A Lifetime of Marketing

When it comes to branding and marketing, we have a lot of opinions. Some of the ones I often hear are:

“Marketing doesn’t work.”

“All I need is word-of-mouth.”

“Instagram is where it’s at.”

I would like to point out the origins of these opinions. They stem from a lifetime of subjection to marketing. On average, we are exposed to 10,000 branding and marketing messages per day. It’s a staggering number.

I don’t have that many opinions about rocket science. That’s because my exposure to rocket science is minuscule in comparison to my exposure to marketing. If I were exposed to 10,000 rocket science messages per day, I’d have a lot more to say about it. (Like, don’t put cars in space, Elon. #spacejunk.)

Here’s why having a “Build It and They Will Come” attitude about your business offering doesn’t always translate to sales. You still have to consider:

You could be selling to the wrong people.

It could be the people you want to reach don’t want what you have to offer. Or they don’t trust you to deliver on your promise. Maybe you just need “word-of-mouth” to market your services, but which words and whose mouth? There could be significant differences between the story you want told and the words others are using to describe your business.

Sure, I read the same articles about CEOs who say they made the Inc. 500 list without spending any money on advertising. Upon digging deeper, I find they’re spending A LOT of money on targeted ads, Adwords, PR and paid sponsorships. That’s marketing (it’s all marketing). What they really mean is they didn’t buy ad space in a magazine or on TV. It’s a technicality and it’s also incredibly misleading to those who take their cues from the big guys.

Your marketing message may be incorrect.

Or the message might be right but you could be focused on wrong marketing channels to get the word out. Just because you, the owner, loves Instagram, doesn’t guarantee your target customers do (and their opinion matters much more). You might even be underspending on marketing. Or your message is too focused on what your product or service does and not enough on how it makes your customer feel. A marketing specialist can help you make an informed decision on which marketing avenues are right for you.

You might be getting leads but they’re not turning into sales.

Maybe there’s too much lag time between a customer’s inquiry and your response. Is there a lack of excitement from the person answering your phones? Perhaps you’re not charging enough. Or maybe your offering is overpriced for your clientele.

Every one of these variables are part of marketing your offer properly. Having an expert helping you navigate through the issues will lead to solutions faster, putting your business on a solid footing. There’s someone out there who needs what you’re offering. If you fail to market it properly, not only do you lose out on a great customer, but the customer also loses out on you.

Contact the Brand Doctor today to schedule a free 30 minute consultation and get your marketing on track!