3 Steps to Developing an Efficient Marketing Strategy

AIDA

marketing tips

presentation marketing

relationship marketing

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

SWOT

Marketing is the lifeblood of any organization. However, making your brand stand out isn’t easy. Competition is tight, and people’s demands and interests rapidly change with the times. Developing a solid marketing strategy attracts prospective customers and clients. To effectively market yourself, you’ll have to follow a structured plan with a reasonable objective.

Setting the Goal, Paving the Way

All great things started out as someone’s rough sketch of their vision. Setting a clear goal is the first step to creating your marketing strategy. But it doesn’t end there. You have to know what you want. More importantly, know how to get there. With a clear objective, you can start drafting your approach in drawing in your target market.

One of the most effective methods to achieve this is the AIDA framework. AIDA stands for the Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action of your audience. It can come in the form of presenting statistics, emphasizing your product’s features and advantages, or letting people experience your services firsthand. Outlining specific actions to address each of these aspects guarantees a return of investment.

Analyzing Strengths and Weaknesses

While having a fixed vision is great, don’t forget to make it attainable. One way to check if you’re on the right track is by analyzing your strengths and weakness. This analysis is part of the SWOT method which, aside from AIDA, is a valuable marketing tool. SWOT represents you or your organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats/Challenges.

Assess where you stand in terms of your internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats/challenges that are in your way. Evaluate each in relation to your existing resources to know how to move forward. For example, your strengths can include your customer service or your uniqueness in comparison to other brands. On the other hand, a weakness could be a lack of financial backing. Opportunities could include an inferior product from your competition, while a threat could be a revolutionary new rival.

Having a SWOT outlook will help you reconcile aspects of your situation to help reach your aim.

Forming the Right Relationships

Quality products and services can be overshadowed by a competitor’s established reputation and expanded network. Whether you’re still starting out or are a veteran in the field, never let your alliances fall behind. This means more than just partnerships with other credible organizations. It also means banking on individual human resources—employees, existing customers, and other influencers in the playing field.

Ted Rubin, Keynote speaker and brand evangelist, advocates the Return on Relationship strategy, which looks at the importance of creating a following that recommends your brand to their network. As a takeaway from Rubin’s idea, form meaningful relationships with everyone involved in your product. Treat your employees right and have them participate in your marketing. Encourage them to advertise your product or service to their friends and family. Similarly, pamper old customers so that they can recommend you to other people.

You can easily gain a wider audience if you market through those close to you.

Conclusion

With the right marketing strategy, your brand can stand out even among the toughest crowds. Envision your future in a clear, realistic way by looking at your strengths and weaknesses. Tap into your people to help you draw new clients in. It also won’t hurt to set a timeline where you can track your progress. You can make it per month or per year, as long as you can check how your plans turned out with each specific milestone.

More importantly, make sure you’re planning with the present in mind. This helps you determine the tools necessary for achieving your future. Need help with your presentations? Contact our SlideGenius experts today and get a free quote!

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Resources:

Rubin, Ted. “Brands Need to Focus on ROR: Return on Relationship™.” TedRubin.com. October 31, 2010. www.tedrubin.com/brands-need-to-focus-on-ror-return-on-relationship

“Create Your Marketing Strategy.” Info Entrepreneurs. www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/create-your-marketing-strategy

Featured Image: “White Knight” by John Morgan on Flickr.com

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WWE and Marketing: Exploring the Common Ground Between

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Marketing

marketing tips

pitch deck

presentation science

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

WWE

WWE and Marketing

The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) may seem like a world away from traditional marketing, but the reality is that the two share significant common ground. WWE is a masterclass in branding, storytelling, and audience engagement—core elements that are also essential to successful marketing campaigns. By looking at how WWE captivates its audience, brands can gain insights into how to build loyalty, create compelling content, and establish a strong market presence.

Here’s how WWE and marketing share common principles and what businesses can learn from the wrestling giant:


1. Storytelling is at the Heart of Both

WWE’s success is built on its ability to tell captivating stories. Each match is part of a larger narrative, often featuring ongoing rivalries, character development, and plot twists. Similarly, in marketing, storytelling is essential to engaging customers and creating emotional connections with brands.

How WWE Does It:

  • Character Development: WWE creates larger-than-life personas for its wrestlers, allowing the audience to invest in their stories. The backstories, motivations, and conflicts keep fans engaged.
  • Ongoing Storylines: WWE’s storylines continue over time, with matches building on past events and foreshadowing future ones. This keeps fans hooked and eagerly awaiting the next development.

Marketing Takeaway: Build a compelling brand story. Just as WWE develops characters, companies should craft brand identities that resonate with their audience. Whether it’s through product development or content marketing, brands should create an ongoing narrative that customers want to follow.

Example: Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign isn’t just a tagline—it’s part of an ongoing narrative about perseverance, excellence, and pushing limits, much like WWE’s stories of overcoming adversity.


2. Build and Leverage Brand Loyalty

WWE has an incredibly loyal fanbase, with fans who continue to support the brand and its superstars year after year. This loyalty is a result of WWE’s ability to create emotional connections through its content and consistent engagement with its audience.

How WWE Does It:

  • Fan Engagement: WWE keeps its fans engaged through regular content across multiple platforms, including live events, TV shows, social media, and merchandise.
  • Fan Participation: WWE encourages fan participation through live chants, fan votes on match outcomes, and opportunities to interact with superstars at events.

Marketing Takeaway: Engage with your audience consistently and offer them opportunities to participate in your brand. By creating two-way communication and making your audience feel involved, you can build deeper connections and brand loyalty.

Example: Brands like Starbucks use social media to engage with customers, solicit feedback, and even crowdsource ideas for new products. This involvement helps strengthen customer loyalty.


3. The Power of Consistent Branding

WWE’s brand is instantly recognizable—from its logo and color scheme to the distinct personalities of its superstars. Everything WWE does is consistent with its core identity of entertainment, action, and drama. In marketing, consistent branding is key to creating a strong and memorable brand image.

How WWE Does It:

  • Visual Consistency: WWE’s logo, fonts, colors, and ring designs are always consistent across platforms, reinforcing the brand’s identity.
  • Character Branding: Each superstar has a distinct brand—whether it’s John Cena’s patriotic persona or The Undertaker’s dark, mystical character. These brands extend to merchandise, social media, and appearances.

Marketing Takeaway: Develop a consistent brand identity across all touchpoints. From your website to social media, your branding should be cohesive to create a strong and recognizable image.

Example: Coca-Cola has maintained consistent branding for decades. From its logo to its red-and-white color scheme and iconic bottle shape, Coca-Cola’s brand is instantly recognizable worldwide.


4. Create Spectacle and Memorable Moments

One of WWE’s strengths is its ability to create spectacle. Whether it’s a dramatic entrance, an unexpected plot twist, or a climactic title match, WWE knows how to deliver moments that fans will talk about for years. In marketing, creating memorable experiences can elevate your brand and leave a lasting impression.

How WWE Does It:

  • Big Events: WWE builds up to its major events, such as WrestleMania, creating hype and excitement leading up to the spectacle.
  • Surprises and Twists: WWE is known for its unexpected moments—returns, betrayals, or surprise victories—that create buzz and excitement among fans.

Marketing Takeaway: Create memorable moments in your marketing campaigns that stand out. Whether it’s through experiential marketing, a viral social media moment, or a creative product launch, brands that deliver spectacle capture attention.

Example: Apple’s product launches are legendary for their spectacle, often featuring new innovations that are unveiled in dramatic fashion, creating a sense of excitement and anticipation.


5. Leverage Multiple Platforms for Maximum Impact

WWE understands the importance of being present across multiple platforms. From television and live events to social media and streaming, WWE ensures its content is accessible everywhere, keeping its audience engaged across all channels. Similarly, in marketing, using an omnichannel strategy allows brands to reach their audience where they are.

How WWE Does It:

  • Multi-Platform Content: WWE creates content for TV, YouTube, social media, and its own streaming service, WWE Network. Each platform has unique content tailored to that audience.
  • Fan Interaction on Social Media: WWE uses social media to interact with fans, share exclusive content, and build anticipation for upcoming events.

Marketing Takeaway: Ensure your brand is present and consistent across multiple platforms. Tailor your content for each platform, but maintain a unified message and brand identity across all of them.

Example: Brands like Nike and Adidas create different types of content for Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube while maintaining a cohesive brand message. This approach allows them to engage with their audience in different ways across platforms.


Final Thoughts

The common ground between WWE and marketing lies in their shared focus on storytelling, audience engagement, and consistent branding. WWE’s ability to build strong fan loyalty, create memorable moments, and leverage multiple platforms offers valuable lessons for marketers looking to connect with their audience. By adopting WWE’s approach to storytelling, brand consistency, and engagement, marketers can create campaigns that are just as powerful and captivating as a main event match.

Are We There Yet?: How to Measure Marketing Success

business presentations

marketing tips

Rick Enrico

SlideGenius

successful marketing

Triumph may seem easy enough to identify, but there are actually different measures and indicators of marketing success.

Don’t compare yourself to bigger and more established organizations’ achievements if you’re still starting out. Good marketing strategies take plenty of time to enact. Ultimately, they depend on the goals you’ve set and how long you’ve been going.

But how do you really know if you’ve made it big? Here are three ways to make it easier to find out:

Set a Goal and a Timeline 

Like we’ve said, different businesses peak at different points. You can’t say you’re progressing or declining without definite proof.

If you want to measure how well you’re doing your job, look at your goals. Maximizer.com recommends you think of them as the Key Performance Indicators of an effective marketing campaign.

Some of the common KPIs to watch out for, according to Carolyn Edgecomb of Impact Branding and Design, are sales revenue, customer value, and conversion rate. But remember to measure your objectives alongside a specific timeline.

How much return on investment do you expect after three months? After five years? Visualizing your goals this way makes it easier for you to track your improvement.

Don’t expect to achieve everything overnight. You need to invest in your goals, and that effort takes time.

Know Where You Stand

One way to avoid unrealistic expectations is to know where you are in your marketing campaign.

Looking at your target beside your current position makes it more realistic. That’s where your timeline comes in handy.

At the end of every mark, see if you’ve reached the goal you set out with. This will let you know if you’ve attained a definite amount of success.

But remember that progress is continuous. You have to strive for further growth once you’ve gotten to where you want to be.  One success should only generate more ambitious pursuits.

Create new marketing strategies to address these. Development should only challenge you to keep on top of the competition.

End Action Rate

One way to avoid unrealistic expectations is to know where you are in your marketing campaign.

Looking at your target beside your current position makes it more realistic. That’s where your timeline comes in handy.

At the end of every mark, see if you’ve reached the goal you set out with. This will let you know if you’ve attained a definite amount of success.

But remember that progress is continuous. You have to strive for further growth once you’ve gotten to where you want to be.  One success should only generate more ambitious pursuits.

Create new marketing strategies to address these. Development should only challenge you to keep on top of the competition.

Conclusion

There are different indicators of a successful marketing campaign. It can be tricky to measure how well you’ve done with something that can seem so subjective.

However, this also means you get to move at your own pace. Work steadily and diligently through your goals.

Set a specific timeline that will help concretize your vision. What matters is that you prioritize your audience’s feedback to your promotions by monitoring their end action rate.

Need help with your business presentations? Contact our SlideGenius experts today and get a free quote!

References

Edgecomb, Carolyn. “The 10 Marketing KPIs You Should Be Tracking.” IMPACT Branding and Design. March 1, 2013. Accessed October 22, 2015. http://www.impactbnd.com/the-10-marketing-kpis-you-should-be-tracking

“End Action Rate.” Klipfolio. Accessed October 22, 2015. http://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/marketing/end-action-rate

“Key Performance Indicators For Marketing Professionals – Maximizer Blog.” Maximizer Blog Key Performance Indicators For Marketing Professionals Comments. June 24, 2015. Accessed October 22, 2015. http://www.maximizer.com/blog/key-performance-indicators-for-marketing-professionals/

Featured Image: “Success Key” by GotCredit on flickr.com

Email Marketing Tips: The Art of Pitching through the Inbox

email marketing

marketing presentations

marketing tips

online marketing

It may seem old-fashioned, but email marketing is far from becoming obsolete. While social media channels are helpful for reaching out to prospects, there’s no reason to discount the power of an email. Unlike other methods, email marketing allows you to deliver content directly to a space that’s personally curated by your prospects.

As blogger and entrepreneur Jen Fitzgerald points out, “your audience is giving you permission to be in their email inbox – that’s a pretty giant leap in the sales process.”

Make sure you won’t let a great opportunity go to waste by following these 10 essential email marketing tips:

1. Give prospects a reason to subscribe to your mailing list

How can you convert a casual blog reader into someone who’s genuinely interested in what you have to say? Promise them access to things they might not find by simply browsing your website or social media profiles. Use your emails as an avenue to promote special deals like discount coupons or downloadable resource materials. You can also provide access to insider information like product updates and industry news.

2. Always come up with a compelling and descriptive subject line

Crafting a clever subject line is crucial to email marketing. According to Copyblogger, making use of “power words” can help create an immediate connection. Clever gimmicks will urge your readers to open your message, but avoid click-baiting techniques. A good subject line is able to describe what the audience will see once they click through the link.

3. Keep content brief and straight to the point

Your subscribers will come across your email while they check their inbox for something else. Most likely, they’re probably corresponding with business contacts and thought to spare a brief moment to check out your content. Because of this, it won’t do you any good if your email is too long. Like you would when writing a speech, keep your emails brief by focusing only on key points.

4. Incorporate great visuals

Email marketing is similar to presentations, except that you have to deliver content directly to a prospect’s inbox. Aside from writing brief and compelling copies, you’ll also need eye-catching visuals. Make use of high-quality images to illustrate your emails.

5. Make it personal

Email marketing allows for a direct line of communication between you and your prospects. Try approaching your readers with a more personal touch. You can make use of software like HubSpot Email to personalize your content and organize your subscribers according to lists.

6. Be mindful of how spam rules work

No one wants to be bothered by a flood of unsolicited emails. To make sure your emails don’t get marked as spam, read up on the CAN-SPAM Act and be mindful of what you send out. You should also avoid typing subject lines in capital letters or using trigger words in excess.

7. Double, triple check before hitting “send”

This might seem obvious, but it bears repeating: always re-read your emails before hitting “send.” Check for spelling or grammatical errors you might have missed while writing your content. Make necessary adjustments. Trim out repetitive sentences or add some more details. If you can, try to get another set of eyes to check your work.

8. Make sure you email is optimized for mobile

A growing majority prefer to read emails using a mobile device. And according to statistics gathered by Return Path, 63% of Americans will quickly disregard a message when it’s not optimized to be viewed on their smartphones. Email marketing tools like MailChimp can help you create messages that read well on a variety of devices.

9. Integrate social media sharing

Reach a wider audience by allowing your subscribers to share your content through various social media channels. Provide share buttons and include links to your own profiles.

10. Track your stats to improve your strategy

If you’re making use of email marketing software like the ones mentioned above, you can get reports and updates on how your campaign is faring. Take note of the different statistics provided to you use it to your advantage.

It’s important to communicate your message to prospects clearly and effectively. Email marketing is just one of the ways you can share compelling content. Other techniques include delivering a presentation using a PowerPoint deck.

References:

“37 Tips for Writing Emails That Get Opened, Read, and Clicked.” Copyblogger. 2013. Accessed September 15, 2014.
“CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.” Federal Trade Commission. Accessed September 15, 2014.
Fitzgerald, Jennifer. “Guest Blog: How to Target Different Personality Types.” The Client Angel. Accessed September 15, 2014.
White, Chad. “Click-Baiting: Frowned upon by Facebook and in Email Subject Lines.” Salesforce Marketing Cloud Blog. 2014. Accessed September 15, 2014.

Featured Image: Wilson Alfonso via Flickr