Integrate Your Marketing Campaigns to Increase Response
Working together in unity toward a specific goal, as a general rule, works better than everyone doing their own thing as they pursue competing interests and hope for the best. The teamwork concept is not just for people, though.
The marketing giants lavish tons of attention on consistency in message, design, color choices, font styles and every little thing that represents their image. This is why 2-year-olds recognize the McDonald’s arches or the Toys “R” Us logo before they can even read. Contractors can adapt these concepts.
To have brand consistency means that all of your marketing elements fit together to build your image (from website to vehicle wraps to letterhead and beyond). That’s the broad picture, but then narrow that down to the elements of a specific direct response campaign, and consistency across channels helps grease the gears for better results.
Using multiple marketing channels (also known as mixing your media across print, Social, digital, electronic) increases your opportunity to reach prospects in their preferred format.
For example, an older customer might watch evening network news programs that a millennial never sees. Any demographic might prefer Direct Mail to email (for reasons including physical tangibility and inbox overwhelm). People who spend a lot of time in carpool and running work errands could hear your radio ad or see your billboard. And any of these messages get reinforced as prospects are exposed to digital ads in their web browser or Social ads in their news feeds.
Thus, with consistent design and message, your direct response campaign elements meld together to increase your response rates.
Think of it as a diversified investment – you’re not pushing all your resources into one media, but you’re spreading your precious marketing dollars across multiple media that perform differently for different people.
In addition, you get a compounded return as your investments reinforce each other. There’s a continuing back and forth between online and offline as email echoes electronic ads, which echoes Direct Mail, which is echoed by online display ads. Then it’s back to email to nurture your lead. Then you move into engaging in Social posts and sending Customer Retention newsletters.
David Pickton and Amanda Broderick, in their book Integrated Marketing Communications, identified 4 C’s that campaigns need to reach your goal:
- Coherence – The different elements seem logically connected.
- Consistency – The messages are the same or support each other, but do not contradict.
- Continuity – This consistency and coherence in the messaging continues over time.
- Complementary – Again, it all fits together.
Like a continuing swirl, as prospects begin to learn and trust your company’s messaging, their response rate increases.
Integration doesn’t mean “be everywhere or anywhere.” It means selecting a strategic media mix for your market, target audience and campaign goals that’s balanced with online and offline options.
Regardless of media, be consistent in your look. The idea is to create a visual impression that reinforces familiarity with your campaign wherever it’s seen.
Same goes for the message. Be consistent in your content and copy. A campaign is centered on one message and a core offer that points the prospect to a call to action. Creative variety isn’t required. Instead, you repurpose your message across media and create continuity.
Some media will work better for you than others, and each campaign is a time to learn what does and doesn’t work. Track and measure your marketing and study your analytics so you’ll know what you want to keep doing, and what you need to tweak or eliminate.