Making Marketing Matter

So often, I hear “I’ve tried some marketing and it just didn’t work!”  My thought: “some marketing” is a lot like “almost” winning the lottery. It might be close, but it just wasn’t what was needed.

Marketing requires planning. It requires having distinct goals, and knowing what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and how you’re going to say it. Buying an ad in the yellow pages or the newspaper or on line might be the right marketing vehicle for your message, but you want to know that BEFORE you make the purchase.

Let’s talk about goals. Pretty much all strategic marketing goals are to increase sales and make money.  But let’s break it down a little finer. Overall, I want my marketing to result in increased sales, but I need to ask myself, “What is my goal in talking to my audience at this point in my marketing program?”

Being able to define that goal is important. It will help you craft the proper message, place that message in the proper place and deliver the message to the right audience. Your goal might be to educate an uninformed audience about your product offering. A marketing program might be targeted at increasing your market reach with your current, already informed audience. You might be trying to implement a program of customer retention, assuring your customers that they are making the right purchasing decision and encouraging them to BUY MORE.

An ad that tries to be everything to everybody is almost as good as running no ad at all. Think about what you want your marketing to accomplish. Think about who your audience is. And talk to them.

Marketing dollars wisely spent are marketing dollars that result in increased sales.