Marketing. It’s all backwards.

I recently had a fun conversation with a client about how to approach their project from a process point of view.

As with all projects we start off by reviewing the business goal and objective. What are you wanting to achieve? Then each element needs to be broken down with all the steps involved.

The example I use here is for a series of emails. Sounds easy enough, but there’s more to think about than just writing the copy.

These email are part of a training course and will be scheduled with fixed drop dates that coincide with the course progress.

The thing is… we can draft copy content, but we can’t finalize any of the emails because there are training assets (5 minute videos and worksheets) that need to be created for each training module.

For your process, work back from the end requirements:

• The worksheets need to be created and the video covering that section needs filming and editing.
• Then these asset need to be reviewed, revised and finalized.
• Once approved, they can be uploaded (so that they can be viewed and downloaded by the course participants).
• Only once they’ve been uploaded will we have the links needed for the email.
• And now that the assets exist we can create the copy content around the asset — that ties in to the messaging from those pieces — and add these to each respective email.

So, until these are finalized, the emails are on hold and the training is delayed. Which could help explain why research shows it takes 53% of brands 2 – 8 weeks to create an email.

Not as straightforward as it first sounds is it?

Sure, some emails are simple and quick to turn around, but they should still be part of a campaign. If not, it’s a random email and nothing good comes from random, one-off acts of marketing.

Before you kick off your next project, make sure your process includes what the must-have ‘offer’ is, followed by anything the email will direct the recipient to do. Creating the email doesn’t take long — once all the elements that will be included exist.

Similarly, the same applies to most other marketing tactics.

I recently wrote a piece called It’s not that simple. But it’s also not rocket science. which is worth checking out. In it I use the example of a digital ad campaign. That too requires a lot of jumping around from the initial tactic to the strategy, logistics and implementation. Why? Because everything is about customer experience. The better their CX, the more favorable their view of your brand, product and service will be. And that means you’re more likely to be in their consideration set when the time comes.

If you’d like to talk about your marketing goals and how we may be able to help you accelerate your deliverables and smooth out your process, give us a call or drop us an email — we’d love to show you how working with a partner, can help grow you build your brand with those that matter.

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