The Magic Bullet?
Monday, October 27th, 2008 - by Pamela GirardinOne question we get all the time: what program will drive the best results? Especially now, companies are trying to figure out how to do more with less. They are looking for the one program that will continuously drive leads. You may have read our recent blog entry regarding MarketingSherpa’s report that companies are going to be putting more money into direct mail initiatives. However, it is typically never one program that makes the phone ring. So we don’t advocate throwing all of your marketing spend into direct mail. The best strategy, even in down times, is to run several integrated programs that hit prospects from a variety of sources and, thus, help drive leads. Even with a limited budget, you can effectively tier programs that continuously hit prospects from a variety of methods. You can limit budget by implementing some of the following suggestions: reducing the number of prospects—instead of boiling the ocean, narrow your list and hit targeted demographics; eliminating programs that aren’t producing leads; exploiting your online presence; directly targeting your public relations program; ratcheting down sponsorships.
The beauty of running integrated programs vs. one program is pretty obvious. It allows you to hit prospects with a variety of programs versus exposure to only one. Each program in the integrated campaign is tied together allowing companies to deliver a consistent message through a variety of channels. The main push back we hear on integrated campaigns is that they are too expensive. This does not have the case. Just like you can buy a purse for $10 up to several thousands dollars, you can run integrated programs at a fraction of the cost. You just have to be smart and cut corners where/when you can. This is where working with an agency that has small to mid-size company experience is a plus. They are used to working with limited dollars and can point out where cost savings exist. Moving quickly, you can adapt to the changing market and fiscal limitations while still producing an integrated campaign that will produce successful results in 2009.
