Small-business owners are experts in the businesses they own or partner in. Most times, they are not necessarily professional marketers. A professional marketer generally has 5 to 10 years experience in the industry and went to college for a degree in business marketing or some variation of it. Most professional marketers have a specialization like: art design, web design, branding, advertising, sales marketing, and so on.
New business owners wanting to build their brand overnight plus those veteran business people wanting a quick fix to a cash-flow issues, often believe that throwing money at marketing it the answer to all their fears and concerns. They generally come to me looking for two things: an increase sales and high paying work immediately. Neither of these happen quickly unfortunately due to website authority, web ranking, the age of the brand, lack of brand knowledge in the area, and other important factors. Business owners need to understand marketing is like fishing, just like making a cold sales call. Sometimes, you run into someone interested ‘now’ and other times it may not be the case. A successful marketing campaign takes planning, industry knowledge, knowledge of the area, of course following the pre-determined plan, plenty of time to grow the brand or product image in the community, and a little luck doesn’t hurt either.
No matter if you’re looking at SEM, social media marketing, direct mail, EDDM, promotional materials, or any of the many other types of marketing—none of them work overnight. And if someone promises you they will, run. Don’t waste money paying someone who tells you they’ll give you the world, when, in fact, they cannot.
1. Marketing is not a fly-by-night, one-time event. Your strategy should be ongoing and consistent, not launched in a panicked fury when things aren’t looking good. If you begin to panic or feel nervous – so marketing right away – don’t wait for when you are fully in crisis mode or looking for the quick fix for your cash flow shortfall.
2. It should be targeted. Who is your audience? When does your audience want or need your product or service? Where is your audience located? How much is your preferred target market household income or business gross income? If you don’t know, find out and gear your marketing toward them. Otherwise, you’re throwing good marketing money down the drain. Not everyone is your type of customer and not every targeted customer is the same, so having different pre-determined brand messages might work for your business.
Regardless of what marketing route you take, do your market research, review your business plan and update it regularly with the most up to date demographic information. Plus, find out who your audience is and make a plan, if you don’t have a written one. Once you have those things in order—along with the understanding that marketing is a slow build—you’ll be in good shape.
Call us at 844-319-9600 or visit our offices at 610 Deltona Blvd., Ste D., Deltona, Florida.
www.bouncemarketing.org | 844-319-9600
