AMiable Solution #108: Summer Assignment #3

It feels like we just kicked off summer with Memorial Day, and suddenly the July 4^th celebrations have already been accounted for.  In a blink, the new school year will start, and we’ll be facing down the end of the year.

Are you ready?  Here are three ways to prepare:

1.      Review your rates.  We never plan for promotions to underperform, but sometimes they do.  And sometimes we make long-term plans based on the assumption of those promotions’ success. If response doesn’t come in as expected, we set ourselves up for additional disappointments and consequences.  Bad history doesn’t have to repeat itself.  Before you get caught-up in the last days of summer, check your year-to-date campaigns and their response rates.  Make sure, based on current data, that your existing fall/winter plans still make sense.  If not, adjust accordingly.

2.      Change your tone.  If you’re a non-profit, you probably notice a marked difference in donations between the beginning of the year and the end of the year, when thoughts turn to tax-deductible donations.  In their Network for Good June 29, 2010, article, “Get Ready for Year-End Fundraising,” Rebecca Higman and Julie Stofer suggest communicating regularly with donors, not just when you’re asking for money.  According to Higman and Stofer, non-profits who give supporters “content of value as it happens, rather than just at the end of the year,” help development relationships with donors, increasing their feeling of investment, which results in higher gifts.

3.      Create a calendar.  You have a marketing schedule—a list of all upcoming promotions with due dates—but do you have an actual marketing calendar?  Keeping an actual calendar marked with your due dates not only helps you plan, but it also helps prevent dates from sneaking up on you.  Use it, too, to remind yourself of regular projects or maintenance items, including website updates, that are too easily overlooked or procrastinated.

Enjoy the summer while you can, but make sure you see the year’s end on the other side of this season’s sun.

AMiable Solution #107: Summer Assignment #2

You keep tabs on your competition: you know when they change prices; when they roll out a new campaign; and when they add a new service, product, or feature.  You probably also keep a file of their mailers and print campaigns.  You know all you need to know, right?

That depends.  How much time do you spend with your competitor files?  How well do you know your competitors’ marketing habits?  If you study your competitors’ efforts, really study them, not only could you gain insight into their strategy and positioning, but you may also learn a trick or two for reaching your market better.

For starters, look at the format.  Is there something new and intriguing about it?  How does it differ from yours?  Is it a standard format for your competitor or a test?

Now look at the graphics.  Do they enhance the message, draw your attention to it, or draw your attention away from the message?  Are the graphics effective?  If so, what makes them work?  How do they compare to the graphics used in your campaigns?  Do they convey a different tone or emotion than yours?  What’s the benefit?

Next, examine the fonts.  Are they clean and traditional or unconventional?  Do the font choices, size, placement, and color work?  Do your competitors’ efforts work or make more work for the reader?

Finally, study the text.  Don’t just read it: dissect it.  Is the language loose and colloquial or formal and businesslike?  How much detail do the descriptions provide?  What tone does the text convey?  How easy is it to read?  Does the text sweep you smoothly along or feel choppy and pieced together?  What phrases or descriptions jump out at you?  How is your competitors’ approach different/better/worse than yours?

Digging deep into someone else’s work can feel tedious and time-consuming, but the rewards of striking insight “gold” could repay you dearly.