Most marketing campaigns don’t do well. They fail to deliver the expected or hoped-for results. While there are several factors that can derail a marketing campaign, there are four main steps in any marketing plan that if you don’t get them right, you will be guaranteed no success.

What type of Campaign are you running?

You must decide on the type of campaign before you get started. Are you running a lead-generation campaign, a sales funnel, a branding campaign or an influencer strategy? Each of these strategies focuses on different outcomes and have different tactics associated with them. If you don’t have clarity here, the rest of the plan will not come together and you’ll end up with several tactics that do not work together.

Who are you reaching?

Once you decide the type of your campaign, the next step is to do a deep dive in understanding your audience. It’s not enough to identify demographics, i.e. females age 25-55 who have children. That’s the beginning. But in order to write compelling copy and to speak to the heart of your audience you need to understand as much about their lives as you can. Think about creating an avatar and writing down as much information about that person you can. At the end ask yourself the most important question: How can I help that person with the offer of this campaign?

What’s my offer?

Understanding your target audience will give a sense of crafting an irresistible offer. A great offer becomes only irresistible once you understand what’s important to your audience and how you are there to help them. What are you taking away from their hectic day? What task are you making easy for them, faster, simpler? If your audience doesn’t resonate or understand how your call to action helps them, the campaign will fall flat.

What tactics should I use?

Unfortunately, most people start marketing campaigns with tactics first: social media push, google ads, influencer posts, a contest, etc. While these are all tools marketers use, they need to be deployed AFTER you decide where your audience is and the best way for them to see your offer and respond. If you are reaching Generation Z, you would most likely use TikTok instead of Facebook ads.

Before your next campaign, make sure you ask these 4 critical questions on the front end and you will see much better results.

Click here and download the Audience Matrix exercise. This will help you define your target audience and craft your offer.