The very thought of marketing a business tends to polarize people. Generally there are two camps: 1) those who love marketing and 2) those who hate it.
Most people aren’t sitting on the marketing fence.
If you’re a fan of marketing it’s generally because you already have the basic skills necessary. You can write pretty well, you’re not afraid of talking to people and you know how to put your intuition to good use.
If you dread marketing (and it’s surprising just how many people do), it’s often because the very thought of having to make all those marketing decisions is overwhelming.
- How are you supposed to know whether to buy that Yellow Pages ad?
- What makes a great website?
- How do you close a sale?
- Where do you find new buyers?
- How much should you charge for your products?
It can be tough to make marketing decisions, especially if you’re not sure about what you’re doing and there’s a lot at stake.
Marketing Your Business Isn’t Rocket Science
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again. Marketing is part art, part science, and part simple common sense with a dose of gut feeling thrown in.
It’s most definitely not something to be afraid of. Not in the least.
The thing is, it’s just fine if your marketing fails.
If your marketing is working well you’ll inevitably have failed campaigns. You’re supposed to. The trick though, is to fail fast.
The guiding principle of marketing is very simple. Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
That part is as easy as pie.
The tricky part is figuring out what’s working and what isn’t.
Marketing Is All About the Numbers
- How large is your piece of the pie?
- How many sales did you make this week?
- How many new clients did you acquire this month?
- How much money did that classified ad bring in?
- How many visitors make repeat visits to your website?
There are endless questions to ask and figuring out which ones are most meaningful for your particular business will help you become a smarter marketer.
And it gets trickier still when you start thinking about the parts of your marketing which are harder to measure.
- How influential are your social media efforts?
- How strong is your branding?
- Have you got your positioning right?
- Why do people buy (or not buy) from you?
The way to approach the marketing is simply one bite at a time. Decide on a marketing action. Do it. Check it. Change it. Repeat.
Pick something. One thing.
What’s your first step? Tell me below.
Failing fast is the one thing I am not very good at… I prefer the fail slow and steady route! 🙂