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When Marketing Projects Go Terribly Wrong – Part II

By Mark's Minutes

Last week we discussed how to avoid launching a marketing project that is destined to fail. Although we never have a perfect view into the future, some key steps to assuring success are:
• Plan Effectively – use a planning tool to careful estimate costs and benefits
• Assess your Return on Marketing Investment – Look at hard and soft costs
• Understand the long-term implications on your market
Even the best laid plans can go wrong.

Campaign Failure

Campaigns falter for many reasons. Some can be recovered and repaired. Others should be “taken behind the barn and shot,” to quote Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank.

However, the important thing is to understand why the results aren’t in line with your expectations, so you avoid them in the future, or you correct what isn’t working and move forward.

Often there are a few typical reasons that cause a promotion to fail:

Good Intentions. Bad idea
This is one of those promotions that might have come from the boss himself and nobody told him otherwise. In a healthy environment, an idea like this wouldn’t stand up to a fair internal discussion. I remember a client that had a friend with an ice cream store and thought they would offer a free ice cream cone with a new checking account. Most people wouldn’t go through the trouble of opening a new account for a $3.00 incentive. Would you? Enough said.

This is usually the result of poor marketing research. Make sure the idea is relevant to the target market and has appropriate value for the product in question.

The Bud Light Campaign likely falls into this category.

Bad Timing
The promotion might not run long enough. It might not be at the right time of year. Or it might conflict with another event that draws attention away from the program. This can often be just coincidence. Still, it’s always important to evaluate all the other competing activities in conjunction with your planned schedule.

Competitive Response
The competition changed their price. This one you can’t always see coming but you can do your best to be prepared. Nobody wins in a downward price war. You’ve seen the cartoons with a sign of two competing retailers with lower and lower prices crossed out. Sure, you want to beat the competition, but you also want to do it profitably!

Price is often the easiest and most used form of competitive response. Frankly, it’s the most expensive. It doesn’t take much creativity to respond with price matching. Always explore alternatives to price where possible such as terms, additional benefits, bundled items, service, locations, availability, etc. It helps to differentiate on things other than price if you can.

Not Enough Resources Allocated
Great marketing ideas need fuel to launch and perform properly. If you are not receiving the support you need for advertising or staff, chances are good that your project will not reach its highest potential.

The marketing landscape is littered with great ideas that never reached their full potential. Make sure that you adequately plan for the support you need to ensure success.

Poor Communication
This is an easy one that tends to be overlooked in organizations. Marketing comes up with a great idea but never tells anyone on the front line. A consumer responds to the campaign and the first person they speak with from the company has no idea of what they are talking about!

This is generally the fault of an internal culture that has “silo” thinking. Information is kept inside and not shared out beyond the walls of the department. This is easily fixed with some form of bulletin system that updates everyone on the current promotional campaigns and where to go for additional information.

Looking Back to Look Ahead
Learning from these mistakes is part of the journey. It’s important to reflect on campaigns after completion to see where things might have been better. Post campaign assessments help you to objectively review the results to find out where changes can be made for next time.

When Marketing Projects Go Terribly Wrong

By Mark's Minutes

A lot has been in the news as of late covering what has become a terribly historic marketing fail for Budweiser and their Bud Light product. This promotion will likely go down in the history books alongside New Coke, Lawn Darts, McDonald’s Monopoly Promotion and other major marketing miscues.

My focus is not to unpack this specific campaign but rather talk more generally about avoiding mistakes.

Nobody Intends to Fail

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

You can never take the risk out of every decision. But hopefully you can weigh the cost/benefit of these decisions before you decide. Clearly, if the benefits don’t exceed the cost, the decision is easy.

Return on Marketing Investment

Years ago when I joined a large S&L as part of a marketing team, our boss introduced a planning tool that was mandatory for every single promotional campaign we ran. We called it the ROMI — Return On Marketing Investment.

In the ROMI we had to provide a three-page summary of the campaign. Why we were running it, expected results, revenue, costs, and a detailed return on investment calculation. We had to make sure we made at least $1.50 for every dollar we spent.

Every projected product sale had an associated profit margin attached to it. That way, we had some accountability established. We were spending real dollars to generate deposit or loan dollars (not a one-for-one relationship).

At the end of the promotion we would roll up all the numbers and determine how well we did.

You can actually download a copy of this form at our website. It’s now a part of our marketing planner: Marketing-Calendar.pdf

Does a Free Digital Post/Media Translate to a Great ROI?

The ROMI form is easy enough to use when you are rolling up costs from a variety of media. But what about the “free” media implications?

With the number of social media/digital posts ranging from 1 -2 per day to 1 – 2 per week, the opportunity for a miscue is higher than ever before. The more you post, the higher the likelihood of a miscue.

A vetting process is necessary now more than ever. Key questions to consider before distributing your post:

• What is the upside of this activity?

• What is the downside of this activity?

• Are we willing to take the risks for the reward?

• Does this post support my brand?

• Will this benefit the organization/product if the post showed up in the national media (TV/Newspaper)?

• Do I want to share this and why?

What do I expect my audience to do with this post/information?

Nobody on the Bud Light team saw this coming, that’s for sure. And certainly there is a high likelihood that many in senior management approved the campaign.

Nevertheless, in today’s world, a single action can spin a company out of control. The lesson here is to make certain that you look at your digital messaging from all angles and give yourself time to vet and reflect before hitting the “send” button.

Your action may not even be responsible for the pushback. It might come from a secondary or tertiary source.

And finally, most importantly realize that “cost” doesn’t mean the time you spend creating a post, but rather, means the true costs to the business coming from the negative implications from a poorly thought out campaign.

Skip, skip, skip…a Pay

By Mark's Minutes

The changing economic landscape has put many consumers on edge. The forward march of the Fed to continue increasing the interest rate has pushed up the cost of living for everybody.

Debt Continues to Rise
Recent data shows the average household debt growing with a very large change in the credit card environment. The credit card debt is like the canary in the coal mine. It is easy money to access.

Credit card interest rates are now hovering close to 20% and many households are maxing out on their balances. This forces people to take a hard look at what they own and what they buy.

Some experts, like Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate recommend the following to get a handle on the increased household debt load.

“Take on a side hustle, sell stuff you don’t need, cut your expenses,” he said. “A dollar saved is a dollar earned, and every dollar of credit card debt that you pay down has an average guaranteed tax-free return of about 20%.”

Consumers are looking for answers right now and financial institutions can help.

The Skip-a-Pay Returns
Skip-a-pay loans have been popular for years. It’s a simple concept with big benefits. And it’s one that consumers appreciate. Especially right now as things are tightening.

The concept is simple, and you can use with many types of accounts.

For instance, if you have an auto loan that you want to promote for your skip, simply allow the consumer to skip the next payment, and add that payment to the end of the loan. Some institutions add a small charge for the convenience which helps to offset the loss in the loan revenue.

An example might be a $600 car loan payment that you allow to skip for a $75 convenience fee. That $600 gets added at the back end of the loan so you haven’t lost it.

In most circumstances, this is a win for both you and your account holders as the small price they pay to skip a loan is a big benefit over the next payment they may have to make. That extra breathing room might be enough to help them avoid missing a payment and incurring late charges or start a downhill slide.

Here are some examples of skip-a-pay promotions that we have completed for our customers. Let us know if we can help you with yours.

Communication Domination – Managing the choices.

By Mark's Minutes

Communication channels have grown exponentially over the past generation. It used to be that we could turn on one channel or read one newspaper and get all the information we needed. As advertisers, we had fewer channels (TV/Radio/Newspaper/Mail) and created typically larger and more polished campaigns.

Today, the channel choices are mindboggling. Many of the channel choices are hyper specific. We can choose the type of information we want… when we want it… and how often.

Advertising has become hyper-personalized, just like viewing choices

The challenge with advertising is to be right there to fill a need when the consumer needs it. Right product. Right place. Right time.

Today that means you can send a message to the consumer when they walk on to a car lot reminding them that they already have a preapproved loan. Or you can text them a message when you discover they are trying to refinance their car at another institution. Your trigger program is always looking for a chance to reach out.

But consumers today feels like they are always under attack. Blocking, avoiding, ignoring and turning off the incessant marketing.

Where is the romance?

There was a process, long since passed, that we’d follow to move a consumer to buy. It started with product education and ended with a decision to buy. You got to know them a little before springing the buying opportunity on them. It was a courting process.

That’s why direct mail is making a comeback. It creates a connection.

Direct mail has never been the lowest cost advertising form. But is has been one of the best sources for delivering timely, relevant and targeted messages. And, the direct mail experience is one that can’t be duplicated in other mediums.

Facts about direct mail you didn’t know.

Direct mail delivers results. Just check out these 10 recent statistics about direct mail.

1. The average return on investment for direct mail is $4.09 for every $1.27 spent. (Global News Wire)

2. The average response rate is between 2.7% and 4.4%, compared to email’s 0.6% response rate. (Newswires)

3. 73% of American consumers prefer being contacted by brands via mail because they can read it at their own convenience. (Small Biz Genius)

4. More than 40% of direct mail recipients read or at least scan the mail they get.(Small Biz Genius)

5. 84% of the Gen Z have received a direct mail piece with a QR code to interact with a brand online (by watching a video, going to a landing page with sales copy, or to order by phone/action device). Nearly 40% of these campaigns used direct mail and generated a profitable ROI. (CDMG Inc.)

6. Nearly 90% of Millennials love receiving mail. This fits with their affinity for physical media — like vinyl records. The study also revealed that 57% of Millennial respondents acted on these offers. (USPS).

7. Two-thirds of Gen X consumers say they have a positive impression of companies that send out relevant marketing mail. (USPS)

8. While overall mail rates declined, total direct mail volume increased by 28% from 2020 to 2021. (Sequel Direct Mail Trends Report: Q4 2021)

9. There was a 49% increase in sales and 125% in increase in customer inquiries who received both email and catalogs. (Harvard Business Review)

10. More than 70% of Gen X consumers feel mail is more personal than online digital communications and are more likely to read promotional mail than emails. (USPS)

Are you using the power of direct mail in your marketing mix? Now is the time.

Are you a product seller or a story teller?

By Mark's Minutes

These days the pace of our communication is shorter and faster than in previous times. It all relates to the pace of our world and the lack of time we seemingly have to consume information.

Everything is moving much faster than ever before.

Today’s media has changed our approach to content

Years ago, the art of copywriting was a revered and respected role in agencies. Effectve writing included content that appealed to the reader on a number of levels such as ratiional, emotional, or financial.

Good copywriters can write a story that answers all the buying questions while also allowing the reader to “feel” the story. Many of the best stories were a good balance of emotional and rational components and the story always led to the solution in which the product was presented.

The art of storytelling allows the reader to see themselves with the product as a solution, and/or playing a legitimate role within their life. Storytelling takes space and intention to ensure that it is done right

It’s a conversation. Not a pitch.

The writer introduces the product often only after making some type of connection. They also had a lot more space and time to tell their story. Often, they had a full-page, or a 30 or 60 second ad, much more than we have today.

But that was then. This is now.

Digital content introduced shorter copy and strategic links

As digital evolved, copy got shorter and more punchy. By its nature, it now had to accomplish a lot in a few paragraphs. Not much time to “romance” the reader.

Emails often features a structure something like this: Intro copy – link, body copy – link, offer/call to action and reminder copy – link, etc.

Longer copy is often discouraged and eliminated. Greater product focus and stronger selling language is incorporated. “Product selling” has become the norm.

Return to storytelling

How to bring back more storytelling? To tell a story you must have a story to tell.

It starts with a desire to capture what is either happening to motivate the purchase of your product/service; and/or what the outcome of the usage of your product and service (think “before and after”).

Newsletters: Many of our clients publish newsletters that are sent out to every account holder. These newsletters feature stories with a “feel good” result that supports both the mission of the institution and a collection of featured products.

Website: Add a section on the website that features testimonials, success stories, and “deeper dives” that generate interest and reinforces the core philosophies of the organization.

Staff Engagement: Featuring staff as problem solvers and knowledgeable resources helps in the collection of memorable stories.

Using more stories in your marketing will open up a softer, more approachable and relatable side of your business. If your “product” is a service, often the only way you have to differentiate from other similar providers is to show how that the outcome of your service is better than others.

Here’s to collecting many amazing stories to tell!