Marketing: Strategies for Connecting with the World Around You
Why focus on marketing?
A successful marketing plan helps create greater understanding and awareness of the programming and services available to military families, youth and partner organizations.
This is achieved, in part, through
generating buyer/customer personas.
Handout: “Marketing Strategy Template – Meerman-Scott”
Objectives
Following completion of this training you will be able to:
• Define marketing • Identify the steps in the marketing process • Identify the 7 Ps of marketing • Identify potential strategies for
strengthening current marketing processes
Marketing Defined
Marketing is defined simply as: “…a set of processes for creating,
communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”
The American Marketing Assoc.
• Customer Service is a large component of marketing
Types of Marketing Handout: “Suggested Marketing Strategies”
Marketing comes in a variety of forms: • Online (websites, emails) • Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest,
Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, blogs, Vines, etc.) • Print (flyers, brochures) • Media (radio, television) • Publications (magazines, journals) • Word of Mouth
To be successful, you must step into your customers’ ‘shoes’ and determine what works best for/appeals to them
Existing Resources Before we go too far, let’s identify those marketing
resources/avenues already available to us: • Department of Education: build databases of contacts retrieved
from their website(s) (http://www.schev.edu/highered/stateeducationagencies.asp)
• State School Library Assoc: contact your state/territory POC and work to utilize their distros
• FAC/FAS, FRSAs, Chaplains, MLFCs, MOS, YRRP and other programs with state/territory-wide contacts
• FRG Leaders: work with your FRSAs to build a FRG Leader email database
• Teen Councils/Panels: utilize them in the development and distro of information
• Current Partnerships: provide them with regularly updated info for distro to their contacts
• Others?!
Becoming a Strategic Marketer NOTE: Marketing plans should never be set in stone,
they should constantly evolve with your customer’s needs
1. Analyze the situation:
• What are the current challenges faced by customers? • What opportunities currently exist? • What are your current strengths? • What are your areas needing improvement? • What has been done in the past? Degree of success?
Before jumping into developing marketing materials, take time to look at your current situation
SWOT it out… STRENGTHS
What are we doing well?
WEAKNESSES What needs to be
improved?
OPPORTUNITIES What resources are
available to us?
THREATS What roadblocks might we
encounter?
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT Analysis can help you build on strengths, minimize/correct weaknesses and take advantage of potential opportunities, all while working to proactively identify threats before they happen
Becoming a Strategic Marketer 2. Define your marketing goals and objectives:
• What do we hope to achieve through marketing? • Increased numbers of youth at events… • Greater awareness of available resources… • Need for partner organization involvement/engagement…
Start small with your goals and objectives… Remember…Rome wasn’t built overnight! Trying to achieve too much too quickly may result in feeling defeated, overwhelmed, exhausted and frustrated
Becoming a Strategic Marketer 3. Identify your target market:
• Start with a ‘universal’ picture of your audience/customer (Service Members, youth, teens, teen council/panel, educators, partners, etc.)
• Next, begin subdividing these groups: • Educators (early childhood, elementary, high school) • Service Members (pre-deployment, during, reintegration) • Partners (geographic location in the state/territory,
profit/non-profit, etc.) If time and resources are limited, identify one or two target groups and focus attention on those groups initially
Becoming a Strategic Marketer 4. Develop and implement a marketing plan:
• Review your goals and objectives • Identify your target audience • Set a start and targeted end date for marketing • Assign specific responsibilities to individuals • Identify your marketing strategy (i.e. print, social media, etc.) • Execute marketing action • Reflect and evaluate effectiveness
Marketing plans do not need to be cumbersome; keeping things simplistic, especially in the beginning, will allow you to fine-tune approaches later
Source: http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assets/guides/mentoring/Mentoring-Chapter_7.pdf
Features and Benefits When marketing your program, being able to identify the
following can be helpful for those receiving your information:
Know how to translate C&YP ‘features’ into customer benefits:
Example Feature: Geographically dispersed access to services Example Benefit: Families can receive support with no/minimal travel involved
Example Feature: No-cost educator outreach support Example Benefit: Free resources for educators help reduce academic stress/improve academic success in military youth
7 P’s of Marketing
PRODUCT
• Find out what the customer needs/wants and develop accordingly
• What you are providing must be of value to your customer
PRICE
• The ‘value’ of your product to the customer will determine their utilization
• Everything you produce must meet customer expectations
PLACE
• Where are your greatest customer needs
• Also applies to how you display/showcase your product/services
Source: www.cim.co.uk/marketingresources
7 P’s of Marketing
PROMOTION
• The way you communicate to customers what you do and services you offer
• Good promotion is a two-way street; paves the way for customer communication
PEOPLE
• Many customers cannot separate product/service from staff – remember customer service
• Service after the ‘sale’ adds value/credibility to your product
PROCESS
• Monitor the delivery of services to customer; continual self-reflection
• Customers do not care about the ‘how’… they care about needs being met
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
• Help customers ‘see’ what they are gaining through utilization of your services
• Always appear polished, professional, organized and relaxed
Branding “Branding is the use of a name, term, symbol or design
to give a product a unique identity in the marketplace.”
HEARST Newspapers – 2014
Strategies to make your ‘BRAND’ stick: • Be consistent: this applies to logos, layouts, color schemes,
distribution and marketing calendars • Connect emotionally: ‘paint a picture’ to help you customers
connect deeply; build personal connections with what they read/see
• Reward customers: be sure to say/send “thank you’s”; this builds loyalty and increases likelihood of return
• Be flexible: if what you are doing is not resonating with customers, change it up and try a new approach
• Monitor competitors: basically, how are other programs marketing their services; can you work to replicate/innovate what they are doing
Source: HubSpot 2014
Promoting Products/Services How you promote your product/services can take on
many appearances:
EVENT-BASED
DIGITAL
Best Approach
REACH Posters Informational
Displays Targeted Emails
INFORM Websites Newsletters Videos
ENGAGE Social Media Targeted Events
If your goal is to…
Source: UCL Marketing Toolkit
Social Media Regulations If using social media, remember guidance provided by
the Army: • DTM (Directive-Type Memorandum) 09-026 requires all
official social media presences to be registered with DoD (www.army.mil/socialmedia)
• Each social media presence must have a terms of use statement that informs the visitors of what is authorized when interacting on the platform (Example: https://www.facebook.com/#!/USarmy/info)
• Presence must be designated it as the ‘official’ • Review the US Army Social Media Handbook:
http://cyssprogram.com/regulations.html
Source: The United States Army Social Media Handbook v. 3.1 – JAN 2013
Using Social Media – ‘Word of Mouse’ Handouts: “Social Media Tips” & “Blog Writing Tips”
NOTE: The use of social media will be greatly determined by your state/territory’s SFPD and PAO. Consult with them prior to implementing any new social media services.
Design your ‘e-approach’ to appeal to customer’s needs BLOGS: These can be used to quickly disseminate
information; consider having teens write articles for posting; include pictures/graphics
SOCIAL NETWORKS: Great for promoting
and connecting; must be updated regularly with acknowledgement of users
Using Social Media SOCIAL MULTIMEDIA SITES: YouTube, Flickr and
Pinterest are great as they allow you to promote to specific communities; great way to ‘showcase’ your Program in action
MICROBLOGS: Twitter is the most common; allows for
short ‘bursts’ of information quickly WIKIS: Easily created by users; great for
sharing valuable, reliable content; appear in online searches; easily updated
Be mindful of keywords when writing
Source: UCL Social Media Guide
Using Social Media QR Codes (Quick Response): At the precise moment a
customer has a vested interest in your program/service, he/she can obtain information immediately; QR Codes allow for transition from off-line marketing to valuable sites
Source: The New Rules of Marketing and PR
www.qrcode.kaywa.com • This site is free • Must register prior to
receiving code(s) • Many other options
are available – just search
QR Code for CYSS Website
Using Social Media YouTube/Vines: Videos engage the viewer/customer;
use videos to showcase exciting programming being offered; if a picture is worth 1,000 words…imagine the power of a video
Google Alerts: Use this site
(or a similar site) to maintain a pulse on searches and what information is readily available to customers
Source: The New Rules of Marketing and PR
Print Material Tips Printed materials can be expensive, so it is important to
ensure they look professional and engaging. Here are some tips for designing effective print materials:
LAYOUT: • The eye follows a ‘z’ pattern; moving across the top,
scanning to the lower left, and finishing in the lower right
• Place important components in this format
ALIGNMENT: • Ensure everything on the page aligns
with something else; orient text to the left
Print Material Tips RULE OF THIRDS: • Divide pages into thirds both vertically and
horizontally • Each section should appear balanced – this applies
to text, photos and other graphics
ONE STRONG VISUAL: • Pair one strong image/visual with a large
headline and some explanatory text – this is a classic arrangement
• Customers like seeing images of people, so include a high-quality picture of a person that ties into the text
Print Material Tips COLOR: • Maintain consistency with colors; avoid using too
many colors, as it distracts from content • Consider emotional responses to color:
• Red: excitement, strength, power, passion • Yellow: happiness and energy • Green: growth, freshness, safety, (ARNG) • Blue: stability, calmness, (ANG) • White: light, goodness, purity • Black: power, elegance, mystery, evil • Purple: joint, support
Consider matching colors to the tone of the topic at-hand
Print Material Tips Handout: “Top 10 Tips for Great Pictures”
TYPEFACE: • Avoid using typefaces with elaborate detailing • People read lowercase letters 13% faster than upper
case; do not use upper case for blocks of text • Dark letters on a light background are easier to read
than the reverse • Mix-matched fonts on a single document can appear
unprofessional IMAGES: • Pictures tell a story; do not convey mixed
messages • Pictures/images should be of high-
quality, crisp, clear and detailed
Source: CISA Marketing 101 Manual
Print Material – Good Example
• Follows ‘z’ layout design • Title draws attention • Text is easy to read • Image, while not a picture,
conveys a cohesive message • Colors elicit a calming but
engaging/supportive reaction • Final statements appear to
state a call-to-action of sorts
Print Material – Good Example
• Follows ‘z’ layout design • Title draws attention • Text is visible (maybe a
little small) • Images are engaging • Colors elicit a vibrant,
action-packed feel • Visually – last element is
important contact information
Print Material – Poor Example
• Overuse of color is distracting • Fonts are inconsistent • Text is small and hard to read • Lack of a focal point • Use of individual objects
conveys a disjointed feeling • Most important information is
lost at the bottom of the page • There is no hierarchy of
the information
Take Aways… • Your marketing process is a continually evolving
process, not set in stone • Start small and build from there • Identify the marketing strategy that best supports
what you hope to achieve • Always remember customers want authenticity • Customers need to seem themselves reflected in
what you are doing/helping achieve • Follow some basic rules of design when laying out
print material • Do not get discouraged…it takes time for
awareness and momentum to build
Don’t be afraid to get creative!
Give them something to think about… work to fuel their curiosity
As evidence of completion of this course, you will need to complete the short assessment tool provided. To access the assessment, please click on the link below: Click here to being your assessment: http://www.classmarker.com/online-test/start/?quiz=a97533d83ba17dd3
Please Note: Following completion of the assessment, please print out the results and write the name of the course next to
your score. Then, scan the document and email the results page to your RAPM.
This will serve as your documentation of completion.
You have now completed the Child and Youth Program Marketing module.
Congratulations!
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