No matter what your business card says, you’re actually engaged in three businesses: your primary business, the people business and the marketing business.
Marketing is about how to build relationships between customers and products – how you inform people about your arts activity and encourage them to buy or attend. Thinking about your product and its market is an essential part of strategic planning. The most successful “marketers” are those who nurture a close and well-informed relationship with their customers. Those who fail often do so because they have lost touch with what their market is interested in, or because they have not managed to communicate effectively with them.
We hope that you include marketing as part of your organization’s strategic planning. We encourage all of our grant recipients to produce marketing plans that are appropriate to your project or organization.
Research is the foundation of any good marketing plan. Research helps you focus on key audiences and to spend your limited budget on the objectives most likely to deliver customers. Research is critical as you consider how to craft pertinent messages, and ways to engage your audience or members
There are a variety of national research firms that specialize in arts research and audience development. Call us for ideas.
Statewide, the following free resources are available:
North Carolina Arts Council
Ardath Weaver, Research Director
(919) 807-6522
Ardath.Weaver@ncmail.netNorth Carolina Department of Tourism, Film & Sports Development
Marlise Taylor, Research Director
(919) 733-7278
mtaylor@nccommerce.com
General North Carolina statistics including population, county profiles and economic data is available at from the N. C. Department of Commerce: http://www.nccommerce.com/categories/statistics.htm
You can always consider conducting informal audience surveys to determine the effectiveness of your advertising. Click here for a sample survey. Research doesn’t have to be expensive and complicated. You may discover useful information by browsing Web sites, libraries, contacting you local tourism authority or convention and visitors bureau, chamber of commerce and even realtors’ association.
Think of a marketing plan as a road map to assist you in setting and realizing goals and keeping you on course. Typically, the plan outlines the marketing activities you'll perform during a designated time period (generally six months or one year). In it you'll document the costs of your planned marketing activities as well as the measurements used to determine success.
A marketing plan will help you map out your campaign, decide what tools and methods to use and how to allocate resources of time and money. Your plan should cover the ‘four Ps’ (Product, Price, Promotion, Place) and include information about the potential market, targets, budget, people resources, timetable, and how you will measure your success.
Your marketing objectives should lead to revenue and increased awareness. The objectives should be distinct, measurable, and have a time limit for accomplishment. If you have multiple objectives, ensure that they are consistent and don't conflict with each other. Also, be sure that all parts of your marketing plan—from strategy to budget—support these objectives.
Also include:
A typical marketing plan should include some of the following components:
Marketing decisions are often shaped by external forces. The situational analysis should evaluate the external forces that may influence what products and services you can offer. Changing demographics, changes in family definitions, aging populations, and changes in the ethnic make up of a population may affect your marketing plan. Economic, political and consumer trends may also influence decisions. What, if any, is the impact of technology on how your customers make reservations, find out about your event/organization, etc.?
This component of the plan analyzes strengths and weaknesses of current cultural trends and considers economic, social, other cultural resources and risks associated with your organization.
The purpose of the needs assessment is to identify customers/your audience and their needs. This section of the marketing plan should answer the following questions:
Your audience/customers are groups of people who you determine are important to your success. You probably will have:
Each group of customers has values and social needs that you may or may not be able to meet. Identifying customers and their needs can help you focus on effectively reaching them. You must also identify the competition.
If you are unclear about your audience you might consider a comprehensive analysis with a professional research firm. (See Research). Other resources include:
A marketing plan typically includes one or more broad objectives for achieving
marketing goals. (Objectives should be evaluated by determining if it’s realistic and achievable and if success can be measured.) Strategies are the link between objectives and actions. They help determine the actions needed to accomplish your goals. Marketing strategy options might include:
Different strategies may be needed for different services and even difference audiences. Before deciding on strategic approaches, consider all aspects of the potential service that might affect its ultimate marketability.
The action plan is the “to do” part of the marketing plan. It describes how the plan will be implemented, who will carry out the various stages of the plan, and when they should be started and completed. This section of the plan usually benefits from detailed information so that it will be easier to implement. An action plan should be developed for each audience.
A budget needs to be developed in conjunction with the action plan. How much potential income can be derived from this new way of marketing? What is your financial return in regard to expenditures? You should determine costs for each strategy and measure/analyze the results in regard to cost.
Finally, a marketing plan should describe how progress toward meeting your goals would be monitored and measured. When conducting an evaluation consider:
Be prepared to revisit strategies and implement new strategies. A marketing plan is a living document, so be flexible.
Paid advertising will deliver your message exactly as you want in the media you select. Your only limitation is your budget. Advertising will raise the visibility of your event/activity, etc. and you have complete control over the contents (which you don’t have with articles in the press, for example). Advertising options include newspapers, magazines, television, radio, transit, Web site, billboards, the Yellow Pages and more.
If you have an established mailing list you can write directly to these individuals, telling them about your event and encouraging them to attend. Techniques for successful direct mail include letting recipients know why you are writing and giving them an incentive.
Newsletters convey specific information to a specific audience. Newsletters can be mailed, e-mailed or posted on a web site with a combination of articles that educate the target audience about your organization. Newsletters are published on a regular schedule.
Special offers provide incentives for people to buy. Incentives include concessions (for groups, seniors, students, etc.), discounts (buy two, get one free), time-limited offers (10% discount for purchases made before a certain date), and special offers for subscribers (receive a free catalogue and a voucher for tea in our cafe).
Consider special events, such as groundbreakings for new facilities, sneak previews of performances or exhibitions, anniversary celebrations, new art installations, and member appreciation.
A well designed Web site should be part of your overall marketing efforts.
Can’t imagine conducting business without e-mail? You’re not alone. More than 60 billion e-mail messages are sent a day from more than 125 million e-mail addresses. Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of all e-mail is spam.
E-mail is quick, economical and a powerful business tool.
To keep your e-mail from being considered spam, follow these tips to deliver your marketing message.
Aside from always keeping your message brief, e-mails used for marketing should have the “affirmative consent” of the person you are sending it to. Specifically, this means the person has to take an action before being added to an e-mail list, such as a check-off box.
The overriding principle for distributing mass e-mails and e-newsletters is that everyone on your lists, and on any lists you receive from other organizations or an e-mail broker, has agreed to receive e-mails.
In each e-mail sent you should provide the receiver with a mechanism so that they can request to not receive further solicitations (opt-out) and request that the marketer not rent, sell, or exchange their e-mail address. An example of this mechanism would be "To unsubscribe from this e-mail list, reply to this e-mail with unsubscribe in the subject line."
This is permission marketing and following basic guidelines will keep your members, subscribers and visitors happy and eager to receiver your e-mails. It’s always helpful to remember to include specific contact information for your organization, including your physical address, and telephone number.
Spammers use huge mailing lists to increase individual or company profitability. You should use small, targeted lists. Spammers can only personalize their e-mail address and subject lines. You should personalize the content with personal references. Don’t use hype. Stay away from ALL CAPS, repetitive punctuation, such as !!!! or $$$$ symbols. Additional tips include:
Another important tool is the e-Newsletter. It’s free to distribute, easy to produce and can be an effective way to engage your members, potential audience and stakeholders.
Getting Subscribers:
Make sure:
For a short Power Point presentation on the Power of E-Mail to share with your staff click here
Your database/mailing list is the most important tool in target marketing. You want to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in your arts activity. These are “inclined” guests or visitors. Target markets may include:
*Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools. If people hear positive things about an event through someone they know, they are likely to trust that person’s judgment.
How can you create “buzz?” Here are a few suggestions:
Once you have decided WHO is your target, think about HOW to target these potential guests. It is important to consider the appropriate tone, style and language when developing flyers, advertising and other components of your marketing campaign.