Do Not Dismiss Marketing Channels Before Testing Them!
Is it possible that Facebook marketing does not work for your business?
Lately, various business owners have asked me to check their marketing strategies. Only to realise that there is no strategy, whatsoever. Instead, they seem to be trying it all with only few activities providing any results.
No one can blame them — after all, there are so many channels to use and they are not professional marketers. More so, a starting entrepreneur is willing to do anything to get their company moving. And it is not too hard to get lost with this much contradicting marketing advice around the internet.
On the one side, everyone’s talking about internet marketing like a fix all magic potion. Meanwhile, the print media is considered to be dead and visiting expos is too expensive. But all this is superficial because if TV ads or e-mail marketing would not work then they would not be around. So to find the answer, we must go deeper.
In reality, the first question any of us should ask is who are our potential clients. Why would they need us? What are their habits? Where can we find them? And some other questions that help to understand what types of marketing could work the best. Check out Buyer Persona Canvas as a tool to help you in the process. NB! One needs to analyse the business before starting to think about the clients’ persona.
Only after answering all the right questions can we move to dismiss some channels. Again, not because they could not work but rather because it makes sense to focus on those that work the best. By thinking like that, we will be able to optimise our costs and start predicting growth. Because on the contrary to the known belief, marketing can be predictable.
That said, any type of marketing is not meant to bring fast results. Sometimes you might get lucky in a way that your activities go viral. But this cannot be your strategy, as it is like putting all your chips on the red without having much control. It might happen, but it might as well not happen.
So if you are looking for fast results, short cycle sales is a better way to go. However, if the idea is to build a longlasting business, then it makes sense to give marketing some time. Not too long of course — if nothing seems to move the needle within a few weeks then it is time to adjust the hypothesis. But if something already starts coming in — leads, queries or purchases — then push the pedal to the metal.
If you loved any of this and want some more, then let me know what you’d like me to write about via my Newsletter, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
