How to Plan Your First Multi-Channel Campaign

A few months ago, PERQ’s own Russ Chandler wrote an article about how to launch and run your first multi-channel promotion; which covered: targeting the right people, crafting the right message and, of course, changing aspects of your targeting and messaging to ensure you saw a sweet return on your investment. While there’s certainly no doubt that Russ’ advice was completely sound, there were probably a few folks scratching their heads saying “How do I even get started?” Before you go about launching and running your first multi-channel promotion, you have to know exactly what you want from it — and that means planning!

Here’s a quick guide to help you kick-start your multi-channel planning:

What are your goals?

Defining goals for your first multi-channel promotion can be tough. Naturally, all any salesman wants to do is sell more and make more money — but how does one go from Step A all the way to Step Z? You need steps B, C, D, etc. to get you there. This means creating smaller, more achievable goals that will lead you to that big sale.

So, now that you’ve given it some thought, what are your real goals? Take a broad look at some of the things your dealership or store are lacking. Are you not getting many Ups in your showroom? Are you simply not getting enough leads (or the right type of leads)? Perhaps you’re dealing with habitual browsers who show up and don’t take any action. Whatever your dealership or store’s weaknesses are, conquer them. Make it your goal to bring more Ups into your showroom, obtain more leads or engage with your consumers.

Who do you want to target?

If your answer to the above question is “everyone,” immediately stop what you’re doing and ask yourself that question one more time. Really think about it! In an ideal world, you would be able to sell whatever you wanted to whomever you wanted. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in the real world. So, seriously, ask yourself: who do you feel like you HAVE to target in order to get that sale? You can target zip codes, demographics, interests, pretty much anything you like… But don’t do “all the things.” Take a look at the folks coming to your showroom and what they’re looking for. You should be able to come up with a target market based on that info.

What channels do you want to use? Why?

Once you’ve figured out what consumers you want to target, you’ll need to decide what marketing channels you actually want to use — which can naturally seem a little daunting given all your options. That said, take another gander at your target market and jot down some basic information from your research: Where do they live? How old are they? What income bracket are they in? Next, ask yourself “What marketing channels would make sense for these folks?” If you’re targeting a younger, college-aged crowd, you might consider a mixture of Facebook advertising or television. For a somewhat older crowd that still reads the paper, you might consider Facebook advertising coupled with direct mail or newspaper inserts. Whatever you do, just make sure to do a full analysis of the folks you’re trying to target so that you know your marketing choices make sense.

What do you want to offer?

With every multi-channel promotion we run here at PERQ, we always provide some sort of incentive for the consumer. Incentives could be as simple as a $25 gift card for taking a test drive or a free oil change; or as elaborate as entering to win a new car or a huge cash prize. Whatever offer you choose, you need to once again think about the people you’re targeting. What sorts of incentives will entice them to come into your store?

What do the campaigns look like?

While setting appropriate goals and deciding who to target are both important tasks, deciding on the look and feel of your campaign collateral (banner ads, direct mail pieces, inserts, etc.) is, by far, the most important. Why? Because it’s the very item that’s going to ultimately draw those targeted consumers to your online experience, or your showroom kiosk. The way your ads look can, quite literally, make or break your multi-channel promotion.

Now, once again, I’m going to sound like a broken record. To determine the look of your marketing collateral, you need to look at your target market research. Different audiences prefer different types of imagery and messaging. For example: you might find that folks in areas that are well-to-do prefer sleeker direct mail pieces on high-quality cardstock with not a lot of “noise.” However, folks who are middle-class might overlook sleek design and go after messaging that’s clear, concise and tells them exactly what they need to do to get their prize. Just keep in mind that the look and feel of your multi-channel promotions (fonts, colors, messaging, etc.) should be the same across all your designated marketing channels.

To learn more about how PERQ can help you plan out your multi-channel campaign, check out the rest of our blog.