You Know Enough. Start Doing.

I’m going to take a leap of faith and assume that you know lots about marketing. How many articles have you read on the subject over the years? How many seminars and conferences have you attended listening to speaker after speaker giving you great advice? I don’t think there’s a lack of knowledge out there that’s causing marketing challenges.

DO THE WORK

Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think the biggest marketing challenge for a lot of businesses is the process of doing the work. This is especially true for small businesses and entrepreneurs. I might be making an assumption, but I don’t think I’m off here based on the number of people I’ve spoken to. Going by the Pareto principle, my estimate is that 20 percent of companies do the work while 80 percent don’t, or do it ineffectively.

IMPLEMENTATION IS KEY

Part of my business is getting paid to make online marketing plans for companies. I enjoy the process greatly but I’m often let down at the end. There’s a lot of business generation potential lost because of a lack of implementation. Imagine designing a car only to find out that the builders left out the engine and transmission. It looks great, but it doesn’t go anywhere. That’s what a lot of companies have when it comes to their online presence: a great looking website with no performance.

IT’S A PROCESS

My suggestions are based on principles of inbound marketing. This approach focuses on creating exceptional content that earns the attention of qualified prospects and brings them into your sphere of influence. Your content is what attracts visitors and gives you the chance to convert them to leads. Once you have leads, you can create customers. With delighted customers, you create brand ambassadors who in turn introduce you to new qualified prospects. For the inbound marketing cycle to be effective, all the systems within need to be in place. When you don’t implement one or more parts, the cycle doesn’t function. This isn’t because of a lack of knowledge. It’s because of a lack of implementation.

If you need some help implementing or if you still feel you have some knowledge gaps when it comes to marketing effectively online, please feel free to give us a call.