Do you worry that the others in your company are going to refuse your very reasonable PPC campaign ideas or suggestions? Maybe you have a Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign all set up and you are worried it will be blown out of the water? If so, here are just a few ideas you may use to get management buy-in for your PPC campaign.
Getting Management Buy-In With Numbers
Have you ever seen online debates on YouTube where some number crunching woman will explain why the Wonder Woman movie is better than all Batman movies combined, and the other panelists wither because they are afraid to argue with the stats? There are some people who will be swayed by numbers, even if the numbers offer only token support and sometimes you can sway enough people so that naysayers will not argue.
A classic example of this is when Kellogg’s first tried to enter into the Indian cereal market. Their executives threw some very big numbers around about how many people in India were not yet cereal eaters and if they only get 5% of the 1.1 billion people, then it will mean profits bigger than ever before. Their products bombed because milk is not as freely available in many places in India, and most people eat vegetables for breakfast and not cereal.
Where Do You Get The Numbers From?
Mine information from other PPC campaigns and SEO campaigns and you are going to suffer from people saying one case does not translate to another. In other words, they will say how it worked in those cases, but will not work in yours.
You can run projections, but you may still suffer from a shortage of data. You could also make the numbers up and justify them however you wish, which even though it seems cynical, will probably work as well as if you have real numbers.
Another method may be to run smaller test campaigns to start with. You could run smaller Google Ads campaigns for as little money as possible, achieve some degree of success, and then argue that you can scale up what you did on Google Ads.
It is a risky move, but if things don’t go well, you can use these numbers as a reason for further exploratory experiments so that maybe you can come back another day with your full campaign and pitch it again with better evidence.
What About When Numbers Don’t Work
Some people will buy numbers, especially if they are in groups, but have you seen online debates on YouTube where somebody quotes stats and somebody like Bill Burr or Dennis Prager points out that the internet is full of contradicting stats.
To quote Homer Simpson, “People can make up stats to prove anything that is even slightly true; 14% of people know that.” The website BothSidesOfTheTable ran a similarly themed article titled “73.6% of all statistics are made up.”
You have to argue with critical thinkers with logic. If I drop this ball, it will land on the floor if it remains unhindered. That is how clear the logic has to be because critical thinkers are brilliant at poking holes in logic.
Have you considered changing your campaign to suit critical thinkers? A PPC campaign with many checks and balances and a progressive campaign would soothe the worries of any critical thinkers.
For example, your campaign would start small with a small budget, and it would only gain more of a budget and staff hours if it achieves clear and measurable goals that each have their own return on investment that exceeds what was put into it. Even the Stephen Hawking of critical thinkers would have a hard time poking a hole in that logic.
Think Up Every Objection Possible
If you are really committed, then take the time to come up with every single objection you can think of and spend time working out how you will get over those objections. Rehearse what you will say and do if you wish. Always try to bring whatever objections back to your PPC campaign. Here are a few examples:
Q: Do your staff have the expertise to pull this off?
A: My campaign is so streamlined that a child could make it work
Q: Isn’t this just another way to draw a bigger budget for your department?
A: When this PPC campaign starts bringing in new clients, the accounts will be begging to increase my budget.
Q: Will this damage our brand image with Millennials on Facebook?
A: Page 9, Chapter 3 in the PPC campaign plan shows all contingencies, checks, and balances to eliminate the risk of brand damage.
Brand It With A Selling Point And Push It
Bring up your major selling point so often that it is burned into people’s minds. You are going to suffer barbs from some prickly people in the team but brush them off and keep going. Keep on pushing your major selling point. Do it so much that the only memory they have after a week is of your major selling point. Here are a few classic selling points.
• Brings in more long-term clients
• Saves X amount of money
• Makes X amount of money
Be wary of touting any form of branding when coming up with your selling point. Staff members who suffered through the corporate life in the 80s will associate your branding selling points with failure.
For example, in the 80s, if a campaign failed miserably, consultants would say, “Yes, but it grew the brand.” Plus, branding is very difficult to measure, and people do not like approving PPC campaigns that do not have clearly-defined and measurable goals.
Do Not Rely On Charm
If you ever want dating advice, then ask the ugly person with a wonderful woman on his arm. When you seek advice on how to get management buy-in, be wary of reading “Mr/Mrs. Successful” books because they are often written by people who became successful with their charm and cunning. Do not rely on charm if you want management buy-in. Rely on your planning and the strength of your PPC campaign.
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