There are countless times I’ve sat in an executive or owners meeting where the team says they know their customers and what they want. Really? How do you know?
Your business isn’t run in a silo. In fact, your business lives within an ocean of possibilities–alongside of dangerous currents, sharks, El Nino, and so on. You wouldn’t believe what a simple lesson in surfing can teach you about how to ride a wave to a life of margaritas on the shore. This begins with a single statement from my surf coach Crash. Don’t let the name fool you.
Even though there are hundreds of thousands of ways to market your business, it doesn’t mean they are all right for you. Thank goodness, right? Because your marketing budget is not endless, and there isn’t enough time in the day for you, or your team, to do it all. The trick is figuring out how to make what you need to happen, happen.
Shot from the hip marketing only gets you so far. Yes, you need to be nimble in order to take advantage of the wide range of marketing opportunities available to you today. However, you will always feel like you are running in circles if you do not have a marketing plan serving as your foundation to basic day to day marketing activities. Not only is this approach ineffective, it is also completely exhausting. Greatness rarely falls in one’s lap. The best of the best start with a plan.
You are a brand in your own right. Every action you take and in every word you say you tell the rest of us something about your brand. What is your personal brand saying now?
When you meet an executive or owner of a business, ask them to tell you their mission, then their vision. Did you notice anything? Maybe it felt clunky, confusing, a bit off, or somewhat pointless. Better yet, let’s take a shot at your company’s words on that wall. Start by simply defining the terms vision and mission. This exercise alone should not be difficult. In fact if it is, then living your vision and mission will be awfully hard across your organization.
Your audience drowns in 20,000 message and brand exposures each day. Not surprisingly, of those only an average of 86 ads per day hit consumers’ awareness. A mere 7% of ads consumers are aware of actually make an impression. By changing your approach when it comes to marketing impressions, your audience can’t help but notice you in a way that matters.
Marketing has always gotten a bad wrap. The consensus is that marketers use tricker and invade space. Ok, but really it depends on the marketer and the company’s mindset. Those I typically work with seek out the authentic value within the company that serves customers in need for the long haul. When it is real, it is beneficial to both sides. Forming bond that can’t be broken.
Being a business leader is a full time job. In a small business or start up, you have some level of understanding in every discipline it takes to run that business: accounting,administration, human resources, sales, marketing, and so on. What most “manage” to do is focus on the most immediate need first or what one enjoys most, while the rest of what needs to get done suffers. If growing your business is a priority, you can not do this with sales or marketing.
When you are a marketer, you can never turn off your mind even when on vacation in Croatia. Every place you go you see ways businesses, from the shops to the street vendors, could be doing things a bit differently to generate more sales. Surprisingly, you also find is what many of us have forgotten in the digitally drenched world of the United States.
