Planning Your Marketing Campaign For Success

July 12, 2024

A pastor once asked, who all want to go to heaven.
All raised their hands.
Then, he asked who is ready to die to go to heaven.
There was absolute silence.

There are zillions of things that new entrepreneurs need to consider. They wear multiple hats at all times and make all the best choices they can to run their business successfully.

I have come across founders who have a passion for the products they have developed and live in the bubble, that just as much as they love their products,their Customers will too.

What happens next? Ah! The bubble bursts.

Not that the products are bad, they aren’t marketed efficiently.

“Marketing” is the first thing to go out of the list when there is a budget constraint, but, without it the budget situation doesn’t seem to get better either.

So, If you are a Startup or a new business who wish to make sure your products are as loved by consumers as you love them. The following are the things you may want to consider:

Identify what problem is your product solving:

Many of the startups, don’t just sell, they oversell themselves. They want to add too many USP (unique Selling propositions) and at the end, the core proposition is lost.

So, first thing is to write down what is the single most significant core proposition/benefit your product offers. What single most important problem does it solve? This brings clarity to the table.

Product	Problem	Solution

The best way is to Identify 3 most important/significant propositions which you can offer and Then try to write a single statement that can summarize what your offer is.

Identify your Target Audience:

As much as want the whole world to buy our product, it doen’t always work (meaning it could at certain point). Hence, identifying the right audience with utmost care is necessary.

I once had a brand come to me who were into selling handmade skincare products. The products were excellent and very closeknit group was repeat buying the product, But, the ecommerce launch wasn’t working well.

What we identified was, their ROI from Ad spent was extremely low and was causing loss to the overall margin. The entrepreneur was sure of success of the product countrywide so the targeting was broad.

Some key aspects that were overlooked were:

Ageing related products targeted even the teens and women early 20s who tend not to care too much about ageing
Women Skin care products were also targeted to Men, logic being Men can gift the skin care to their women. However, it was not resulting in significant sales volume as opposed to ad spent.

My suggestion is to always work out the Audience first. This may seem easy but when you get down to it, its a revelation a lot of times. You may consider the following chart to help you identify your ideal audience:

Step	Question	Your Answer
Step 1: Define Your Product/Service
What is your product or service?	Describe your offering in one sentence.
What problem does it solve?	List the main problems your product or service addresses.
Is your product adding a Feel Good Factor?	Define how does your product make user feel?
What benefits does it provide?	Highlight the key benefits your audience will gain.
What's the average price of your product?	Whats the median proce of your product?
Step 2: Identify Your Ideal Customer
Demographics
Age Range
Gender
Location
Income Level
Education Level
Occupation
Step 3: Psychography of your Ideal Customer
Values and Beliefs	What are their values and beliefs?
Hobbies and Interests	What are their hobbies and interests?
Lifestyle Choices	Describe their lifestyle choices and daily routines.
Attitude	What is their Attitude towards Life? Are they Motivated, Ambitions
Personality Trait	Are they Ambitions, creative, Analytical, Social, Loyal, Eco-Conscious?
Step 4: Analyze Their Behavior
Where do they spend time online?	List websites, social media platforms, and forums.
What content do they consume?	Blogs, videos, podcasts, etc.
Which Social Media Platforms do they use?	Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter other
How do they make purchasing decisions?	Reviews, recommendations, impulse buying, etc.
Step 5: Understand Their Needs
What are their pain points?	What challenges or frustrations do they face?
What motivates them?	What drives them to take action or make purchases?
How can your product/service help?	Link your offering to their specific needs.

Crafting your story to perfection:

Most people buy your product later they have to buy your story first. Buyers are woke they want to know the product better, the person behind it better and the reason behind the product better.

Customers also like to buy products that serve a larger purpose.

For Eg: People wanted to dig deep into Pantagonia’s Don’t buy this jacket campaign and even though Pantagonia said don’t buy the jacket their sales increased by 15% and more.

There is a great way of crafting a story by the method of MyStoryBrand that was developed by Donald Miller. In this method he explains 7 steps to crafting the perfect story for your Brand.

Here the User is your Hero who is facing a problem. The problem is Internal, External and Philosophical. You/Your Brand is the Guide who helps the Hero Solve the problem by a proven step by step process. The actions and inactions create a success and failure bucket and then your user after using your product experiences a change in persona due to the acquired success.

I, however feel not all products are solving problem. Some products are also for the soul and some for your ego. Identifying your Brand’s persona is also critically important before you start your story.

Consistency and Persistence:

While a handful of people achieve success overnight, for most of us it takes time, patience, persistence, hardwork & smartwork and a dash of luck to attain what we aim for.

With the right target audience , right messaging and by adopting the right marketing channel we are sure to reach success. We should be open to testing and analysing data to gain valuable insight and be quick to adapt to changes.