You’ve probably experienced it before – a promise of something great; however, never got the results you were promised or expecting. It is quite easy to feel at home with not spending money on marketing when this has been your experience. Small business owners will tell me, “I’ve tried that before. It doesn’t work.”
I’d like you to go back and reassess your marketing-failures. Chances are, you were on to something but simply executed it poorly. After being in this field for quite a while, I’ve learned that marketing missteps can yield an incredible amount of valuable information. I always say, the keys to a good marketing campaign are: The right message, at the right time, to the right person. I’d like to bullet-point some things I’ve learned over the years that may revive the hope of creating marketing pieces that work. Who knows, with a few tweaks to your methodology, you may actually see the results you were promised or expecting.
Here’s my list:
- Your ads should aim for the heart – not the mind
- Watch for silly errors, e.g., don’t loose out on the savings…
- Repeated punch-lines are subject to the laws of diminishing returns – update your ads regularly!
- Market to the right audience – everyone is not a potential customer
- Increase the frequency of your ad placement
- Be consistent in your messaging – a unified front in all places you advertise
- Do not place too much content in your marketing
- Quantify value, e.g., a $25 dollar savings…
- Create a sense of urgency, e.g., this week only
- Do not mimic the persona of a competitor
- Develop a branding strategy – a consistent mood/theme for all marketing efforts
- Do not use self-aware ads, e.g., we’re number one in service…
- Present one contact point per ad. A single commercial/ad should not have call, click and stop by…
- Update your website and/or web page – preferably to a “responsive” format (mobile friendly)
- Don’t be too creative, e.g., Shakespearean word play
- Allow consumer preferences to shape your marketing
- Don’t use volatile marketing tools, e.g., flyers on car windows
- Create a marketing budget
- Use a slogan that includes the customer.
- If you have no charisma, resign as company spokesperson
- Get to the point – Grab my attention in 5-seconds
- Use social media to make friends – not dig for customers. Remember, it’s always easier to ask a friend to become a customer rather than asking a total stranger to do the same
- Heed the advice of a marketing professional
- Seek objectivity. Get your ads reviewed by an outsider
