Stage 2:
ENGAGE
In
motivating people, you've got to
engage their minds and their hearts. ...by excitement, by having productive
ideas to make others feel involved.
~Rupert Murdoch
In my process, ENGAGE serves a dual purpose. The first is in terms of you taking action to put your envisioned plan into effect (as in "engage the warp drive...") Someone a lot smarter than me said "vision without action is hallucination" -- and they're right. It doesn't matter how great that marketing plan looks and feels inside your head if you're never going to take the steps to put it into action and get the message in front of your most probable purchasers.
Its second purpose is rather apparent -- the campaign needs to engage the audience. The message needs to appeal to your target group in a way that gets them to become more involved with your company and to take action steps toward doing business with you (or at least initiate a dialogue while granting you permission to carry the conversation further.)
Your plan may call for something as simple as having people sign-up for your email list. You might want them to become your "fan" on Facebook, or follow you on Twitter. Perhaps you'd like them to download a free ebook or white paper, view an online video or visit a microsite. Inviting people to attend a free informational seminar (either in-person or online) is a great way to connect with smaller portions of a greater audience who by simple virtue of their actions qualify themselves as being interested in what you have to offer.
Engage Sidebar
Need help with generating effective ways to engage your prospects? Try a few of these resources...
