A lot of business owners and marketers are lulled into Ronco’s Set-It-And-Forget-It philosophy.
Many believe that they have all the answers and insist on doing business the way it’s always been done.
To these people, new marketing methods, technology, and social channels are just gimmicks, fads, or new-fangled doodads. They don’t understand other business owners’ or marketers’ excitement. They think word-of-mouth is the only way to go. Whether you have been in business for 10 years or just starting out, having this mentality WILL destroy your company.
These days, the local marketing world is changing.
So, what’s the solution?
Education.
That’s right, I said it. As an owner of a small business or a marketer at a large business, I know that last thing you want to do after a long day at work is read blogs, forums, or white papers. And business owners who’ve been at it a while? There’s absolutely no guarantee that what you’ve been doing will work in the future.
Every day new technologies and methods are being introduced. From call tracking, that’s been growing big the past few years, to marketing automation (current buzzword) and speech analytics (WTF is that?). What are people saying about your company? How will you know if you never venture into Socialmedialand? Your company could be 300x more effective with your sales reps who listen to their call recordings (yes, you can easily do that too). Essentially, your customers today are different. The market is different. And you need to find new ways to communicate and connect with them.
Many business owners don’t understand that marketing is a battle of perceptions. This simple truth is the downfall of thousands of small business owners every year. Many business owners who actually DO research into their market will find facts and data that already support their conclusions. This confirmation bias isn’t truly objective.
So, why not listen to what your customers and prospects are actually saying? After all, what really exists in the world of marketing are the perceptions in the minds of the customer or prospect. You could be recording all of your incoming and outbound calls and getting first-hand information on what people think about you, your product, and company. Are you tracking your brand? How ’bout your competitors’ brand? Don’t suppose you know what’s being said! Own the narrative!
Many small businesses either delegate lower level employees to handle the marketing efforts or have a sister’s cousin’s son who’s still in high school, in charge of marketing. I literally had a business owner tell me that last one. Of course he went out of business not long after. These situations are disasters waiting to happen. If you don’t take charge of your marketing strategy, things will rarely turn out well. It is too important to be left up to your secretary or some obscure relative. Of course, I understand that you need to get back to the day to day running of your business and don’t have much time.
I have to tell you. MAKE TIME. Even if it’s only 15-20 minutes a day to review your marketing campaigns. There are tools and software options, such as Convirza call tracking, that can quickly tell you which campaigns are driving phone calls, and even help you know which are converting to customers. With a few minutes you could tell if your direct mail piece, costing $300, brought in more business than your Yellow Page ad, which cost you $3,000.
Let us help you avoid these mistakes. We have the resources and tools to help you succeed.
