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What Marketing Can Do For You
I thought I'd clear up some misconceptions about marketing in this two-part series: What Marketing Can Do for You, and What Marketing Can't Do for You. We will start with the positive.
Over the years, I have had dealings with some business owners who have a very skewed perception of marketing. They think you run some ads, print a couple of press releases, and voila! You are a great success.
Oh, if it were that easy. (Although if he were, he probably wouldn't have a job.)
But there is no way around that to have a successful business, you need a solid marketing plan.
So what CAN marketing do for you? Increase your business, without a doubt. You need to be marketing if you want to grow your business.
However (and this is really important) marketing is NOT going to be an overnight success. (Or what you THINK are failures. It's not uncommon for a campaign that you think is a disappointing disappointment to be the thing that triggered the next campaign to take off.)
Marketing is all about frequency - your target market sees your offer over and over again until they're finally ready to buy. Without that all-important frequency, your business will start to stagnate and eventually die.
That doesn't mean you won't have great success with a campaign. Even a massive, jaw-dropping, incredible hit. You will post an ad or appear in an article and wham!. While it's a big hit to the arm, it probably won't last unless you keep building it. Over time, the orders will dry up and you will go back to where you were before.
Marketing is also about being consistent. This goes back to building on successes. This builds trust and credibility. Additionally, your current customers will respond to that frequency as well. Not only will they not "forget" you and turn to your competitor, but you will also help them build trust in you.
Lastly, marketing is about hard work. There's no way to avoid it. Being successful means putting in the time and energy to continually promote yourself. (You can also pay someone to help you, but it's basically about someone somewhere having to take the time to continuously market it.)
If you don't remember anything else, remember this: if you don't implement your marketing strategies, nothing will happen.
That last sentence seems obvious, but again, I am amazed at how many people I meet who are not willing to do the job. They talk about it, but when it really comes down to doing something, somehow they never seem to get to do it.
One way to overcome this is to plan to do a task or a little marketing every day. So it doesn't seem so overwhelming. I commit to doing X number of marketing tasks a week, regardless of how long it takes.
Marketing is a compromise. There's no way to avoid it. If you have a business, you have no choice but to consistently commit to marketing until the day comes when you decide you no longer want a business.
Creativity Exercise: Commit
Since I am interested in everyone succeeding, I want YOU to commit right now to marketing your business on a regular basis.
Write this statement on a piece of paper and write your name in the appropriate place.
I, YOUR NAME, promise to market my business on a regular basis from now until I decide that I no longer want to be in business.
Sign and date.
I suggest posting it in a place where you can see it while you work. Or, if you really want to add some responsibility to your commitment, tell someone. You can even tell me, just email me at Michele@theartistsoul.com There's nothing like announcing your intention to stay honest.