3 Requirements For Effective Marketing Campaigns

By James J Higgins

When small businesses execute online marketing campaigns such as banner ad campaigns, search engine marketing campaigns, or email campaigns, success is often measured without a proper digital strategy to judge upon. Many times, marketers execute a campaign without, first, understanding who they are targeting and why. Of course, there are always several necessary elements that contribute to the success of any online marketing campaign-such as a good offer and a compelling call to action. Yet, even with these components, when a campaign has run its course and a business or organization looks at the results of their efforts, what truly defines success?

Is success measured in numbers? Does a 100% click-through rate equal success?

Perhaps 1,000,000 people request more information on your product or service. Would that be a strong indicator of a successful campaign?

With any marketing campaign-whether online, mobile, print, radio, or television-there is a desired response, change in perception, or behavior. Often times the response may not be immediate, but rather the culmination of several impressions over the course of time. If the desired response to your campaign is clicks generating visits to your website, a 100% click-through rate sounds unbelievable, but what if the people clicking on your ad, opening your email, or visiting your website were not your desired customer? What if all of those visits are the wrong people?

This leads us to our requirements.... An effective online campaign is one that motivates the right people to take right action at the right time.

An elderly woman with no children clicking on an ad for a sports training camp and requesting information is the wrong person taking the right action at the right time.

A mom who clicks on your ad, reviews your website, writes down your phone number and calls for more information about an open house at your sports training camp 2 weeks later may be the right person taking the wrong action at the wrong time.

A mom who clicks on an ad, fills out a form to sign up for an open house at your sports training camp that very moment is the right person taking the right action at the right time.

This is critical for any marketing campaign, but particularly one seeking a direct response. Even with television or radio, this holds true. If the right people hear your ad for sizzling dinner specials at your new restaurant and those potential customers all just finished eating dinner, your campaign will not be as effective had the spot aired during the drive home when everyone was still hungry. Likewise, if you run a high-end restaurant and the only people that see your magazine ad are deal-seeking consumers with shallow pockets, your campaign will not be as effective.

This is nothing new and something every marketer should know. A huge response to a campaign by the wrong people or by the right people at the wrong time is a giant waste of money. An effective campaign gets you the right people at the right time doing what you want. This is why online marketing campaigns perform so well for any size business. With online marketing, we can get closer than ever to knowing "who" we're talking to, where the conversation is happening, and when the conversation is happening (real-time)-making it much easier to get the right people to take the right action at the right time.

So, while the Internet makes it easier to meet these requirements, it's up to marketers to appropriately target their audience and deliver messaging that motivates desired behavior. Without meeting these requirements, your success is left to chance.

About The Author:

James Higgins shares interactive marketing strategies and insights from the world's largest brands on http://www.jameshigginsinteractive.com to help entrepreneurs and small businesses excel in new media. James focuses on topics of digital strategy, web design, branding, social media and more. Become part of the conversation and learn from an expert http://www.jameshigginsinteractive.com/2009/12/are-you-an-interactive-marketing-expert/