Highly Contagious Marketing, Judy Murdoch
Business success of epidemic proportions.
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Why Most Marketing Support Doesn't Work
you should be skeptical
If you are reading this page, you have probably decided that you could use some help with marketing. But if you are like a lot of business owners, your experience with marketing providers hasn’t been very good.
From my own personal experience and from what I’ve learned talking with other business owners, there are five reasons why marketing professionals don’t get results for their clients:
Reason 1: Providing only vague steps for implementation.
Would you pay a golf pro $100 an hour if the advice you received was along the lines of "Hit the ball with the club?" Yet it's not at all unusual to get advice along the lines of "Go to lots of networking events where you can meet prospective customers." Sometimes vague advice works--to a point--for those who are naturally gifted. But most of us just end up feeling frustrated and inept.
Reason 2: Recommending steps that are too big.
Even if it is specific, when a step is too large, we don't follow through. Take the goal "double the number of customer referrals we receive by the end of the quarter." That's a great specific goal. So what's the problem? When faced with a big, important goal, people "freeze." They get overwhelmed and they procrastinate. It's critical that the marketing support people you work with help you break goals into small, sometimes very small, manageable steps. Small, simple steps enable you to build the confidence and momentum to make real progress.
Reason 3: Taking a “one size fits all” approach.
Marketing and sales are the way you connect with and ultimately forge a relationship with your customers. If your message comes across as bland and impersonal--like something anyone in your industry could say--you aren't giving people a compelling reason to do business with you. You want a marketing support partner who "gets" your business and makes sure that your unique voice comes through loud and clear to your customers.
Reason 4: Mistaking tactics for marketing.
Creating a brochure is not marketing. Nor is a website, an advertisement, or a direct mail letter. These are all marketing TOOLS. They are methods--tactics, if you prefer-that you use to connect with prospective customers. Tactics need to work together to support your marketing strategy and objectives. You and your marketing support partner need to have a solid understanding of what your customers need, the unique solutions you offer, and the market in which you compete. Without this foundation you're basically taking shots in the dark.
Reason 5: Failing to set benchmarks and track progress.
In my book, marketing, especially small business marketing is about results. By results I mean more ideal customers, more referrals, a higher percentage of visitors who buy something from your website, etc. If you're not getting measurable results from your marketing, you are throwing away your money. You want to work with someone who insists that you develop and set measurable objectives by which you measure the effectiveness of your marketing.
Okay, so now that you’ve convinced me that most marketing support doesn’t work, what makes you so great?
I founded Highly Contagious Marketing to address some of the deficiencies I saw in the marketplace. I, too, have hired marketing support services and have been disappointed with the results. It isn’t that the folks I’ve worked with aren’t good. But what they offered didn’t work for me and for my business and based on the complaints I hear from other business owners, they too, are looking for support that provides a balance of strategy and action, helps them connect with their clients without being too “woo woo” and appreciates their innovative nature.
The last thing I want to do is to waste your time and money, I want your experience with Highly Contagious Marketing to be a net gain for you and your business. That’s why I offer a number free resources on this website. They give you a chance to check out my approach for yourself to see if it works for you. Think of them as an opportunity to get a good taste of what we do.
Start here: The Free Workbook.
If you haven't yet downloaded our free workbook, that's the place to start. Take a look through the rest of our free resources: you'll find dozens of articles, assessments, and forms that you can use in your business right now.
Then, let’s have a conversation about your business. If you have an innovative product or service that is a true step above what is currently on the market, there are people out there who need what you offer. Highly Contagious Marketing is about connecting innovative businesses like yours with the customers who need the innovations you offer. Haven’t you waited long enough?
As always, please feel free to contact me at any time with any of your questions.
Cheers,
Judy