Business owners often end up with a bad taste for marketing because they’ve tried so many tactics in the past that failed them. One of the reasons we emphasize doing strategy, branding, website, and then marketing in that order is because they need each other to be successful and business leaders need to understand each stage in order to confidently invest in their marketing long-term. In this episode, my cohost Kevin Ring and I discuss what happens when things go wrong and why it’s important to go in order. Enjoy!
Why not jump into all the marketing services at the same time?
Is marketing strategy worth it?
In this episode, Kevin and I discuss how to successfully execute an idea by following a process in order. We talk about why it’s important to follow the order of steps laid out in a marketing plan instead of jumping in and tackling many things at once.
Focus on How You Deliver the Maximum Value
Early in the Hot Dog Marketing days, I wasn’t charging for the strategy I was doing behind the execution of marketing and advertising responsibilities. When I began charging for the strategic aspect (instead of doing all that work for free!), I had some clients that would choose to skip the strategy and move straight into services.
This would always end up in poor performance in the client’s marketing efforts and, predictably, disappointment. It can be tempting to skip the necessary steps when the client is asking for it, but a focus on project success will ultimately lead to better outcomes.
Factors in Considering Value
The determinants in developing sales should like this:
- Business goals
- Marketing goals
- Marketing tactics
- Prospect experience
- Sales funnel
- Sales
Even more than just those items, one should consider how the customer values the product or service you provide. These factors help the marketing efforts target the desired audience and get more qualified leads into the sales funnel.
However, this is the long-term view and many companies choose not to go this route. Instead, they focus on short-term growth with marketing efforts that have no strategy to support them.
This concept may affect smaller businesses that choose to hire an in-house marketer, as well. Often, an entry- or mid-level marketer may not have the experience or knowledge to plan a marketing strategy, but they are held accountable for the overall business goals. They are set up for failure from the beginning, leaving an aversion for marketing in general with the business owner.
Bottom Line for Following the Marketing Steps
The main idea is that as a business leader, you don’t want to miss any opportunities in acquiring customers because of gaps or holes in the acquisition process.
Common missteps in the marketing process:
- Lack of marketing strategy
- Not using business goals to inform marketing strategy
- Having a poor website
- Not delivering quality content that readers want to consume
- Spending money on advertising without knowing if it will even work
- Disparity in the steps in the sales funnel
A typical gap for businesses is having a poor website. At Hot Dog Marketing, we often use the analogy for a website (and entire marketing plan) being like a house. For people to feel comfortable entering and walking through the house, they need to know what to expect. That includes the layout of the house, size, design, etc.
If someone walks into a house and is caught off-guard (or has an incongruent marketing experience), they’ll leave. Have a marketing plan that walks people through the whole experience, one step at a time.
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Are you ready to get strategic marketing the helps your business reach its goals? Don’t wait, contact Hot Dog Marketing to get started.