Briefing - the most important ingredient of effective marketing
Every business wants (and needs) its marketing activity to be as effective as possible, and yet ironically, the most important element of success is often the least considered part of the process. A properly structured briefing process ensures that all parties involved in designing and implementing marketing activity have a clear and consistent understanding of what is required.
Aardvark Consulting recommend a simple, but highly effective 3 step approach to briefing; whether it be external suppliers (e.g. graphic designers, PR agencies, printers, web designers) or in-house personnel.
Step 1 is to gather everyone together and give a verbal brief. Under no circumstances should a written brief be given out, although supporting information can be distributed. The verbal brief should include objectives, strategy, budget and any specific guidelines for the activity.
In Step 2 the team working on the activity respond with a written brief that summarises their understanding of what is required, plus a quotation for the work. When you are completely happy that the written brief is correct, then this can be accepted and work can commence.
The team can then move to the third step, which is to design the actual activity that they believe will deliver the agreed brief. The proposal should be checked against the brief before it is submitted.
In addition to improving the effectiveness of the marketing activity, adopting this structured approach to briefing also reduces the amount of time spent discussing the merits of a proposal – it is simply a question of whether or not it meets the brief. It will also prevent business owners or marketing directors spending too much time on the development of the activity.
If you would like to make your marketing activities more effective, please contact Aardvark Consulting today to arrange a free initial consultation. |
