Golden Rules
30/08/2005
Find out about the 'golden rules' of marketing communications
GOLDEN RULES
Put the audience first
Your marketing must be led by your audience and not your product.
You need to know who your customers are and then target them
carefully. You need to have an understanding of who they are, where
they are, their needs and desires and the media they respond to in
order to produce compelling marketing.
Find a compelling offer
Use your insight
into your customers to deliver something that really motivates them
into action.
Send out one clear message and get straight to the
point
Avoid clutter and confusion with one clear and
simple message. You must be able to grab the reader's attention at
the start.
Make it obvious what you want the reader to
do
Every communication should direct your audience
to do something e.g. taking advantage of a money-off offer or
telephoning a hotline or visiting a website. This is called a `call
to action' and is vital to successful marketing.
Use clear and simple language
Your reader should be able to understand what you are trying to say
in just three seconds. Keep your language simple and avoid jargon
or vocabulary which they will not understand.
Think visually
Think carefully about the
best way to present your message visually. A simple image often
works best. Remember that you should always complete the planning
procedures, including what you want your customers to think, feel
and do before designing your marketing material. Consider what
images you have at your disposal and make sure you have the legal
rights to use them. There are many websites that offer royalty free
images, www.superstock.com is a good place to start.
Manage the branding
Be conscious of how
much branding you are using. In some cases using too much will turn
off the reader. Be sensitive to their needs and try to find a
balance which still gets your message across.
Give your customers a right to reply
Ensure there is always a way for customers to respond. Not only
does it help you capture vital data on your customers, it also
helps you learn how people are reacting to your work. You can
collect names, addresses, e-mails and vital information to help you
target them in future.
Set targets and measures
Set targets and
measures from the outset and monitor these throughout the process,
not just at the end. Compare results from different mailings and
look at the way people respond best - by phone, fax or e-mail.
Test your ideas
Printing in-house allows
you to run off small numbers and test the creative discretely. Try
it out on your staff or small groups of consumers and use their
response to refine your ideas.
Be consistent in all your communications
Speak with one voice. Customers trust and appreciate continuity so
make sure the tone, feel and look of each item fits with the
others. If you don't yet have a company look, tone or feel put in
the preparation and create them.
