Marketing helps businesses beat sales plateaus, gather sales leads and improve overall awareness initiatives.
The fact of the matter, however, is that most organizations realize they need “marketing,” but not all of them are ready.
Here’s the hard truth about marketing:
Marketing Won’t Fix Bad Business—It Will Make It Worse
If you’re seeking a marketing firm or professional to literally fix your business, you’re going to only see it get worse in the long run.
Yes, specialists may bring more customers to you, but if the structure of your operations is failing–at any link in the command chain–then those fresh customers will be turned off. The more customers that come to you and have a bad experience–because you aren’t running your organization correctly–will only further the damage.
Do you have problems fulfilling orders? Are your finances easily and regularly frozen? Are your employees unreliable? Is the quality of your product in serious question? Then marketing–or advertising or public relations for that matter–isn’t for you.
Before you invest real dollars in marketing, make sure you invest in your business.
Evaluate Your Branding Before Launching Marketing
If your business is in good standing then you’re getting close.
Branding includes all of the design elements that make up your organization–your logo, your slogan, your color schemes and your font selections. The importance of having these considerations sorted out should not be undermined.
If you don’t have these factors formalized, your appointed marketing driver is going to have trouble designing materials and keeping them consistent across platforms. Their efforts may also be undermined by other members of your business who aren’t on the same page.
A common mistake is when a marketing campaign is engaged and an employee creates or communicates something outside of the campaign. Without formalized branding protocols, they will create whatever they see fit. This compromises quality and consistency.
Results Won’t Happen Over Night
If you’re expecting results over night then you need to reevaluate your expectations.
The marketing process is a steady and organic building cycle. It’s going to take time, patience, measurement and adaptation. Any marketing person who tells you otherwise is lying.
