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Setting Goals and Measuring Results
-- by Lisa
Ann Schreier
Yes, I know you are all not so patiently awaiting my two cents worth on Internet Advertising.
And we will get around to it, I promise. Don't do any Internet advertising until then, OK?
Two very important steps to any successful advertising are Setting Goals and Measuring
Results. Come to think of it, these are two crucial steps to just about ANYTHING in your personal and/or
business life. Just as important as those two steps are, it is even more important to do them both, to do them
both in the correct order and to have a reasonable idea of what both goals and results are.
SETTING GOALS
You can have the best thought-out idea, the wittiest writers, the most targeted media mix, the most bang for the
buck and still have no idea if you have succeeded or not. Why? It all depends on your goal. What do you hope to
achieve by your advertising campaign?
This is NOT an easy thing to determine. First of all, you need to realistically set your goal. If you are a 300-unit
resort in Butte, Montana that just opened up for business, with no prior consumer base, you are not going to sell
out from one, two or even ten well written ads. I know some of you are thinking that's ridiculous to point out,
but you would be surprised to find out how many people think advertising is a panacea. It isn't. It is not a miracle
worker either.
Your goals should be determined through:
· research… what have other resorts achieved with similar campaigns…what are other resorts doing
in terms of advertising now
· consultation… get everyone involved in the picture; executives, mangers, salespeople and your media
consultant
· honesty… what are your resort's best and worst points…do you need to enhance or do you need to
do damage control
· timing… what are the specific needs you are facing right now, in six months time and in a year…what
is the current economic climate in your area…do you have the human resources on board to see your plans through
and will they be on board for at least one year
MEASURING RESULTS
Celebrate your successes, and honestly face your failures. ALWAYS re-evaluate, ALWAYS measure.
Again, don't assume that if it didn't achieve your goals the first time your plan and/or your people need to be
trashed. But keep in mind this great definition: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over
again and always hoping for a different outcome." Don't be hasty, but don't be stupid. Let's say you took
my advice and ran a flight of radio commercials. You only got 10 phone calls, resulting in 15 room nights, two
hang ups, no sales and no referrals. Is this a failure? No simple answer exists. It could be because the station
failed to run the spots as ordered and paid for. It could be because the spot was poorly written. It could be because
the people picking up the phone at your resort were chewing gum or worse yet, forgot to track the calls. (More
on this later) That's what makes advertising both an art and a science. Don't fall into the all too common trap
of trying it once and abandoning it if it doesn't work. Not all of your advertising attempts will be prove to be
as successful as Apple Mac's "1984" spot. Hell, even Apple can't do that again.
A word about tracking. Unless you are already one of the big-time players in this industry, you will,
in all likelihood, be leaving the all important tracking of calls, of sales, or whatever to some people in your
organization who are shall we say less interested in the results of your hard-thought out advertising campaign
and more interested in the weekly sales at the Winn-Dixie or wondering if the cute salesperson will notice her
this week (no, he probably won't… he needs to impress the new director of sales). So take my advice and leave the
tracking to professionals. Hire a crew for the short term to track for you. I cannot tell you how many advertising
campaigns I have personally witnessed some executive label as "a waste of time and money" because some
gum-chewing bimbo didn't bother to find out the origin of the call.
Never rest on your laurels, but never wallow in your failures. Get up, move on and move ahead. Set goals, have
the courage to set your plan in motion, clearly measure your results and move ahead. You have a long road ahead
of you, but it can be fun and rewarding if done right. Contact me with your questions and comments at GRQ1@aol.com.
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