3 Things to Keep in Mind When Creating a Marketing Strategy

The other day, I came home from work to a ripped out page from a sports magazine sitting on the kitchen counter. My initial thought was that my boyfriend saved an article on the San Diego Chargers for me, but to my surprise, it was actually an article on two British beach volleyball players who recently imprinted Quick Response codes or “QR codes” on their bikini bottoms for a tournament. The duo signed a contract with Betfair, one of the world’s largest international online sports betting providers, to be the first to use QR codes in in-sport advertising.

Boy, did they hit the nail on the head. In my opinion, this is a phenomenal marketing tactic. Yes, it’s a bit risqué, but it did the job of capturing attention from around the globe. Now I’m curious as to a) how many people scanned the code on their smartphone and b) how many new customers created an account on Betfair. I’m guessing this added publicity certainly helped achieve that overarching goal.

While this is a perfect example of a creative way in which QR codes can be used, I’ve also seen some pretty bad examples. In the neighborhood in which I reside, there are currently a few homes for sale. Instead of providing prospective home buyers with a fact sheet on the house, one real estate agent has opted to go the nontraditional route. The fliers they’ve posted include one item; a huge QR code. I applaud the agent for trying to get creative, but I live in a 60-year-old plus community. The people looking to move into the neighborhood probably don’t own a smartphone. Since those fliers were set out, I haven’t seen one removed.

These scenarios above are great examples of how marketing can go right and wrong. To ensure your company achieves the best outcome, here are three items to keep in mind. 

1) Know your audience: In the case of the volleyball players, Betfair was well aware of the types of spectators that attend beach volleyball tournaments. Don’t try to be all things to all people or else you’ll run the risk of failing miserably. Who is your ideal customer? Conduct the research and determine who your focus should be on. If you're targeting multiple groups, that’s OK, but make sure your marketing and advertising efforts are executed accordingly for each group.

2) Have a back-up plan: Sometimes the stars don’t align and you strike out. However, it’s important to create a back-up plan. For example, the real estate agent posted the QR code fliers months ago and not a single flier has been removed. It would have been in their best interest to return a few days after putting up the fliers to see how many have been removed and determine how many times it had been scanned. If analytics aren't looking good, then re-evaluate the strategy and resort back to the traditional flier. It’s not to say that this wasn’t a good idea, but it wasn’t a good idea for my community. Know your target audience!

3) Be ready: In the Betfair QR code example, I’m sure they were expecting a high response rate and attention for implementing a unique advertising strategy. This event garnered a lot of media attention so if your company is planning to launch a campaign that will likely draw a lot of eyeballs, be sure that your executive team is prepared and available to conduct interviews with the media. Also, if you’re planning to use a QR code to direct people to your website, make sure it’s buttoned up and you’ve put your best “Web face” forward. The last thing you want to do is put all the effort into creating a campaign that will direct people to your site and then leave them disappointed.

Marketing shouldn’t just be left up to trial and error. I encourage companies to take the necessary steps to ensure that their next campaign isn’t a bust. This will likely entail a great deal of research and knowing who you’re trying to target and the best channel and approach to reach them. If something needs to be tweaked like in the case of the real estate agents QR code flier, do so right away. Continuing on without making corrections could end up hurting you more in the long run. Lastly, be prepared for the flood of media requests and new business that will likely flow your way if your campaign is a success.