If you’re an avid deer hunter, you likely spend the summer months preparing. You’re busy planning, checking your gear and doing research to ensure that you’re ready when the season opens – all the while dreaming of that perfect buck to fill your freezer for the winter.

Preparing to launch a marketing campaign is actually quite similar.

Here’s our list of 5 ways that deer season prep is similar to marketing campaign prep. Just like in deer hunting, disorganization in marketing planning will cost you a chance at a good buck…err, we mean good client.

1. Sight in Your Marketing Goal

In deer hunting, you spend plenty of time sighting in your bow or rifle so that you’re ready for clean shots when the season opens. You may only get one shot. You have to hit the mark every time.

In marketing, this is analogous to ensuring that you’ve defined your campaign goals and know exactly what it means to achieve success. Why are you launching this marketing campaign? Who do you want to attract? What’s your ideal client? Get all of your details straightened out now so that when you launch a campaign you can stay laser-focused on engaging and converting new deals.

2. Talk to Farmers and Landowners

Deer hunters know that farmers and landowners are the best resources for deer information. They spend the summer months working the land alongside the deer, so they have good intel on where the big bucks feed, where the does bed down, and where all manner of game frequently visits.

In marketing terms, this means understanding not only the kinds of clients you want but the kinds of clients you already have. Reach out to your former clients to farm information from them about their thoughts on your services, why they chose you, and what are your strengths and weaknesses. You can also reach out to potential prospects to see what’s on their radar and what pain points they hope to solve. Knowing the lay of the land and the behaviors of your buyers are critical in knowing how to serve them.

3. Set up Tracking Systems

The best hunters know that the months before deer season are the best time for setting up cameras and scouting for deer. By researching their behaviors in advance, hunters know which bucks are using the hunting area for their home range when they feed, and which trails they use.

You can apply this idea to marketing by reviewing your website analytics to understand when visitors come to your site, how long they stay and which pages they explore the most. Subsequently, that information helps you to determine where to add submission forms or offer gated content in exchange for contact information. Ultimately, you want to harvest your site visitor information so you can engage your prospects in a conversation and pull them through the funnel.

4. Check Your Gear

Deer hunters know there’s nothing worse than waiting all summer and heading out to the woods only to discover that your stand needs repair or your bow needs tuning. Before the season begins you must check all of your gear and ensure everything’s in working order.

The same can be said for preparing for your marketing efforts. Do you have a team on hand to manage social media, SEO and your website? Is there a list of usernames and passwords for all of your critical accounts? Are there broken links on your website? Are all of the contact details correct? Do you even have ways to capture leads? Make sure all of your ducks are in a row so that your campaign is successful on the first shot.

5. Be Patient

Patience is a virtue and that’s just as true in marketing as it is in deer hunting. Experienced hunters know not to shoot at everything that passes by the blind, but to patiently wait for the right deer to present itself. Sometimes this means waiting quietly for hours, trusting that the right deer will appear – and also having the restraint to take a pass on immature deer, does, or spikes.

Just like you can’t rush the trophy buck, you can’t rush a good marketing plan. A good marketing plan will take a long-range view and slowly, and steadily, build up traffic and demand so that the right leads come into the funnel. Expecting to see immediate results is analogous to expecting to see a trophy buck five minutes after climbing into the stand. Sometimes you may get lucky. But usually, almost always, you have to be patient and don’t blow your chances.