Awareness:

Most companies look to generate leads as the central focus of awareness program. Supporting this activity is “some PR”. The process of a sustaining a market leading lead generation program depends on a complete understanding of the layered nature of market awareness.

Once an understanding of the variables affecting awareness is obtained, the client should plan, not react. Planning permits the client to grow awareness and revenues at the expense of competitors in a concerted program. This is because the use of a plan tends to make markets and drive impressions among customers. The opposite, confusing spontaneous pricing changes and economic bingo to drive decisions cause deferred decisions as customer learn to wait for a better price.

The use of a sophisticated mapping technique sets up this segment of the planning. A partial example of this mapping is attached. Value creation is defined as successful isolation of the correct places to deliver the message. It may be more cost effective and provide greater revenue to Express Mail a personal letter to fifty executives, than to run three magazine advertisements.

Balance between the promotion of your message, the correct sequencing and understanding the reactions of the market to these two components is the essence of broadening and or deepening awareness.

If executed correctly and repeated to get through the market noise, or modified as the markets change, the markets and your target prospects will see you as a thought leader and partner.

Here are five samples of best practice vectors to employ with clients to determine where to concentrate resources and energy to fuel awareness types:

• Level of problem for market prospects
• Solution fit (replacement, new solution, revolution)
• Complexity of solution and internal impact on buyer
• ROI – Financial details
• Your company’s market position

If tracking and analysis of awareness delivers useful and predictable outcomes, the plan for deployment of resources is executed. If the plan requires modification due to competitive factors or market events, planning components based on the “what if” nature of the mapping process permit prompt and orderly change.

Planning and the details involved are beyond the scope of this white paper, but the sample table serves to summarize the nature of the dialog leading to best practices for our clients. (See Table – Awareness Practice Matrix)