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The Different Types Of Military Recruiting And Marketing Strategies
Last Updated on: September 23rd, 2024
In recent years, it has been more challenging for the military to recruit volunteers than ever before. Among other obstacles, about 70% of youth are not even viable candidates for the military. Despite these difficulties, the army has managed to improve its enlistments by about 15%!
But how have military recruiting efforts managed to achieve this kind of success despite all of these obstacles? The military has been recruiting volunteers since the 1970s. As a result, they have ended up trying a long list of marketing strategies.
The unique context of trying to recruit for the military has also led them to develop many marketing tactics that are not always seen outside of the military recruitment world. The successes that they have achieved can be a major source of inspiration for marketers looking for a new way to stand out in today’s competitive business landscape. So what are some of the different types of military recruiting and marketing strategies out there?
Read on to learn all about these strategies and the insights they might be able to offer other marketing efforts!
Military Marketing Tactics Lay A Foundation
These days, many marketing campaigns are in a rush to achieve results or else move on to a new strategy. Although there is a lot of wisdom in this strategy, it also comes with certain downsides. In particular, it excludes strategies that can take a long time to set up and come to fruition.
In many ways, military recruitment tactics observe the opposite approach. They don’t try to jump straight to a quick sale or success. Instead, they take all the time in the world to set things up as well as possible.
For example, many military recruiters find volunteers at high schools. However, they do much more than show up and try to give a convincing pitch for signing up for military training.
The military is interested in strategies that pay off not only today but also tomorrow and in the years and even decades to come. Before visiting a high school, military recruiters will often get in touch with a wide variety of faculty members.
They also focus on laying a strong foundation by offering whatever help they can to the faculty they speak with. They learn about the problems that faculty members are concerned about. This helps them build a strong relationship that will pay off later.
Once they have these relationships, military recruiters make sure that their contacts at high schools understand what they have to offer their students. This also allows them to discover which faculty members might be sympathetic to their work.
Sending Credible Signals
Recruiters will then take the time to participate in community activities. That can include sports games and other school events. In some cases, recruiters will attend many of these events to give a credible signal that they are dedicated to the community.
In the competitive world of business, it is often tempting to jump straight to the end. However, that also means there is a lot of low-hanging fruit available for those who can exercise patience and lay a strong foundation.
The Military Creates Meaningful Promotional Items
The military places a premium on its reputation. When it creates promotional items, it is not looking to cut corners.
In some ways, this is the opposite approach of many marketers. Some marketing campaigns look for every opportunity to cut expenses.
There are many savvy business reasons why this is often a good idea. However, it does come with disadvantages.
Many people will not care too much about the occasional cut corner. However, promotional items lack a certain prestige when they balance quality and cost-effectiveness.
On the other hand, military coins are designed to be high quality and respectable. That can mean spending more on creating them. It can also mean taking a long time to come up with a design that will stand the test of time.
However, if you look at the challenge coin Navy officers created, you can see the difference that this dedication to quality creates. That then translates into a powerful narrative that potential military volunteers can believe in.
Military Marketing Strategies Talk About Purpose
The military has a number of simultaneous purposes. It provides the country with fighting capabilities. It also helps educate people and set them on successful career paths.
Military recruiters make sure to understand what kind of purpose is appealing to potential recruits. If a recruit is interested in starting a successful career, then they focus on that. If they want the country to have the strongest military possible, military recruiters can focus on that instead.
The important thing is to bring everything back to one or more of the purposes of the military. It is worth noting that this strategy works well in part because the military has taken the time to credibly commit to its various purposes.
Military recruiter strategies like this would be less effective if people thought the military was always cutting corners and trying to keep expenses as low as possible.
Learn About Effective Military Recruiting Strategies
In the marketing world, some people want to avoid copying the techniques of others. However, military recruiting officers have spent many years and even decades learning about the most effective ways possible to present military recruitment. It is worth standing on the shoulders of giants and learning from the insights that come from military marketing strategies.
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