is the customer missing out on by letting the opportunity pass by?

• Surprise – but don’t shock (in most cases)

A great tactic – but always consider your target audience. Risqué or amusing taglines work great for grabbing the attention of bar patrons but won’t work for a country club.

• Offer freebies

Connecting through gifting a free sample or appealing promotional item is an excellent way to increase interest and success with word-of-mouth advertising.

• Connect emotionally

Reach out with humor or empathy, creating a more rewarding brand experience – marketing that makes people laugh or cry leaves a lasting impression.

• Tell a story

Everyone loves a story, so instead of a sales pitch, offer a narrative about your business or product with a beginning, middle, and end.

• Use persuasive words

Featuring the persuasive words “you,” “free,” “new,” “instantly,” and “because” in headlines and subheads stands out – connecting even with those only skimming correspondence.

4. Use Consistent Branding

Convey your brand’s personality through your chosen visuals and style. Think of your brand as a person: Your message, colors, and imagery should all reflect its personality. Your writing tone – professional, conversational, laidback, humorous, etc. – should also reflect it. If your potential consumers don’t immediately associate your promotions with your company – you’ve lost.

5. Create a Sense of Urgency

Spur your customers to action with clear, urgent messaging. Encourage them to purchase now, noting an impending deadline, high demand, or limited quantities. Keep your call to action clear and simple:

• Call now
• Visit our website
• Bring this postcard to save 25%

6. Target Your Market

Get to know the groups of people or buyer personas you want to reach. Where do they shop? What content do they read/watch? What are they searching for on Google? Getting to know their characteristics, likes and dislikes, ensures you can accurately aim your marketing efforts; tailoring your message and tactics ensures your promo ends up front and center.

7. Personalize Your Message

Customers increasingly ignore generic ads. Personalization ensures a more satisfying experience, increased loyalty, and better return on your marketing investment. This goes beyond inserting a customer’s name in correspondence. It’s about reaching each customer at the right time, with the right message or suggestion, at a specific stage in the buying cycle. Set up a trigger campaign, analyze data, and put it to use so you can connect with customers at key points in the engagement cycle. Reach out with:

• A custom email: “Did you leave something behind?”
• Coupon postcard following an initial website visit: “25% off your first order!”
• Reminder: “Are you running out?”

8. Offer Multiple Points of Contact

Uncertain browsers will not convert to customers. Be ready to address questions and concerns. Different contact options appeal to different buyer personas. Consider your target audience and those they will find most appealing:

• Live conversation
• Website or flyer FAQ
• Voice mail/automated response
• Email or text messaging
• Social media and chat services

There is a law of diminishing returns, so getting to know each target group’s preferred touchpoints is integral to improving future campaign results. Anything that is measured and monitored can be improved.

9. Use a Mix of Advertising Mediums

Standalone marketing tactics are not enough. Reaching out to different generations of customers at different points in the buying process means there is no “one and done” solution. Successful campaigns use targeted messaging in a multitude of forms.

• Bulk email and EDDM marketing
• Text messaging
• Social media
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Online advertising
• Large format advertising
• Retail merchandising and POS

They maintain contact with each consumer at each stage of the buying process: Discovery, initial purchase, enrollment/renewal, follow-up, and repeat purchase. Creating a marketing plan that includes a mix of advertising mediums that work together to achieve your goal ensures sustained success.

Improve results with these 9 ideas to make your marketing campaign pop. Achieve marketing success in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Orlando, and across the US with help from Pacific Color Graphics. Contact our marketing and design experts at 888-551-1482 to uncover new marketing opportunities and start the journey to reaching your true potential today.