Following on from yesterdays marketing tip, a number of readers have asked me the same question:
“Why do so many people do the same type of marketing, if it doesn’t work?”
Here’s the answer. Amateur marketers will copy what they see others doing, wrongly assuming that it must be working. This then gets more and more people repeating the same ineffective marketing, which encourages even more people to do the same, etc. In other words, they copy what they see the crowd doing.
Marketing copycats and the wisdom of the crowd
I remember speaking with the owner of a hotel, who advertised for a year, paid in advance, in a local newspaper. I asked him why he did this, as it was perhaps the worst possible place for him to advertise. He told me that the local newspaper called him to say his largest competitor was advertising there and that the paper wanted to “give him the chance” to advertise there as well. So he did.
Of course, his advertisement didn’t generate a single piece of business. Apparently, the biggest hotel in the area got their advertisement for free from the newspaper. The ad sales guy at the paper then used that hotel’s ad, as a way to pressure other hotels in the area to buy advertising. Eventually they got 8 hotels to advertise, when none of them should have even considered it! That’s the danger of copycat marketing.
Is your marketing on course?
Here’s a useful question to ask yourself:
Who (or what) encouraged you to use the various types of marketing that you use today?
You see, if you are not getting the marketing results you want, it’s entirely possible it’s because you are doing the wrong marketing activities, for what you want to achieve . Just like that guy, who rows his boat in the wrong direction, no matter how hard he rows, he will never get where he wants to be; because he will still be heading nowhere. In fact, the harder he rows in the wrong direction, the further away he will be from his destination. This is why so many hard-working business owners earn so little.
The bottom line here is this: If your marketing direction is wrong, you need to change course NOW!
What lessons have you learned along the way, which you would like to share?
Photo: Doug Woods
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Hi Jim,
I have to say that I like the sales guy from the newspaper. I also think that a hotel should advertise more on places that send most of the clients (low chances of getting clients from local newspaper).
I have a major direction where I’m heading with my website but in terms of how I offer my services I’m still looking for the right formula. That is why I keep changing the way I present my services and step by step I’m getting more clients and more requests for my services. In fact I’m working on a different presentation right now, based on some requests that I had lately and that I found that I didn’t cover it well enough.
Also I plan to work on some pages that would sum more articles on the same topic: this way people could receive more information from anywhere in the website and regardless of when they found my blog.
Thanks!
Toma’s SEO Tips´s last blog ..How to Use your Top Landing Pages: Basic SEO Tip!
Thanks Toma. The challenge with what the guy from the newspaper did, is that he will quickly develop a very bad reputation.
His approach is very short-term and ultimately, self-defeating.
So true Jim!
I always encourage clients to keep a record throughout the year of where new business comes from. That way it’s easy for them to keep a track on their “return on investment (ROI)” on marketing spend.
It still amazes me though, how many times I meet new clients who advertise in a particular place just because the competition do or becasue they feel they ought to and don’t really have a proper idea about how to market their business. These are just the types of businesses who should be paying for professional help, rather than blowing their budget ineffectively.
The funny thing Stuart, is that just like those who “do their own books” those who try and handle their own marketing, often spend massively more, than they would, if they hired a professional.
Of course, they also tend to win very little business and miss stacks of opportunities, which makes the cost of DIY marketing EVEN higher.
Thanks for the feedback!
I have learned that marketing is sorta of the Boy meets Girl…
When We meet a woman for the first time We try Our hardest to Impress in order to WIN..
Started this and I must say, have been able to keep more prospects Thank You Jim Connolly for helping Me open to see the truth of Loyalty!
Norman Flecha
Straight Talk
STRAIGHTALK´s last blog ..Effectuation: How Entrepreneurship Really Works by : Dave Troy: Fueled By Randomness
We learned a lesson a few years back that advertising where our fellow competing hosting companies were advertising was a waste of money for our business. All these companies, shouting the same copy in front of the same pool of potential customers.
We knew we were a different type of host, so it required a different approach to marketing. Needless to say, we wasted a good sum of money on that experiment.
These days we use our resources in a more “surgical” way (pinpoint marketing) to achieve our marketing goals. Sure, we could stand to improve, but our growth rate is manageable and sustainable over the long run, which suits us fine.
Rob Mangiafico´s last blog ..Taming THE PCI Beast – 7 Steps For Easier Compliance
So long as your strategy is working, based on what you want to achieve, keep on keeping on!!
Thanks for sharing that Rob.
A veteran of many years in business, I learned by trial (and many errors). In the early days, every offer to “help” my business was met with consideration. However, over the years, I learned that perhaps phonebook covers, maps, and even the Chamber relocation guide were not where my clients were.
My best source has always been word of mouth from my happy clients but in recent years, I have added a word of mouth component via social media enhanced by friends and associates.
Now I rely on experts to guide me and find it much more effective.
Julie Walraven | Resume Services´s last blog ..Cultivating Networks —> Show Your Expertise
Thanks for the comment.
As you know Julie, the ‘trial and error’ route can be very long and extremely expensive.
Back in my corporate days we used to place adverts in the local paper just because our competitors where doing it. Ridiculous strategy when I look back now.
But when it’s your own business, you have to stop & think. It’s your money & not from a corporate pot! – which fortunately I did when I first started on my own 6 years ago. Great post, Jim.
Copycat marketing is a lot more common than many people think.
ANother example is Accountants / Lawyers. Most of them use just 2 or 3 specialist marketing companies. In other words, their marketing looks remarkably similar to each other’s.
This means prospective clients only have price as a way to judge which to use. The accountants and lawyers then complain, that the marketplace is “too fee sensitive.”
Thanks for stopping by the blog Karen!
Jim,
It seems a shame to me that most people don’t do their research before signing on for such expensive advice.
I always want references, google the references (to make sure it’s a legit company and not their Uncle Louie answering the phone).
You need to pick up the phone and call people in the same business and get referrals from them..I’ve been known to call cross country to see what is working in other Real Estate offices and what wasn’t…
Thanks so much for bringing up such a relevant topic (as always)!
Good info> I must say, the ad guy is pretty sharp to leverage a free ad form the largest hotel to get the others to sign up.
Hmmmmmm…..interesting
Thanks,
Gregg Zban
The Guru Hub
Gregg Zban´s last blog ..The Simple Way to Write an eBook
Really? You think that’s “sharp?”
How much longevity would that approach have, once the marketplace knew what he/she was up to?
How, then, do companies market when they’re not the first around? There’s only so many avenues of marketing and when there’s a lot of competition, if they all follow that advice, there’ll soon be none left.
If Company A posts a newspaper ad, Company B posts a radio ad, Company C posts a TV ad, and Company D markets online, Company E markets in person on the street… and if Company F is supposed to then avoid any of those, where will they go?
I can see how directly copying is bad, but avoiding posting an ad in a newspaper just because the competition did? That’s like saying don’t put up a website just because your competition has one too. (That would be downright suicidal in some businesses.) Or that, say, McDonalds and Burger King shouldn’t both advertise on TV.
So I think it’s obvious I’m missing a major point somewhere. (It’s 4:30am, so it could be lack of sleep.) This just doesn’t seem to make any sense.
Fobok´s last blog ..Made my first business purchase
Copycat marketing is where you copy what your competitors do – their ads, their promises, their guarantees, their pricing models etc.
Clearly, no one would suggest that it’s wrong to have a website etc, because a competitor does.
Reading marketing blogs at 4:30am?
Obviously copycat marketing is not recommendable, but what if the products you are offering have somehow become a commodity? Furthermore, there is no way of spinning into a niche or any other specialty product?