Want a Successful Small Business? Forget Instant Gratification!
April 9, 2011
Here is a paraphrased summary of three different conversations I had with business owners this week:
Business Owner (B.O.): “Marketing doesn’t work, I tried it.” Me: “Really? Tell me more about that.” B.O.: “I sent out a bunch of post cards and didn’t get a single response!” Me: “Hmmm.. A ‘bunch’ you say? How many is a bunch?”
B.O.: “Two hundred and fifty!”
Me: “Ok… and how many times did you mail this group of two hundred and fifty?”
B.O.:“Well, just once, why would I do it again if it doesn’t work?” (Silly me…)
Business Success is a Journey
Nothing in life is easy. You’ve heard that right? Everything worth having requires a lot of hard work, a ton of persistence and loads of patience: Everything, from our education, to our relationships, and our careers. Did you expect to just go to a single class to earn your degree? Of course you didn’t- it took years of going to classes and studying! Did you expect to just show up at work for one day and earn a paycheck for the rest of your life? Sure, that would be nice, but no. Did you woo your spouse with pomp and circumstance while you were dating and then completely ignore him or her afterwards? Ummm, I certainly hope not!
So then why would you expect marketing your business to be any different? Why do so many small business owners expect marketing to be quick-and-easy one-time event? Place an ad and get rich! Yay!!!! Send out a postcard and make the phones ring off the hook! Wahoo! One ad, one postcard, one networking group and I’m set for life!!!
It Doesn’t Work That Way!
I’m sorry, it just doesn’t. No matter how hard you try.
I guess f you haven’t been doing sales and marketing as long as I have, mailing out 250 cards with a “10% OFF” offer and not getting a single bite may seem like an earth shattering failure… but trust me, it isn’t. If you sent out 250 post cards to your target market with an extremely amazing, compelling, and timelyoffer, on a consistent basis and didn’t get a single response, then I might be a bit more surprised.
Statistically, the chances of getting any measurable response from a single ad, postcard, email, etc. are going to be pretty slim – for many reasons…. Factor in the quality of your content/message (was it compelling, relevant, and timely?), your audience (did you target?… Know, I mean really target?) and your tracking methods and it can be nearly nonexistent.
But, Don’t You Know Who I Am?
Think about it: you are presumptuously putting your company/brand/message in front of the faces of Anyone-Who might at some point in their lives buy your products or services, assuming they 1) are your target market, 2) have made the decision to buy, 3) have allocated the resources to buy, 4) have no obstacles in the way of actually making the buy, and 5) they know like and trust YOU enough to want to buy from you.Holy cow with all of those variables it’s amazing we ever sell anything at all, isn’t it?
That is why a consistent and repetitive approach is key to effective marketing. For one thing, studies show that consumers don’t even “see” an ad until they’ve been exposed to it like seven times or something.
You are never going to build a successful business by sending one postcard or email or placing one ad serendipitously here and there. That just isn’t how it works- it isn’t how we as humans work. It takes time to build trust; it takes time for us to make decisions to move forward. It takes time for us to pay attention to all the “stuff” that’s bombarded at us each day – but that’s another blog topic…
But besides the whole “does advertising work or not” argument: Do you even know who your best prospect is? What their buying cycle is? What their triggers are? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, don’t even waste your time and your money on another direct mail piece, advertisement, networking event, or any other marketing tactic…. Really.
But if you really want to gamble your hard earned money, the next time you’re tempted to throw money away on an ad or direct mail piece without knowing the 3 things I outlined above, visit the nearest casino instead- you have a better chance of getting a return on your investment. Or better yet, hire Fortune Marketing Companyand invest in the long-term success of your business!
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!! Leave your comments here.
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!! 
Can Bad Marketing Make You Fat?
March 22, 2011
OK, so bad marketing can’t really make you fat. BUT it can cause your business to be out of shape, inefficient, sluggish, and unhealthy.
Leading a healthy lifestyle can be challenging. If eating right and exercising were easy we’d all be svelte, fit, slenderellas. But the fact is we’re not. For many of us choosing healthier alternatives is a learned behavior and it takes practice, dedication, and commitment. It means saying “no” to the convenience of Big Macs, Little Debbies, and elevators and “yes” to fish, broccoli and the stairs. In short, it means changing old habits, and doing what is right instead of what’s easy and focusing on the bigger picture instead of immediate gratification.
A Healthy Body and a Healthy Business
The same is true of building a successful business: in order for our businesses to be the best they can be we need to take care of them. But many business owners get bogged down in old habits, convenience, lack of education, and a real understanding of what it takes to effectively and efficiently get customers in their doors. Like our bodies, we have to give our businesses the proper nutrients and exercise if they are to be strong and healthy. The marketing “nutrients” a business needs are: planning, strategy, continuous education and research. And the “exercise” is the execution of the proper tactics = doing the right stuff, not just thinking about doing the right stuff. So, I’ve made a list of 4 practices for marketing a successful business.
4 Diet Strategies We Can Apply To Create Strong, Healthy And Sustainable Businesses:
1. It takes planning – If I don’t plan what I’m going to eat, when I get hungry I’ll grab whatever is convenient – whether it’s good for me or not – simply because it bears a small semblance to actual food. This is exactly what many small business owners do: without a plan they latch on to any marketing or advertising idea that comes along because it bears a semblance to “marketing” or promises to satiate a need for more customers. Buy buying the wrong advertising to get more business is just like grabbing that chocolate cupcake to nourish your body; you’re just consuming empty calories to stop the gnawing hunger pains, losing sight of the bigger picture, and hoping for impossible results.
2. It takes imagination – Broccoli and chicken breast get old fast. If I had to live on that for the rest of my life, I’d have thrown in the towel long ago. In order to be a success with a new food strategy, I need to get creative and try out some new flavors, new spices, and new recipes. The same is true with your marketing. Don’t get bland! Don’t copy what your competitors are doing. Take some risks; try some new combinations, new words, new packages, and new offerings. Spice it up!
3. It takes discipline – Does one day of eating well and exercise get you to your ideal weight or optimal health? NO! Well one ad, one direct mail campaign, or one promotion isn’t going to get your business where you want it to go either… You need to make a commitment to the process. If you don’t have the discipline to stay focused on the big picture you’ll be tempted to fall back into old habits; purchasing those 1000-callorie marketing cupcakes that do nothing but send you on a sugar roller coaster!
4. It takes time to see results – we don’t get overweight and/or unhealthy overnight and we don’t get healthy overnight. We also don’t build businesses overnight. Building a brand, credibility, and trust takes time. Don’t give up too early…don’t get desperate and grab that 1000 calorie marketing cupcake = an expensive ad or campaign you know deep down isn’t right for you but fills a momentary need for instant gratification…
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!! Leave your comments here.
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!!
Are You an Entrepreneur or an Underpaid & Overworked Employee of Your Own Business?
January 17, 2011
I think there comes a time in our careers as business owners/entrepreneurs/self employed folks that we have to ask ourselves – “what do I really want out of this?”
Do I simply want to go to a job every day? A job that’s all mine, where I make the rules, the hours (or I delude myself into thinking I do), and I don’t have to answer 
to anyone but myself? The problem with this is that this job becomes totally reliant upon me being there, doing the work. There are no sick days. There are no paid vacations. This job ends up being the lowest paid job I’ve ever had because of the sheer number of hours I put in. This job, instead of freeing me, ends up enslaving me. And I become an employee of my own business – not a business owner.
Or do I want to be a REAL business owner/ entrepreneur? The type of entrepreneur we envision when we think of the word – the guy on the golf course on a Wednesday afternoon, the woman relaxing on the beach in Hawaii. Both content and secure in the fact that their companies, their staff, and investments are working on their behalf, even if they aren’t there to doing the work themselves. These happy business owners in our fantasies are living the dream; their business is working for them – not they for their business.
Unfortunately, most business owners I meet end up being in the first category. I don’t know if that’s what they wanted all along – or (most likely) – they just kind of got stuck along the way and don’t know how to get out.
I read that over 400,000 businesses in the U.S. fail each year (Source: “E-myth Revisited”) because owners just don’t know how to take their businesses from infancy to maturity. When it starts to grow and things get too uncomfortable, they either give up or fail.
I don’t give up and I certainly don’t want to fail.
So, then, what does that mean for those of us who work endless hours in our businesses? Well, that means we have to take risks. We have to take that leap and hire someone when the volume of work gets too overwhelming; even if we feel we aren’t quite ready for the responsibility of employees and payroll. That means we have to make the capital investment when we need to expand or buy more equipment to get the job done. That means we need to put our necks out there – we need to move out of our comfort zones!!!
That means we have to take ourselves OUT of the tactics of running our businesses and into the strategy of growing our businesses.
That means we have to stop doing and start thinking.
In the “E-Myth Revisited” Michael Gerber writes, “The work of the Entrepreneur is to wonder, to imagine, to dream…”
That means if we want to be true entrepreneurs and not just underpaid, overworked, and unsatisfied employees in our own businesses, we have to constantly be thinking about ways to improve and tweak and progress our business and our processes. How can we make something different and special? How do we become in our industries what Starbucks is to coffee or what McDonalds is to fast food? As business owners/entrepreneurs THIS is where our focus needs to be if we don’t just want to be slaves to our businesses.
According to Gerber, our jobs as entrepreneurs (if that’s what you really want to be) is “to educate {ourselves} sufficiently so that, as {our} business grows, the business’s foundation and structure can handle the weight.”
So, what do you want to be – an entrepreneur or a slave? And if it’s the former, what are you doing to learn and prepare for that? I’d love to hear from you!
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!!
Leave your comments here.
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+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
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