How to launch a successful marketing campaign in seven steps

I believe that marketing is never an expense, but always an investment. But, like any investment, it needs to be managed carefully if you don’t want to waste or even lose money. It requires planning, research, coordination among team members, setting realistic goals, and measuring tangible results. Fortunately, there is no need to feel overwhelmed. Here, I’ll take you step-by-step through creating and launching a successful marketing campaign.

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Before you start working on a marketing campaign, you need to determine exactly what you want to do. Unfortunately, abstract notions will not suffice here. Instead, you need to set goals that are both achievable and quantifiable.

When in doubt, remember to make your goals “SMART”:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Feasible
• Pertinent
• Limited in time

If, for example, you are looking to promote a new product, ask yourself how many eyes do you hope to attract to the product? Or how many units of this product do you hope to sell? And when do you hope to achieve these things?

STEP 2: DEFINE RELEVANT METRICS

There are thousands of methods to measure success, and you will need to consider all sorts of variables when further analyzing your marketing campaign. You will also need to think about how you will go about comparing data and comparing it with previous campaigns.

Here are some measures you may need to consider:

• Lead generation rate
• Average cost per lead
• Time users spend on a page
• Mailing List Growth
• Customer acquisition cost
• return on marketing investment
• Total number of site visits
• Social media reach and impressions
• Open, click and unsubscribe rates on sent emails

STEP 3: RESEARCH

If you’ve run previous marketing campaigns, now’s a great time to review your previous metrics. What went well? What could have been different? What might need to be cut this time around? If the marketing campaign was successful, ask yourself why. Do the same if it was deemed a failure. It also pays to look at what your competitors are doing and the customer reviews you have received. You should also collect as much data as possible through market research by studying trends, communicating with customers, and referencing previous sales figures.

STEP 4: UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Armed with your market research, you need to create or refine your ideal customer personas. They are semi-fictional representations of the people most likely to buy your products or use your services. Sometimes you only need one or two customer personas; other times you’ll need more than one. Either way, these characters should be as detailed and realistic as possible.

When creating a customer persona, consider these characteristics:

• age range
• Genre
• Education
• Marital status
• Number of children
• Occupation and income
• Hobby
• Favorite places to visit online

Once you have the essential characteristics, you can start asking questions about this character, such as:

• Is the customer the end user?
• What social media apps are they likely to use?
• What barriers prevent them from making a purchase?
• What tone works best to communicate with them?

This can help you determine the best way to market to your target audience and remove any obstacles to a successful marketing campaign.

STEP 5: SET YOUR BUDGET

There’s no point in planning an entire marketing campaign only to realize that you don’t have the money to implement such a thing. So it makes sense to set a budget first. Of course, when setting your budget, you will need to consider the current financial situation of your business. But, you will also need to set realistic expectations about your potential profits while allowing for a margin of error. Generally speaking, you should err on the side of caution if you are entering unfamiliar territory. But, if you’ve run similar campaigns successfully, you can probably afford to be bolder with your finances.

STEP 6: WRITE YOUR PLAN

You’re probably familiar with the saying, “Those who don’t plan plan to fail.” Such is the case when it comes to creating a successful marketing campaign. Here, two documents can be of great value: a style guide and a content calendar. A style guide is a reference list designed to ensure consistency across marketing channels and team members. It covers email templates, images, colors, fonts, and more. A content calendar is a list of all your marketing content and the dates when each piece of content is due to be published. Using one keeps you organized and on schedule.

STEP 7: ADAPT IN REAL TIME

As great as it is to launch a campaign and let it do its thing, your marketing campaign doesn’t end at launch. Indeed, it is not simply a matter of waiting for the next one to arrive and hoping for the best. Instead, you need to make real-time adjustments based on the data you get to ensure success. This means removing anything that isn’t working, identifying blind spots and missed opportunities, and acting on them.

With a solid understanding of how to run a successful marketing campaign, expanding your business can become easier. The key is not to be intimidated by the task at hand, no matter how daunting.

Instead, follow the main recommendations set out above:

• Set clear and tangible goals defined by meaningful metrics
• Conduct market research to create your ideal customer persona(s)
• Set yourself a realistic budget
• Use a content calendar and style guide to help you plan
• Evaluate and adjust the campaign while it is running

Although they may seem like a monumental undertaking, I believe that marketing campaigns are essential to running a successful modern business.

Scott Baradell is CEO of Idea Grove, a unified PR and marketing agency, and editor of the online publication Trust signals.