Generating demand is the top goal for your marketing department. And getting campaigns in the field is one of the best ways to do that. So how can you make the most of the next few months, and generate a full sales pipeline to carry you through the year?

The following 6-step process can help you develop and execute marketing campaigns that hit the mark with prospective customers, and generate leads for Sales to close.

1. Define Target Audience

Campaign development begins with defining who the target audience will be.

Marketing deals primarily with 3 target audiences, each with different needs and motivations.

• Suspects: are those companies who are in your marketing database, and who you believe are capable of doing business with you at some point, but have not yet indicated any interest.
• Prospects: are those companies who have indicated a need for your products or services, either by responding to some form of marketing, or by contacting you directly. And finally, your
• Existing customers: don’t neglect them, they need to be “mined” for further business.

2. Chose Campaign Theme

Any campaign (and a campaign by definition means more than one interaction with the target audience) needs to be anchored by a theme that will grab the recipients’ attention. This theme should be related to a core business driver that causes a system to be purchased or replaced. Fundamentally, there are really only four business drivers that should be used to anchor ERP campaign themes.

1. Compliance: A large customer wants system integration with their suppliers; a change in law by the government or a lender requires different reporting; an investor demands better information. These are all “compliance” requirements that the company has no alternative but to adhere to, and if their existing systems cannot deliver what is needed, another one will need to be installed.
2. Forecasting and reporting: The client cannot accurately forecast revenues and profitability, or is forced to rely extensively on ad hoc reporting to run the business. This creates an unacceptable level of tension at the senior management and board level, and new systems must be out in place to rectify this situation.
3. Risk of Obsolescence: The current system is at the end of its lifecycle, and typically the business is suffering from system crashes or the management team believes they will soon occur. Sometimes, companies have simply outgrown their current system. In other cases, the vendor announces they will no longer support the system in use. Whatever the root cause, the current system is or will soon become obsolete, and must be replaced.
4. Islands of Data: The company at one time implemented a “Best of Breed” strategy or assembled systems from multiple vendors and now is living with systems that don’t talk to each other, and are suffering the ill effects of disparate “islands of data”. They lack real-time accurate business information to base their decisions on, and this is no longer acceptable, so the systems must be replaced.

The business drivers for CRM systems are slightly different, as follows.

1. Sales forecasting. Organizations that can consistently and accurately forecast their revenues are not only easier to run, but they also are valued higher by potential purchasers, whether the company is publicly or privately held. CRM can deliver more accurate sales forecasts.
2. Sales effectiveness. Organizations that are able to effectively handle and close the most sales opportunities, and make sure that activity plans are formed and executed for each opportunity, grow faster and win market share from competitors. CRM enables this.
3. Customer service. Customers these days have high and increasing expectations of the service they should receive from any given company. Sometimes, there are even penalties for companies should their advertised service standards not be met. This drives a need to record and manage each service interaction, which in turn requires some form of CRM.

In addition to the above primary sales drivers, you should also consider any “extraordinary” pain in a specific vertical or industry you are targeting. For example, in distribution today, the high cost of oil is driving a need for systems that can automate routing to reduce fuel consumption.

3. Define Partner Value Proposition

Every Partner needs to define their specific value proposition. What unique value do you bring to a potential customer? Why should they consider buying a solution from you, rather than your competitors? How are you different from others offering business solutions, and why is that a compelling reason to do business with you?

The answers to these questions define a Partner’s value proposition, and this core message must also be articulated in the campaign, along with the campaign theme.

4. Define Campaigns

As earlier mentioned, different target audiences will require different kinds of campaigns, and these campaigns can be delivered in different formats, but whatever the target audience and campaign format, copy will need to be defined as well as graphic elements chosen to put together a package that attracts attention when received, and ideally motivates the recipient to contact you.

5. Schedule

The main secret to success in any marketing is repetition. One-time marketing campaigns are almost always a waste of time and money. The reason is simple. A potential customer may not be in sufficient “pain” at any given moment to be interested in your product or service, but over time all systems will be replaced. The key to capturing any potential customer as a lead is to keep your marketing continuous, so that when they do decide they need to change their system, for whatever reason, you are the first one they think of and contact.

Marketing should over time result in companies in your marketing database forming an impression and recollection of the campaign themes you present to them, your company image, and your key messages. The only way this will happen is through repetition.

Depending on what geography you are located in, and what your target industries are, certain campaign “rhythms” will be ideal in terms of how frequently you market to your different target audiences.

6. Execute and Adjust

Once you have defined your campaign rhythms for your different target audiences, all that remains is to execute these campaigns, following the calendar you have developed. You should also evaluate their effectiveness at least every 6 months, honing your messages and approach based on the responses you have received.

So get your marketing ramped up now. Decide on the campaigns you will run. Develop them. Build your marketing calendar out to December. Fill your sales pipeline with leads, close new business, and make 2009 your biggest growth and revenue year yet!