7 Easy Steps How to Create a Successful Promotional Campaign

Developing a promotional campaign strategy is an essential activity you must do if you want your sales promotions to be a hit, rather than a miss!

A common mistake many entrepreneurs make is they don't think and plan about all the necessary ingredients that are part of a promotional plan; the result is then an ineffective plan that leads to disappointing results. A successful plan includes seven key elements you must think through prior to launching your promotional campaign. Applying these elements will measurably improve the success of your promotions, and move you closer to building the business you're dreaming about!

The seven steps are:

1. Identify your objective.

Setting your objectives is the first step you must do to develop your promotional campaign.

How many times have you launched a promotional campaign and had only a vague idea about what you wanted to achieve? Making "some" sales is not as intention-oriented as generating $1,000 or $10,000 sales.

Think of setting goals as your way of communicating to the universe your intentions of what you want to achieve. If you have vague notions about what that is, chances are the universe won't be able to help you!

All objectives must be SMART---Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-related. Is your goal to increase sales by 5%? Generate $10,000 in sales? Close 10 new clients? The number of objectives you can come up with are endless! But, make sure you know specifically what they are so you can measure the success of your promotional campaign.

2. Identify your target market.

Hopefully, you already have who your target market is already figured out! The next step is identifying where you can find your target market so you can promote to them.

For example, you can promote to your list, as well as find and communicate with additional prospects through forums, your blog, Twitter, Facebook, membership sites, advertising in ezines or magazines your target market reads, radio spots, and so on.

Think about where your target market is "hanging out," where you can find them.

3. Determine methods of contact.

Look at your response to Step #2. Now think about the methods of contact you will use to contact potential customers. To keep things simple and manageable, choose what you feel are the best three or four methods you will use to promote. Examples may be email promotions, social networking, and advertising in someone else's ezine.

4. Create your main message.

In this step you will describe the value proposition you offer. What message do you want to convey to your target audience in your sales promotions? Distill this message into a one-sentence statement. For example:

"Learn about selling skills you need to compete in today's tougher selling environment, so you can increase your sales and profits quickly."

This message will be carried out through all of your sale promotions, which will foster consistency of your message, and gives your message a better chance of getting through to your prospects. (Frequently changing it will create confusion and inaction.)

5. Define the cost.

Break down all costs in your campaign by 1) promotional method and 2) costs. Also include the number of pieces for each campaign method. Following is an example:

Marketing Item: marketing brochures

Number of pieces: 1,000

Costs: $950

6. Set a time frame.

When will your promotional campaign start and end? Will it be completed in phases? Be sure to set time-oriented goals.

You can begin by creating a list of dates and the promotional activity you will do, and then posting these promotional dates on a calendar so you can carry out the tasks according to plan.

7. Review response and results.

In this step, write down the response to your promotion, as well as what the actual results List the types and number of responses. For example, did you have an increase in the number of hits on your company website? Did you receive more inquiries about your product or service? Did you make any sales? How much?

Also review what worked well, as well as what didn't go as expected, in terms of your message, audience response, promotional methods, costs, and objective. Include an analysis of how you can improve your next promotional campaign.

For example, the promotional message may have been "we save you time", where an improved message may be "improving your business profits is our main concern." Or, for costs, what went well is the "brochure was well-received;" the improvement may be "find a lower cost printer for the next run."

Use these seven steps to plan your next promotional campaign so you can build and grow the business you're dreaming about.

Copyright 2009, Bonita Richter