The problem with shotgun marketing

Focused, systematic marketing works better than a shot gun

• 11 of the most costly marketing mistakes
• 6 signs that your marketing pipeline is leaking
• The trouble with fad marketing

8 tips for hiring a Vancouver marketing consultant:

1. Know your business:

The better you know your business, the better your results. No matter which Vancouver marketing consultant you choose, believing in and understanding your business helps those around you get excited about your goals.

2. Leverage your network:

When choosing a Vancouver marketing consultant, leverage your network. Ask colleages which Vancouver marketing consultant they trust,

3. Understand your niche:

Marketing consultants are not all the same. Some specialize in the high-tech sector, others specialize in the food industry. When seeking out a Vancouver marketing consultant, find out whether they have expertise in your niche.

4. Make connections:

Do you have a Vancouver marketing consultant in mind? Don’t wait to make a connection. Pick up the phone or send an email today.  The sooner you bring your Vancouver marketing consulting into your business, the sooner he or she can help.

5. Ask for proof:

Always ask for references and read testimonials.

6. Talk specifics: 

Marketing is a results-driven business. Your Vancouver marketing consultant should be able to talk in numbers rather than just in vague ideas. Yes, you want to "improve the visibility of your business," but you want to know what that means in terms of tangible results.

7. Be honest: 

Don’t sugar-coat the realities of your business. Be honest with your Vancouver marketing consultant. Clear pictures bring clear results. 

8. Trust your instincts:

The relationship between you and your Vancouver marketing consultant is integral. You’ve got to trust each other. If, after first contact, your instincts are telling you that he or she is not the right fit, trust your instincts.

Before making costly marketing mistakes, find a Vancouver marketing consultant you can trust so that you can focus on what you do best. 

• 11 of the most costly marketing mistakes
• 6 signs that your marketing pipeline is leaking
• The trouble with fad marketing

Marketing is not a fad, and fad marketing is not a marketing plan. Fad marketing is just a small part of a large whole.

If that’s so, then what is the whole? Marketing encompasses long-term strategies that help you achieve your goals. Long-term marketing strategies help you build relationships with your customers, and these relationships will stand the test of time.

Your long-term marketing plan can make use of a variety of strategies, which may even include some the fad marketing of the day. But fad marketing on its own is going to accomplish very little and the effects won’t last.

So whatever the fad, feel free to jump on board. But don’t forget that marketing involves creating whole solutions that will take you where you want to go. And the path to getting there is a long-term marketing strategy founded on trust-based relationships.

1. Lost sales

You’ve got qualified leads in your marketing pipeline. Of course, not all leads will turn into sales. However, the more leads that do turn into sales, the better your bottom line. It stands to reason that if somewhere in your marketing pipeline leads are getting funneled out, turned off, or turned on the the competition at your leak-point(s), you will lose sales that otherwise would have been completed. That’s money right out of your pocket!

2. Lost return customers

One of your easiest sources of business and sales is existing customers. So not only have you lost sales, but you’ve also decreased your pool of existing customers.

3. Wasted marketing dollars

In order to get qualified leads in the first place, you’ve spent a lot of time, effort and money. Do you really want to let your hard-won potential customers slip away so easily through a leaky marketing pipeline?

4. Decreased efficiency

When you’ve got a leak, efficiency decreases. You’re spending time wooing, marketing, and selling to potential customers that will eventually get lost due to your leaks. From marketing to administration to business development, there’s waste due to leaks, and where there’s waste there’s ineffeciency.

5. Slower growth

When you’ve got a leak, it takes longer to get the outputs you want. What are your targets for this year? Leaks will make it harder and slower to reach them.

Now that you’ve seen five ways a leaky marketing pipeline costs you, doesn’t it make sense to check your marketing pipeline for leaks? Every pipeline will have leaks of some kind, but odds are there are pluggable leaks that you’re not even aware of that are costing you in many ways.

The sooner you plug the leaks in your marketing pipeline, the sooner you can get back on track.

When investing in marketing, you should have a specific idea of what you expect to get out of your investment. How many sales? How many unique visitors? How many sign-ups? When your results don’t mesh with your expectations, you may have a leaky marketing pipeline.

2. Strong leads dropping off the radar

When your marketing pipeline is top-heavy but it fails to convert strong leads into sales, your marketing pipeline may be leaking. If a prospect desires your product but goes with a competitor, you’ve got to find out why. Where and why are you losing a potential customer to your competitor? Find the leak.

3. Frustration

Getting frustrated with low returns on marketing investment? Frustration with marketing is a sure sign that changes may be necessary.

4. Focusing solely on the sale

Today, marketing isn’t just about sales. It’s about relationships. If you focus solely on promoting your message and brand without looking at your relationship with the customer, I guarantee that you’ve got a leaky marketing pipeline. Don’t just focus on bombarding your client with your message. Cultivate a relationship.

5. Treating prospects as a whole

Your target market isn’t a giant mass of potential dollar signs. They’re not even people. Your target market is one person. Speak to the individual. Remember the individual. Build a relationship with each individual.

6. Forgetting about the customer once the sale has been made

Your best customers are your existing customers. Your marketing pipeline may be leaking at the end of the line. Don’t forget to cultivate the relationship with the customer even after the sale has been made.

Recognize any of these signs? Think your marketing pipeline may be leaking? Don’t just keep on doing what you’ve always done. Find the leak, fix the leak and experience the results.

Say your mortgage rate is 4.1%. I’m not sure what the BC government prime rate is, but let’s say it’s similar to the rate they charge for financial hardship deferment, which is 2.25%. That’s a difference of 1.85%.

If you have discipline, you could take the money you would have paid against your taxes and instead pay it to your mortgage. So, let’s say you were paying $2400 a year in property taxes. You defer payment. Instead, you make a monthly balloon payment of $200 to your mortgage. At the end of the year, your mortgage is $2400 less and you’ve avoided compounded interest on that portion of the principal, saving you even more. Even though you’re accumulating debt to the government, you’re getting ahead on your mortgage and saving 1.85% on your mortgage. That’s a 45% savings on that portion of your mortgage, before we even look at compounding. (I’m assuming the property tax payments are simple interest, whereas the mortgage is compounded and whereas your monthly balloon payments have the effect of dropping the outstanding balance right away.)

If all those conditions are true AND you have the discipline to put the money against your mortgage, then it’s a no brainer to defer your property taxes. And, if it turns out that the government charges the rate for the regular deferment program, which is 0.25%, you’re practically getting a free loan for a portion of your mortgage. This assumes, of course, that you do pay down the mortgage. Otherwise, you’re just taking on more debt.
 

Thank you to Yoyomama.ca for pointing out the program – and kudos on your mention in The Province. (Another great example of how social media marketing trumps the traditional media. I didn’t hear the story via The Province, but through Yoyomama’s Facebook page.)

One of the most costly marketing mistakes is a lack of planning and the absence of an overall marketing strategy. Don’t market piecemeal with a little of this and a little of that. Invest in a marketing plan that outlines where you’re going and how you’re going to get there.

2. Not tracking results

Implementing your marketing plan can be a significant investment. In order to know what’s working (and what’s not), you’ve got to track results. Ensure that your marketing investments are bringing results; don’t just assume they are. One of the most costly marketing mistakes is to assume that your marketing strategies are working. Track results and be certain. And if they’re not having the desired effect, alter your strategy and continue tracking results.

3. Lack of follow-through

Follow through with your promises. Business is all about trust. Does your brand revolve around a promise? Take Trustmode, for example. My brand revolves around trust. How do you think it would affect my business if I breached a client’s trust? It would undermine my whole brand. Make sure you can follow through with your promises.

4. Target audience confusion

Another one of the most costly marketing mistakes is confusion about who your target market is. Believe me, whatever you are selling your audience is not everyone. Get specific about who your target audience is, and market only to them. Don’t waste time and resources marketing to the whole. Get specific.

5. Ignoring your target audience’s needs

You may think you know your target audience, and maybe you do. But never assume that you know everything about your target audience’s needs. Take time to listen and evolve with your target audience.

6. Being all about you

When preparing marketing materials, remember that the customer doesn’t care about you. The customer cares what you can do for them and their business. Make sure your promotional materials aren’t just about you. Your messages should outline what you, your company and your product can do for the customer.

7. Not having a customer relationship management strategy

Do you have a customer relationship management strategy? If not, you need one. Otherwise you may have a leaky marketing pipeline, and you could be losing potential customers every day.

8. Breaking promises

It’s simple. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. No matter how powerful your marketing, broken promises will erode your brand. Whether it’s promises about your product or promises made by staff to the customer, breaking promises can ruin everything you’ve worked for.

9. Not distinguishing yourself from the crowd

What makes you different from your competitors? There’s got to be something. Don’t know what makes your business unique? You’ve got some work to do.

10. Ignoring that your current customers are your best customers

It’s easier to win over a customer who has bought from you before than to win over a new customer. So don’t forget that your existing clients and customers should be a significant part of your target market.

11. Forgetting that marketing is about relationships

And what’s the most costly marketing mistake of all? Forgetting that marketing is about relationships, and relationships are all about trust.

Take this morning, for example. I needed to get my pants hemmed. Sure, I could do it myself, but, to be honest, I’m pretty lousy at it. So I took my pants to a place my sister recommended. It was in a high profile location, with high rents, so I figured they must be pretty busy and successful. I waited patiently while the tailor measured and pinned my cuff. I prepaid for the service, confirmed the pick up time, and went on my way. That’s a heck of a lot of trust for a few dollars.

I trusted in the referral my sister gave me. I trusted that it would be difficult to run a business in that location unless the tailor did a good job of meeting expectations. I trusted the tailor to measure the cuff properly — and I trusted her to take care with the pins, sparing me from becoming a human pin cushion. I trusted that the work would be done when I prepaid. And I trusted that my debit card information would be safeguarded. I trusted that the pants would be ready at 5 o’clock…and that my expensive pants would be safe in the hands of the tailor. And that’s without even considering the trust on the part of the tailor.

How does trust affect your business?

(Get a copy of The Business Case for Marketing Based on Trust when you sign up for our newsletter.)

"Companies have been telling me that the reason they turn to me is that I’ve been able to combine the hard parts of marketing with the softer, more creative aspects. Marketing is part art, part science," says Coutu. "With the launch of Trustmode Marketing, I’ll be offering services that better match the needs of businesses of all sizes, while putting a focus back on trust in relationships — something that the business world seems to be missing all too often these days."

Trustmode Marketing is giving away free copies of The Business Case for Marketing Based on Trust at www.trustmode.com.