Hot Tip

Effort Not Working?

If an effort is not working, the first instinct may be to blame a single factor such as the "creative did not work" or "the offer was not compelling enough" or "something is wrong with the target."   In our experience, the problem is rarely one factor, but multiple factors that created, if you will, a "perfect storm."

Here are some guidelines:

• If there was no/low response it was probably a combination of creative, offer, targeting or brand/competitive dynamics and the tactic used.   Each of these needs to be analyzed.
• If there was good response but low sales then creative, offer and target are attracting high volume but poor quality leads, causing the conversion rate problem. Or there may be a problem within the sales channel or the product itself negatively impacting conversion rates. 

Once the potential factors are identified, the issues can be corrected and effort performance will improve.

Bite-Sized Chunks

• Consumers Define Brands: Brands are not defined or positioned by marketers, but rather by consumers.  This means that brands can 'think or say they are one thing' but in actual fact can be defined by the consumer as another thing altogether.  Consumers position brands based on their frame of reference including advertising, price, value, competitive brands and features/benefits.  Understanding where your brand fits within this framework will enable you to brand in a way that is consistent or complimentary with how consumers will brand you.
• National/Local/Multi Platform: Advertising resources and information have advanced so much that you can speak to your national and local sales opportunities across various (media, internet, direct and alternative) platforms.  We're at a juncture where the national buy is becoming less and less effective at driving sales volumes efficiently on its own.  A major focus of handshake applications has been to provide brands with the tools/resources they need to improve results from national spend while freeing up resources to branch out into localized efforts.

Client To Client Discussion

Have a marketing tip or idea? Let us know and we may include it in a future issue.