Chapter 11: Are You Adding Noise By Rushing Readiness?

There's an important nuance in sales and marketing that has a heavy impact on why a campaign works or fails. The idea is called Improper Placement of Values. Understanding this concept can be the difference between success and failure in a marketing campaign.

Improper Placement of Values can be summed up simply like this: "Just because something is important to you, does not mean it will be as important or as valued to your audience." This is why building value is important. It is also why understanding engagement is important. Because without a sensitivity to both of these concepts, it's probable that your campaign will miss the mark with the majority of your audience.

At Dog Star Media, when we do any kind of campaign, we take both of these concepts into consideration. Because when one misses with the message and doesn't engage the audience properly, results are disappointing. As the client, it is also important for you to understand that there are better ways of running campaigns, especially on social media. So, a good starting point for you might be knowing that all ad campaigns are not created equally and that there are processes that lead to a successful lead-generation campaign.

But let's circle back to where most mistakes are made: Improper Placement of Values. You perform a great service. It has a lot of value. So, where's the avalanche of responses right after you run the ad? It may sound fundamental, but this factor plays a huge role in the decision to discontinue a campaign.

Of course, some new customers will reply immediately. This low-hanging fruit represents the part of the market you reached with your ad campaign that is ready. They are ready with need, cost, timing and all the other factors that make them ready. Frequently, though, this immediate response is the only evaluation used by the client for an ad campaign, which adds noise to the whole process. When you step back and look at how campaigns work to define and nurture and audience, you can see how more people convert over time as they reach a point of readiness to act.

If you don't have the mindset as a client to play to your audience's readiness, you can inadvertently shut down the long-term conversions of a campaign. And, why? Because the audience didn't respond immediately when you wanted them to do so. You're measuring success by your readiness for them to commit, not their readiness.

So, let's say you are adjusted to the necessary longevity and nurturing to sustain a successful campaign. In a social lead-generating advertising campaign, you are going to have opt-in contacts for followup. Again, understanding readiness will help you convert the largest number. You can bull-rush your opt-in list early and often with offers designed to accelerate their readiness, but that begins to send a message that you're not being sensitive to readiness.

To avoid opt-ins opting out, it's important to exercise some patience and sensitivity to a contact's readiness. Yes, by opting in they are telling you they are interested. But by not replying further they are also telling you they are not ready now. Or maybe they are, but other priorities are in play. These might seem like basics, but I see email campaigns with a daily blast to opt-ins being conducted all the time. That smacks of desperation and over-selling.

You have to remember that with an opt-in list of contact from an ad campaign, you have a golden ticket: permission to contact. Yes, that is an indicator that the prospect is willing but not necessarily ready. By not being sensitive to how and when to approach an interested contact, you can have that permission rescinded as easily as hitting an unsubscribe button. Adjust your thinking to building value along with asking for conversions. That's the best followup to opt-ins.

So, what's the right way to handle followup from a lead-generating campaign to account for readiness? First, you continue the lead-generating campaign, so you always have a chance at low-hanging fruit and fresh leads. Second, you follow up with offers, but not aggressively. If you are using email marketing, look at the click-through and view stats for more frequent opens and views. These are behaviors that tell you who is engaged and most likely more ready. Maybe send special personal reminders or offers to those who are more engaged.

Evaluating readiness is really not that hard. The metrics on email marketing give you hints.

If you need guidance moderating your followup and expectations for readiness, we can help. Please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com if you want to talk about it.