Oftentimes, our clients come to us and say "Why aren't customers finding me? What do I need to do to change this?"
This answer, of course, is that there is not one single thing you can do to raise awareness of your company, product or service. Instead, a collection of integrated marketing tactics are needed to meet each of your target audiences where they are.
We sat down with Sherri Jones, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Client Services, to understand how Phase 3 helps our clients increase their visibility.
Is PPC the “silver bullet”?
While PPC advertising can be very effective at driving web site traffic, I think it’s safe to say there’s no such thing as a silver bullet in marketing. Clients are often looking for that one magic solution that will meet all of their business goals; but few will achieve success with just one tactic. A strategic, multi-channel approach is almost always going to be more effective.
Do you have to pay to be found online?
No. There are many ways to market your business online that won’t cost you any money. But they do take time and know-how. Search engine optimization (or SEO), for example, a meaningful content strategy, social media posts, public relations and building trust with third-party reviews can be performed at no cost, if you have the time and know what you’re doing. And because these measures are so effective, many organizations hire outside agencies to execute them on their behalf.
When a client comes to us because they want to build awareness, what are all of the things we consider?
We need to understand their goals, brand position, current levels of perception and awareness and how much investment they are willing to make increase awareness. We need to understand their why, and what differentiates them from their competition. We also need to understand their audience. To that end, we use both quantitative and qualitative research to develop personas, so we know exactly who we’re talking to, where to find them, and what messaging is most likely to move them to action.
How can organizations impact brand awareness offline?
While it’s critical for most businesses to have an online presence, there are plenty of ways to tell your brand story offline—and we look at all of them as part of our planning process. The perception that offline channels are no longer effective, too expensive, impossible to track, or only for older audiences is not universally true. It depends on your audience. People still listen to the radio. They watch and stream their favorite television shows. They shop in person as well as online. Many attend trade shows, and—contrary to popular belief—they still open their mail. These channels offer unique storytelling opportunities and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.
How do we organize and measure all of these things?
We start with a client’s goal. We work to understand how they’re defining success, and we agree on a strategy that will support that goal. After that we build out tactics to support the strategy. By following this process, we never lose sight of the big picture.
Each tactic will have distinct KPIs that allow us to monitor campaign performance and results, and most importantly, adjust accordingly. The high-level details of this plan are captured on what we call a Plan-on-a-Page, Phase 3's proprietary tool for marketing plans. Our Plan-on-a-Page is great for busy clients who need to see their plan at-a-glance to simplify high level marketing conversations with their senior leadership teams.
We continuously monitor campaign performance against the success metrics, optimizing as needed and reporting results to clients on a monthly basis. For digital campaigns, we can create an online dashboard that allows clients to access performance in real time. We’ve found that this level of transparency builds trust and expedites decisions that can further our clients’ success.
Phase 3 is happy to help you understand and meet your customers where they are. Please reach out to us if you are interested in building an integrated marketing strategy.