Give Your Marketing Plan This Five-Point Acid Test
By Bob Gibson
A successful marketing plan boosts income, while energizing the future value of your brand. The best ones are short, specific and measurable. Here’s what to look for:
1. A unique copy platform
“XYZ Hospital has the largest staff of board certified physicians in this key specialty.” “Our Hospice offers the largest music therapy program in the area.”
These are good examples. Positioning statements such as, “We strive for excellence” or “We really care” are meaningless.
2. A very specific media target for each initiative
Here’s a good one, “Our service is targeted at women who work, are 45 to 54-years old and make medical decisions for their children and their aging parents.” Here’s a bad one, “We want to reach people who need imaging services.” With the first statement, you can create a media goal to reach 80% of this market 3 or more times over 6 weeks. You achieve this by buying TV shows broadcast during the breakfast and dinner hours, buying drive time radio, and by direct mailing the target group that lives within driving range of your locations.
3. Integrate and measure traditional and new media
Traditional media (TV, radio, print, direct mail, outdoor) should be integrated with new media (mobile media, social media, internet). One example would be to run TV, print and radio spots, and have an “Ask the expert” section on each station’s web site as well as your own. The goal of all advertising is to open roads of communication to your business so that customers can travel repeatedly. Today’s technology allows you to invisibly measure the effectiveness of all media by call monitoring, web tracking and at the point of service.
4. Negotiate media rates
Do some simple math to determine the cost per thousand people reached by each media. Then compare TV programs, radio stations, cable TV day parts, local newspapers, web advertising options, even billboards using this as a tool. Ask sales reps to match the competitor’s better cost per thousand. You should be able to realize savings of 25% or more.
5. Invest in your “Brand”
Your brand is the summation of feelings and perceptions the public has about your company and service.
For example: Apple uses friendly language, clean graphics, and effortless function to define itself. Are all of your marketing materials consistent in look and feel. Does your marketing plan, advertising and customer experience define the brand that you desire to become?
Bob Gibson, President of R.J. Gibson Inc., can be reached at (561) 758-8482 or visit www.rjgibson.com.
