When Marketing Campaigns Backfire…

The thought of running your first marketing campaign can be exhilarating yet intimidating. After a great deal of time, patience and planning, every marketer wants to unleash the best.

However, have you ever felt that despite the energy and passion, your first marketing campaign has misfired because of lack of direction and a purpose-driven plan? Are you feeling nervous about an upcoming ad campaign?

If such thoughts plague you, you’re not alone because most new companies fail within four months, long before they generate profit; and poor marketing is the primary reason.

To make sure you don’t get demoralised with your inaugural promotional effort, we’re here to give you a heads-up on what you should expect from your first marketing campaign.

Expectations to Set from your First Marketing Campaign

• Advertising is an investment: The initial marketing investment for any new brand can be a big deal. Every entrepreneur dreams that spending big bucks should warrant something equally big in return. Well, that’s not the case always. Be prepared, your first ad campaign may result in no sales or probably low sales. At this time, it’s easy to get frustrated as the time and money you spent yielded nothing. As Warren Buffet says, “No matter how great the talents or efforts, some things just take time.”
• The beauty of metrics: If your campaign doesn’t start off with a bang, don’t give up altogether. Go back and measure the value of your marketing. Metrics provide the information you need to tweak your campaign accordingly.
• Find out what works: Your metrics will you tell if your marketing campaign is succeeding. To find out what works, set aside a budget to discover your audience. An ideal practice would be to spend on multiple audiences to see where sales are coming from. Serving your ads to distinct audiences will help you discover on the group who are most likely to purchase. Once you start gathering information, it becomes easier to decipher the results.
• Finding success: Whether it takes four weeks or four months, when your ads begin to convert and when your campaign drives sales, it means you’ve found your target audience. This is big. Pause and congratulate yourself.

During your first marketing campaign, work as much as you can to transition your audiences from ‘cold’ to ‘hot’. As more people express their interest in your brand, they become less expensive to advertise to.