The Plan. The first step in developing a successful marketing plan is to determine who you are and what makes you special. You must fill a need or people will have no use for your offerings, right? Consider where you want to be and how best to get there. Decide what it is that sets you apart and how this will benefit the consumer. A thorough understanding of yourself, your prospects, and your competition will help you determine — and achieve — your goals.
Focus. Although you may offer a variety of benefits that would appeal to many consumers, there is usually one single selling point which will win or lose your best market. Determine that one very special selling point and you will have established a focus which will set the standards for your competition to aspire to. When planning your communications, your message must be clear and specific to your objectives. If the message cannot be distilled down to one or two sentences, you are saying too much.
Your Role. As the client working with a marketing firm such as Catch Light Productions, you are the decision maker. You must make solid business decisions and then step back. Tough to swallow? Just consider that micro-managing projects can create a negative and counterproductive work environment and will often compromise the integrity of the finished marketing piece.
Success. How do we measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts? An immediate increase in sales? Improved image? Breaking into a new market? Ideally each piece would generate more sales, improve your overall image and get you a big chunk of new customers. Yes, on occasion, a single marketing project can produce remarkable success. But marketing should be viewed as a cumulative effort — growing stronger with each project. Set your sights on building long-term success one project at a time.
Keeping It Intact. You’ve mapped out a solid plan. You’ve developed a great concept. You’ve created outstanding visuals. You’re brave new approach to marketing is going great. So, why not just throw in a few “support” projects here and there? Because you are always judged by your poorest effort, that’s why. When it comes to marketing success, it isn’t enough to simply complete each project and then move on. You must look at the big picture — every single item that sports your logo must fully support your corporate identity, and every single item related to a particular project must fully support that project and it’s message. Allowing Catch Light Productions to provide a turnkey solution will not only be more cost-effective now and in the future, it will also ensure the quality, consistency, and integrity of your image.
Ready to get moving down a more sane path to marketing success? Drop us a line for a no-nonsense, no-pressure, no-sales pitch discussion of your needs and how we might best meet them.
Until next time,
Howard Theriot
Catch Light Productions
"In advertising there is a saying that if you can keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs — then you just don't understand the problem."
—Hugh Malcolm Beville, Jr.
