{"id":97538,"date":"2023-03-30T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=97538"},"modified":"2023-04-04T11:58:20","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T15:58:20","slug":"how-to-create-a-successful-marketing-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-successful-marketing-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign in 5 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you get enough people talking about your business to make it profitable? What if you saw yourself as a campaign manager instead of a salesperson?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Priestley discusses why and how you should build an extreme level of demand for your products before starting to sell them. He then provides the steps for a successful marketing campaign: determine your supply, prime the market, reach critical mass, make the sale<\/a>, and keep people talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn how to create a successful marketing campaign with these five steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Priestley believes you should build more demand than you can meet, and he argues that word-of-mouth is the most effective way to do that. Then, he shares his advice on how to create a successful marketing campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priestley says that running a successful business\u2014one with more demand than supply\u2014requires you to be a campaign manager<\/em> rather than a salesperson.<\/strong> In other words, he suggests that you connect with large numbers of people at once through special events and mailing lists rather than trying to draw in one customer at a time like a hawker on the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book, Priestley organizes his method for running a successful marketing campaign into five phases. Here, we\u2019ve organized Priestley\u2019s method into five steps; the first three steps correspond with Priestley\u2019s first three phases. We\u2019ve broken Priestley\u2019s fourth phase (\u201cSales Follow-Through\u201d) into Steps 4 and 5 to distinguish between selling<\/em> products (Step 4) and delivering<\/em> them (Step 5). We\u2019ve also incorporated ideas from Priestley\u2019s fifth phase (\u201cCelebrate and Innovate\u201d) into Step 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Determine Your Supply<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you even begin your campaign, Priestley says that you need to figure out exactly how much supply you have\u2014in other words, how many customers you can serve and how often. Only once you know your business\u2019s capacity can you start making plans to exceed it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your answer to this question will largely depend on your business model. For example, if you\u2019re selling handmade clothing, you might only be able to fill a couple of orders each month. On the other hand, if you\u2019re opening a family restaurant, you can serve dozens of customers every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: When determining your supply (in other words, your business capacity) make sure you\u2019re taking human limitations<\/a> into account. For instance, if your planned capacity requires you or your employees to work 60 hours a week, you\u2019re probably being overambitious; you\u2019ll soon find your employees suffering from overwork and fatigue. On a similar note, don\u2019t plan your capacity around everything going perfectly\u2014you\u2019re bound to encounter problems and mistakes, so make sure you\u2019ve left yourself a comfortable buffer rather than assuming you\u2019ll reach your maximum possible production every day.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Prime the Market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know what you\u2019re selling and how much of it you have, y<\/strong>ou need to know who you\u2019re selling to<\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>What kind of people would you enjoy working with? Would those people want what you\u2019re selling? Can they pay your prices? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, maybe you\u2019re offering a rideshare service that would make it easier for low-income families to get around crowded urban areas. However, if you have to charge more than those families can afford, that won\u2019t be a good market for you\u2014you might be better off branding it as a luxury service and targeting a higher income bracket instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: When selecting your target market, it\u2019s crucial to research that market<\/a> instead of making assumptions about it. For example, demographics like the average age and gender of your target market can be just as important as that market\u2019s average income\u2014every piece of information you collect helps you understand what your future customers want and need and how much they\u2019re willing to pay for a product.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you know who your target audience is, let those people know what you\u2019re selling and get them interested in buying from you. Communication is the key here: Priestley says you need to send very clear messages about what you\u2019re offering and why people should want it, as well as providing a way for people to clearly express their interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priestley suggests sending regular newsletters with information about your products and services, upcoming sales and special events, and what you\u2019re working on next. This will help keep your company on people\u2019s minds, and people who sign up for your newsletter are indicating interest in your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from a general newsletter, you might offer customers subscriptions for updates about specific products. This maintains the relationship between your business and your customers and also provides a way for customers to show you what they\u2019re interested in\u2014the products that get the most subscriptions are the ones that you should focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In addition to educating people about your company and your products and helping you gauge people\u2019s interest, newsletters and mailing list subscriptions can help foster a sense of community<\/a> between your company and your customers\u2014remember the importance of building brand loyalty<\/a>, which we discussed earlier. For example, you can highlight individual employees, share and celebrate your successes with your customers, and publish personal statements to apologize for missteps or clear up misunderstandings.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Reach Critical Mass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As previously noted, the core concept of Oversubscribed<\/a> <\/em>is that you should have more demand than you can fulfill; now Priestley clarifies exactly how much interest you should have in your products before you start selling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priestley sets three different goals and says that, if you\u2019re meeting at least one of them, you\u2019re in good shape to bring your product to market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) <\/strong>If people express strong interest, sell when there\u2019s five times as much engagement as there is product.<\/strong> <\/strong>Strong interest means a nearly-guaranteed sale, such as preorders and people putting down deposits for your product. So, for example, if you can sell to 10 people at a time and you have 50 preorders, you\u2019ve met this goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) <\/strong>If people express moderate interest, sell when there\u2019s 10 times as much engagement as there is product.<\/strong> <\/strong>Moderate interest means that people have gone out of their way to learn about your product and express interest in buying it, such as going to an event or signing up for a mailing list. Again, if you can handle 10 customers at a time, you\u2019ll meet this goal once you get 100 people at this level of engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) <\/strong>If people express mild interest, sell when there\u2019s 100 times as much engagement as there is product.<\/strong> <\/strong>Mild interest suggests that people are curious about your product but not yet invested in it. People at this level of engagement might click on an ad, watch a short video, or download information from your company\u2019s website. If you\u2019re looking to sell to 10 customers at once, you\u2019ll want at least 1,000 people at this level of engagement before moving to the next step of your campaign\u2014making the sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save Time and Trouble With Crowdfunding<\/strong>

It can be hard to gauge exactly how much interest there is in a product, which may make it hard to apply Priestley\u2019s advice on determining when to start selling. Fortunately, crowdfunding<\/a> sites like Kickstarter can help you manage this step and the next one (making the sale) simultaneously. Instead of advertising a product, building people\u2019s interest in it, then moving on to sales, you can advertise, know exactly how many people are interested in your product, and make sales at the same time with a preorder campaign.

As Salim Ismail explains in Exponential Organizations<\/em><\/a>, crowdfunding has other benefits too<\/a>: Most notably, seeing how many people fund or preorder your product provides valuable market research about what people are (or aren\u2019t) interested in. Also, if your campaign doesn\u2019t perform as well as you hoped, you can cancel it at minimal cost to yourself\u2014you\u2019re only losing the money you spent on advertising\u2014and no cost to your customers, which will help them to keep a positive view of your company.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: Make the Sale<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve got enough engagement to be confident that your product will succeed, it\u2019s time to actually make the sale. This should be the most straightforward step of the whole process\u2014people are already interested in your company and educated about your product. So, at this point, a simple conversation with the customer is all you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this step\u2019s simplicity, Priestley says that this is where a lot of new companies stumble. People often feel uncomfortable asking for customers\u2019 personal information and money, so they waste time with small talk and fail to actually close the deal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just remember: If you\u2019re having a sales conversation<\/a> with someone, it\u2019s because that person has already expressed interest in buying your product. In other words, you and the customer both know that the purpose of the conversation is to collect information and money, so there\u2019s no reason to feel uncomfortable about it<\/strong>\u2014you can get through this step easily and confidently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 5: Keep People Talking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your work isn\u2019t done just because you\u2019ve made the sales. When fulfilling orders, Priestley suggests giving your customers more than you promised.<\/strong> Exceeding your clients\u2019 expectations will excite them and get them talking about your company, making it so the end of one marketing campaign is also the start of the next one. For example, you might include a free sample of another product you sell or send your customers thank-you notes and small gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that exceeding expectations doesn\u2019t mean you have to work harder or strain your resources; you can accomplish the same thing by setting customer expectations<\/a> a little lower at the start. For instance, if you\u2019re prepared to deliver your product in one month, you might tell your clients that they\u2019ll have it in two months\u2014they\u2019ll be very happy when they get it earlier than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, when you start your next advertising campaign, make sure to broadcast how successful your business already is. Remember: Demand breeds demand, and people want what\u2019s hard to get.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise: Plan Your Marketing Campaign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you know Daniel Priestley\u2019s strategy for building more demand than you can meet, think about how you might put it into practice to sell a product<\/a> or service of your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n