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In marketing, like most things in life, success comes only
after making mistakes…lots of them. I’ve sure
made my fair share of mistakes, and I’ve also learned
from others’ mistakes in the market. So, pull up a chair
and learn from our mistakes, so you won’t make them.
I caution you though, this isn’t an exhaustive list.
Marketing is dynamic and ever-changing, so new marketing mistakes
are invented each day. If you notice any of these things happening
in your efforts, stop what you’re doing and step back.
All of these seemingly innocuous mistakes can prove fatal
to your business.
Mistake #1 - Viewing marketing as the silver bullet
To my constant surprise (and chagrin), many folks view marketing
as the magic solution to all their business ills. Seeking
an immediate turnaround of these fortunes, these business
owners place one ad and envision a deluge of phone calls the
next day. Folks, it doesn’t happen that way.
Do you know how high the first space rocket from the 1960’s
Mercury Space Program flew? 4 inches. Immediately after ignition,
the engine malfunctioned and the onboard computers shut the
engines down. The rocket descended, a grand total of four
inches, back to earth. Did the space program throw in the
towel? No. After several more successful (and a few failed)
missions, the Mercury program transformed into the Apollo
program, which eventually landed humans on the moon—ranking
as one of mankind’s ultimate achievements.
In most cases, marketing won’t save a company. It
will only start saving it.
Mistake #2 - Lacking follow through
Years ago, one of my clients was the owner of a home-remodeling
business. As we developed his company’s marketing plan,
we had very productive discussions. He had a good grasp on
fundamental strategies and understood how they could translate
into marketing success. But, all this momentum ground to a
halt when we started implementing the plan. He endlessly nit-picked,
he was paralyzed by indecision and couldn’t meet a deadline
to save his life.
I quickly realized this was a fellow who liked creating
ideas, but had real trouble implementing them. Don’t
let this be you. Remember that the best marketing plan in
the world is useless sitting on a shelf.
Regularly schedule, in your day-planning system if you have
to, one hour a week to implement your plan. During this hour,
you could write the first draft of a direct mail letter, conduct
some informal research with a prime client, or follow up three
proposals using the phone. One hour per week is the bare minimum
any company should spend on marketing—1 hour per day
if you’re a bigger company.
Mistake #3 - Throw nickels around like they’re
manhole covers
Don’t get me wrong—keeping an eye on your budgets
is a good marketing habit to get into. But, I’ve seen
businesses take this too far. How do you know you’ve
gone too far? When:
- You catch yourself always saying “We can’t
afford that.”
- Your suppliers refuse to bid on your business.
- Even your financial officer is urging you to spend!
Sure, spending more to upgrade the appearance of your marketing
materials may not result in business overnight. But, it may
very well communicate a more successful image for your company,
resulting in sales and referrals down the road.
So, from time to time, splurge. Use an aqueous coating on
your next direct mailing. Hire a graphic designer to freshen
up your sales materials. Test a 2-color ad instead of 1-color.
Just consider these additional dollars as investments in your
marketing bank account.
Mistake #4 - Becoming impatient
These days we expect immediacy. Want to know how your stocks
are doing? Pull them up on the Internet. Want to see what
I’m looking at? I’ll email you a copy. Need to
know what Kevin in Kenya and Carla in Canada think? I’ll
conference them in on our call.
In a world like this, is it any wonder we have short attention
spans? Yet, successful marketing depends on an approach that’s
180 degrees in the opposite direction. Why? Because marketing
is about changing people’s behavior, and this simply
doesn’t happen overnight. I’ll give you an example.
Years ago, I lunched with a fellow consultant and told him
about my marketing work with growing companies. As we said
our goodbyes, he assured me he’d refer business my way.
After receiving one of my newsletters months later, he called
to let me know he still had me in mind. Months after that,
he introduced me to one of his clients, but it led nowhere.
More months went by (we’re now 1 ½ years into
this) and he introduced me to another client. After several
more meetings, a full 2 years later, I finally began work
with one of his clients. Today, this company is a valued client
of mine.
What’s the lesson here? Stick it out. If I’d
given up after year one, I’d have missed out on all
those revenues ad referrals.
Mistake #5—Closing your ears to the market
Marketing is about being ‘in the market’ and
a crucial part of that is keeping your ears open. Large companies
have the resources to conduct massive market research programs.
Yet, many small business owners wrongly assume they can’t
afford research.
All small businesses can afford market research if they
just view it creatively. For example, each of these can be
a valuable market research question, worth thousands of dollars,
yet costing nothing:
- What does our company do well?
- Where could we improve?
- What more can we do for you?
Periodically ask these questions to a handful of your customers
and you’ll be surprised at the goldmine of information
you uncover.
Remember…
None of us can avoid all these marketing mistakes. After all,
we’re human. But knowing what these mistakes are, and
keeping a watchful eye out for them, makes you a better marketer.
Author Bio
Jay Lipe, aka the “Plan Man”, is the CEO of
Emerge
Marketing; a firm that helps growing companies improve
their marketing. He is the author of the book The
Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson
Press) which is available at major bookstores and online
at www.amazon.com.
He is also a sought after speaker and seminar leader, and
can be reached at (612) 824-4833 or lipe@emergemarketing.com
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