How a marketing campaign is like an ice storm.

I woke up this morning to the aftermath of a pretty bad snow and ice storm that accumulated overnight and throughout the day yesterday. This got me thinking. A successfully planned and executed marketing campaign is just like an ice storm! Think about it!

The weather network is warning you for a couple days before that we are going to be getting snow mixed with ice pellets and freezing rain. I know that this is just a prediction of what might happen but same goes for startups and small businesses marketing campaigns. Unless you have the big data to base your predictions off of you know that you are going to be building a wicked ice storm.

Then comes the preparation for the storm. You start making sure that you have all the tools you need to be able to live through this sucker by going and getting extra batteries, salt, groceries and gas. Same goes for your campaign! You have predicted what you would like to happen so now you need to equip yourself with the execution tools, the monitoring tools and then the analytical tools to learn from.

During the storm is when mother nature does her work. She blasts us with squalls of snow and downpours of ice that seem to coat every inch of your world. When launching your marketing campaign your goal is to do the exact same thing! You send out your email blast to everyone you know, you post on social media multiple times on multiple platforms and you make sure that you tell everyone that this is happening. You ultimately turn into mother nature!

Now the storm is starting to pass, your campaign is slowing down. The storm has left you with icy driveways, broken branches and a lot of shovelling to do. Your campaign on the other hand has brought you amazing traffic to your website, some great referrals and a whole bunch of leads! SUCCESS!

The aftermath of the storm can sometimes be intimidating because you foresee a soar back and a lot of scrapping but you know it has to be done. So you get at it! You start compiling those numbers from your analytics tool and you put together a great report stating everything that you learnt from this campaign. Successful or not, it doesn't matter! It is a learning experience that you can grow from.

Then you continue on with your regular marketing activities as planned. For after all, winter doesn't just stop.