Finding good customers is one of the most essential tasks for any business. And yet, it’s also the one thing most owners and executives struggle with consistently.
There are endless books, courses, and consultants out there who can help with marketing. So why is it that most marketing plans fail—in the sense that they either don’t show results or are abandoned before they even could pan out?
Believe it or not, it mainly comes down to one simple idea: a lack of execution and follow-through.
To understand why this is the case, let’s look at the lifecycle of the average marketing effort…
How Business Owners Attack Marketing
The vast majority of marketing plans follow a predictable arc that looks something like this:
- First, the business owner or marketing director is excited. They have either discovered that they need to increase revenue or perhaps come across a new technique. So, they jump in with great enthusiasm.
- Before long, the owner or director discovers that executing on strategy is a bit more difficult than anticipated. The new activities (like writing articles, shooting videos, or engaging with referrals) take valuable time out of the day without generating immediate returns. So, they add to the workload without showing immediate signs of profit.
- The enterprising marketer becomes a little bit less excited when they realize how hard it will be to keep things going. They also feel disheartened by a lack of measurable results. Before long, something happens in the business that distracts them and the plan goes off track.
- With activity dropping and pressure mounting, the business owner or executive starts looking for alternate ways to carry out the strategy. Or, they start looking for new marketing techniques altogether.
- At this point they either abandon the effort or switch to a new tactic, which takes us back to the first step. Then, the cycle repeats again and again.
The Best Way to Stop the Downward Spiral
If you have been in business for a while, then it’s likely that at least some of the outline above seems familiar to you. So, how do you break the cycle and find success?
The answer is simple, if not necessarily easy. It’s to pick a marketing strategy that is almost guaranteed to be effective with the right effort. Then, with that decision made, you have to stick with it until you see results. That means dedicating the time or budget needed to follow through, and not changing direction unless it is absolutely necessary.
Many entrepreneurs and executives don’t have the patience to wait through the first few weeks or months of a new initiative when it takes a lot of work but doesn’t immediately pay off. However, without that upfront investment of focus and effort, you can’t ever make it to the later stages when things seem to be going smoothly. You have to go through the hard part to get to the easy part.
In the end, finding success in marketing is a lot like finding success in every other discipline and in life: it takes planning and patience, some of which isn’t necessarily fun or glamorous.
The good news? We can help speed up the process and the learning curve.
Let Us Help You Move Forward!
If you’re looking to break the unsuccessful sales and marketing patterns that so many business owners fall into, then we are here to lend a hand. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
In just an hour you will see what we’ve been able to do for others who needed to see their businesses grow. Then, you’ll get some personalized advice from our team of marketing experts.
What have you got to lose?