[We chose to bring you a longer-than-usual
article this month rather than present the
information
in two parts. We don't like "to be
continued..." any more than you do.]
We've written in the past about the
importance of being highly focused in three
key areas: who you are selling to, what you
are saying to those people and the way you
are delivering your message. Now, let's talk
for a minute about the order of things.
Everybody with a business interest is out
there marketing. They may not be the
most sophisticated programs around and the
messages may not even be on target. But rest
assured, whether those business owners have
websites, signage,
advertisements or they just talk about their
businesses, they are all marketing in some
form or another.
We've mentioned before that there are several
things you can do right now that will improve
your marketing immeasurably such as mining
past clients, setting up a referral program
or tightening the focus on the three Ms
(market, message and methods). But how do you
know if your marketing is solid? How do you
know if your efforts are worthwhile?
In the absence of measurable objectives (and,
unfortunately, so few of us have those), here
are a few indicators that things may not be
going so well:
1. You are competing on price. This
may be an indicator that your customers can't
distinguish between you and your competitors.
If you are not special, you have no choice
but to compete on price. And there is always
someone out there willing to beat your best
price. Determine how you are different and
then sell that.
2. You fall victim to every
advertising salesperson who walks through the
door. Here comes the Yellow Pages guy.
Now it's the local newspaper. A radio
campaign? Sure! How about a few brochures? If
you don't have a plan, your marketing will be
disjointed, at best, and a complete waste of
money, at worst.
3. You cannot measure the results of your
marketing efforts. Are you just
aiming a shotgun into the sky, hoping to hit
something? If you can't measure the
results of your efforts, how do you know if
you're moving forward?
4. Your marketing plan consists of "waiting
to see who calls or walks through the door."
Unless you are out there in a
disciplined, definable way, you are just
walking around in the dark, hoping to bump
into something.
5. Your customers are here today and gone
tomorrow. Repeat customers are among the
easiest and least expensive to find. You
must develop a plan to keep them
coming back.