Marketing has no favourites! If you market your business correctly you will thrive and if you market that same business ineffectively you will struggle. That’s because marketing is based on cause and effect.
I received an email yesterday from one of my readers. He explained that he had been trying to generate meetings with prospective clients – but that his marketing had let him down.
I later received an email from a reader of my free marketing newsletter, who told me, point-blank that; “advertising doesn’t work!”
Stop blaming your tools
In both of these examples, the suggestion was that the failure of these people to generate business was not THEIR fault, but simply that marketing and advertising ‘don’t work.‘ Their problem was not, as they suggested, that marketing only works for some people – Their problem was simply that they were doing it wrong! For example, a poorly written advertisement, placed in the wrong publication, is unlikely to generate a stack of enquiries or sales! This does NOT mean that advertising doesn’t work!
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A pile of wood and some nails
Give my friend Tom a pile of wood and some tools and he will turn it into a beautiful piece of furniture.
Give that same equipment to me and I would end up with splinters and a couple of bruised thumbs! That’s because Tom
is a master furniture maker, with over 40 years worth of experience and I’m a marketing professional with no furniture making experience or skills. However, when it comes to SELLING that beautiful furniture….
Some marketing advice worth taking
Most small and medium-sized businesses rely heavily on free marketing tips and advice from the Internet; at least in the early years of their business. If you are going to market your business without specialist, expert marketing assistance, please make sure that:
- You only take marketing advice from proven, trusted sources.
- Take time to study marketing and make sure you don’t start until you understand each step you need to take.