Ask McCauley: Why Do I Need a Variety of Marketing Campaigns? Can’t I Just Stick with One That Works?

While market research and planning is important, there is always a degree of trial and error in marketing—after all, the only way to know for certain whether a campaign will be successful is to try it. It’s not uncommon for companies to find that one of their campaigns is much more lucrative than the others, which can leave them with the question, “Why not just focus all of my advertising money on this?” Having a diverse marketing plan is always a better idea than having an overly simplistic one, and here’s why:

• Diminishing returns. Let’s assume you’ve seen great success with a half page ad in a particular magazine. Essentially, your message is being seen by everyone reading the magazine, and some will be in need of your services while others won’t. Switching from a half page ad to a full page ad will double your investment, but because you’re still reaching the same audience, chances are slim that you’ll actually double the number of people who respond. The ad will be more noticeable and you probably will get more customers than you did with the half page ad, but you’re likely to see a lower ROI than if, for instance, you’d used the money for a half page ad in a different magazine and reached an entirely new audience.
• Making each campaign more successful. It may seem that by dividing your advertising budget among ten different campaigns, you’re limiting the success of each campaign because contributing $1000 toward a venture will make it less successful than contributing $10,000 toward it. That’s not necessarily true. You may invest in a website with a great web design, but it will be more successful if you’re spending money on ads, blogs, and social media marketing which will direct customers to your website. For example, let’s say you focus your marketing solely on one TV commercial. If a particular consumer sees it once or twice, they may never act on it because it’s of no more value to them than your competitor’s commercial. But if someone’s given them a business card and they’ve seen your ad in a magazine and their friends have shared your blogs on social media, that commercial is more likely to convince them to give you a call.
• Reaching a larger audience. It makes sense—the more places you advertise, the more people will see your message. But what few companies realize is just how diverse their audience is, even with a rather specialized service. For instance, a company who sells diabetic supplies has a specific group to sell to. However, diabetics span all age groups, can use a number of diabetes-specific websites, may or may not be trying to get in better shape by visiting a gym, and could see a billboard anywhere in your area. That’s not even considering that caretakers for elderly or disabled diabetics will want to see the advertising Trying to target your marketing is important, but be sure to still cast a wide net.
• Avoiding dependence on one resource. You’ve heard the adage, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” and marketing is a prime example of it. If you rely solely or primarily on one campaign, like Facebook or another social media site, what happens if that website closes their doors? Or if they decide to double the price of their ads? You’d need to start from the ground up and build a brand in front of a new audience who has never heard of you before. This process can take time, during which your business may or may not be able to survive the drop in revenue. The less dependency you can have on one resource, the better.

Creating an effective marketing plan requires a delicate balance—too one-dimensional and you’ll limit your audience, but too diverse and you’ll be putting such a small investment into each campaign that none of them will be impactful enough to get results. Schedule a meeting with McCauley Marketing Services to discuss how we can create an effective marketing plan that’s catered to your business and your budget. Or, for more marketing tips, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.