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Michael Radigan is vice president of interactive advertising at Javelin. Radigan’s team represent strong players that understand strategy, IA, creative and enterprise-level interactive solutions.

A long-time veteran of the online space, Radigan has worked on successful and award-winning campaigns for many Fortune 50 clients. Currently, he and his teams work with AT&T, ING, Mitsubishi and others to build smart user-centric solutions, regardless of the channel.

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Beware: Speed Trap Ahead

Written on
July 31st 2008
Author
by Michael Radigan  |
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thine_customer_small.jpgADOTAS EXCLUSIVE — Let’s face it. Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy. A couple of weeks ago, I had an early meeting and my two-year-old daughter decided she didn’t want to wear pants to summer camp. Period. After much pleading, arguing and bribing, I managed to drop her off at camp — in pants.

Full of self-satisfaction, I set off for the office, taking the speed limit as a suggestion rather than a requirement. I came over a hill and locked eyes with a state trooper. His lights flashed and I knew I was busted. So I pulled over and resigned myself to the inevitable. My lead foot had made me very, very late. Let’s just say the irony wasn’t lost on me.

We are all tempted at some point to rush ahead regardless of the hidden speed traps. We get stuck in a rut, then one day, WHAM! We hear about something really cool. So we jump at the first project to come along and shoehorn our great new idea in. And more often than not, it gets us a fat lot of nothing if we’re lucky and a giant migraine if we’re not.

Whether it’s Social Media, VDP, CRM, Web 2.0, Twitter or one of the many other buzzwords floating around these days, I have to ask myself, how often do we let ourselves get caught up in the hype? I’m not saying that these things aren’t good, even successful marketing tactics. What I am saying is that we need to think before we step on the gas.

At the company I work for, we have this radical idea that it’s our job to help clients devise the right solution, even if it’s a simple one. For every campaign we follow four steps. We plan, we do, we measure and, finally, we improve. It’s simple. And it’s a never-ending process.

Sure I’m biased, but sometimes I wonder if what we take for common sense isn’t so common after all. And so I give you the four steps we use to help make sure we aren’t rushing ahead without thinking first.

Plan

You’ll never get it right if you don’t first take a good, long look at your customer. Sounds simple, right? It is. Instead of thinking of what YOU’D like to do, look at what THEY want you to do. And then do it. Rocket science, I know.

You also have to manage expectations, yours and your clients’. Work together to set up exactly what you’re doing and define it. It may sound rudimentary, but you’d be surprised how often this crucial step is ignored. Just think about it, how many times have you gone round and round in a 30-minute meeting that lasts over an hour because everyone’s arguing about semantics? Nip that in the bud. If you’re talking Social Media, make sure you and your client have the same idea of what Social Media means.

And finally, decide up front how you’ll measure success. Then, look at your customer again to see if your plan still makes sense.

Do

It’s easy for agencies to get caught up in their own delusions of grandeur. Don’t be tempted. When you’re an expert in something, own it. But be up front and honest in the areas where you aren’t (and bring in someone who is). We have this accountable marketing thing down pat. But when it comes to media, we rely on our partners. And we look a whole lot smarter because we’re up front about our capabilities.

Just as important is to tie the work back to the goals you set with your client. It not only keeps you honest, but also shows your client that you’re always looking at the work and re-evaluating it based on the plan you’ve both agreed to.

Measure

This step is your reality check. It’s where you find out if the really cool thing you read about is actually good for the customer, and by extension, your client. If you’ve planned well, you will have set up your campaign with real, measurable ROI objectives. Now take a look at your results, see if they measure up and share them with your client. Transparency! If it failed, it failed. Don’t spin it.

And remember that numbers mean nothing on their own. Results have to be put in context. How many times have we seen some horrendous report that talks about how great a site performed because the “time on site” was 14 minutes? If your conversions still stink, maybe they are on the site that long because your navigation is terrible and they can’t find what they want.

Then bring your results back to your original business goals and objectives. Once you do, you’ll have the foundation for your smart ongoing strategy.

Improve

The most important step of all. Pay attention! Be honest with yourself and your client. Then go back and apply what you’ve learned. You may learn that your customers want to interact with your brand on the social landscape, but they want to do it through a blog instead of on YouTube or Facebook. Give them what they want! Oh, and then on your next campaign, do all of this again…and again…and again. You get the idea.

With some common sense and the will power to slow down a little, you may just be able to avoid the speed traps. And wear pants. Well, at least most of the time.



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