My Marketing isn’t working! What am I doing wrong?
I once heard marketing OG, Frank Kern say, “My marketing works about 8 out of 10 times, but it’s the 2 times when it does work that makes me the money.”
I’m paraphrasing, but its the words I hear constantly in my head every time I get prepped to do a campaign.
Now those numbers may seem crappy at first, but I’ve learned thats the game.
The faster you find out what doesn’t work, the faster you’ll get to what does work. The problem is most people aren’t patient enough to ride it out.
But, here is another issue…Focusing on the product, more than the customer.
Let me unpack that statement for you.
Most businesses start with a great idea…
Think about it, when you started your business did you start with, “I got it! I’ll sell this and make a ton of money.”
When you start this way, you tend to focus on the product and not the customer.
Now, we could make the argument that we got into business to make money. And yes, I would agree. However, keep in mind, the money we make is a direct reflection in how valuable our product or service is to the customer.
So in essence, making money in business is an exchange of Value.
The exchange occurs when you make a sale. The customer gives you money in exchange for your solution.
Are you tracking? (an Army term I learned once)
Good!
Now, marketing is what leads up to the sale. When marketing is done right, it actually makes the sale much easier! No convincing, no arm twisting, no need to “bait and switch” (which is illegal these days).
So, if we know our marketing isn’t going to work 100% of the time, how can we stack the odds in our favor?
Well, one way is to ensure our marketing stands alone as being valuable.
or…what Frank Kern says, “Gives results in advance.”
The Goal is for a prospect to see your marketing piece as something that moves them away from pain or towards pleasure.
Let’s look at an example of the results in advance tactic.
We’ll use an income tax business for this example.
An income tax business is at its peak during tax time. During this time most people are looking forward to getting a refund check.
Now if you’re a large company you can afford to pay enough money to get the message “Fast Refunds” pretty much on any and every media platform.
But, if you’re a small, local income tax business with a small budget trying to compete with the “big boys” may be a lost cause.
Here’s how our income tax business can walk away with having great tax season and maybe even gain some of their competitor’s customers.
- Focus on marketing to an ideal customer with a specific problem. Having an ideal customer is a Win-Win. The customer gets exactly what they want and you get a long-time fan who pays you.
- Give them something to move them away from pain or towards pleasure ASAP (don’t wait for tax season)! For this example we’ll say the customer is a small business owner, married with children (ages 8 to 13). The customer is clueless about what to do throughout the year to maximize their tax advantages.
- So, you come up with a marketing piece that gives them tips and advice on how to maximize their tax advantages throughout the year. The piece attracts more leads, which you can then turn into customers.
Yep! it could be that simple…
The reasons you’re marketing may be missing the mark is because you’re doing one or more of the following things:
- You are talking to the wrong people
- Your offer doesn’t compel the people to take action
- Your messaging doesn’t make the offer appealing enough
Finding the right people, making the right offer, crafting the right message is what makes marketing work!
Well, that’s it for today.
I’m off to a two-day workshop to learn about how to use text messaging on mobile phones as a marketing tool. I’ll be sure to pass on what I learned in my next writing.
Now, go do some marketing!
Cheers!
Omari Broussard
Founder, 10X Strategies Consulting
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