Getting marketing to be amazing is one thing, but paying for the high cost of amazing marketing is another. This article will help you avoid those costs. Yes, even in marketing you get what you pay for; so stop kidding yourself and start paying up. However, before you go throwing money at every advertisement available let’s look at the right ways to invest in marketing.
Step 1: Know what you’re getting in return
Anytime you spend any money on marketing you should have in your mind a specific return on that investment. As I work with small businesses they all too often don’t know what they expect from their marketing efforts. For example, the next time you invest in online ads simply ask yourself “if I invest $500 dollars to advertise online, what should I expect to get back?” I’m convinced that if businesses asked this simple question and didn’t spend any money until they could give at least a rough idea answer, their marketing would dramatically start to improve. Not all investments will yield a direct positive return. I personally will do a lot of marketing because it’s good PR even though it doesn’t create immediate sales. But I’ll always have an expectation anytime I put any money into my marketing. If ever a marketing effort doesn’t meet my expectation I either adjust that marketing strategy or simply stop doing it. I know this sounds ridiculously simple, and I wouldn’t even be writing about it expect that I constantly work with businesses that continually buy advertisements that don’t work.
Step 2: Know what you’re paying for “free” marketing
It’s become a pet peeve of mine to hear people say how social media or blogging or email marketing or search engine optimization is free. It’s not, and if you don’t realize that, you could be loosing a lot of money in your business. One of the biggest expenses you’ll ever have in your business is paying for ignorance. It takes a lot of time and effort to have a Facebook page. Most businesses struggle to keep up with the requirements of having a strong online presence. It’s hard and it’s not cheap. That doesn’t mean it’s not valuable or worth it. Many businesses have seen dramatic increases in their business from social media or being online, but businesses that do it right also know that it’s very demanding. Just remember that time is money and your time as a business owner should is valuable.
Step 3: Know the law of the harvest
Ask any farmer and they will tell you that you plant seeds first, spend an entire season watering and caring for your plants, and then after much of the work and a long while later you finally get to the harvest. Marketing works the same way. It takes a long time for marketing to start really paying strong dividends. While you are waiting for those benefits to come rolling in with increased revenue you still have to invest in marketing and keep your business afloat. Smart business is the one who understands this principle and builds their strategy to last for the long run.
Step 4: Know when to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’
Why are we so easily distracted? We unfortunately don’t grow our businesses in a straight-line progression. We tend to zig and zag, bouncing from one idea to the next only to find ourselves returning to original ideas that we had that were sound, but for some reason we didn’t follow through with them. The key is to know when to say yes and when to say no – much easier said than done. If you have a good marketing strategy say yes to it and don’t let the naysayers, doubters, or well-intentioned friends and advisers convince you otherwise. Say no to distractions. Say no to taking on too much. And especially say no to bad decisions that you know to be bad but are ego driven. You can do it.
Step 5: Don’t cheat your budget
The last step I’d like to suggest is to not cheat your budget. It’s so easy to under-fund your marketing because marketing is expensive. It always will be regardless of how big your company grows. In fact,
