Steve Jobs, the master of simplicity in my opinion, once said, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.” There is no lack of opportunity to do marketing – but how do you select your marketing initiatives to get you results?
Advertising, cold calls, social media, client events, seminars/conferences, networking, referrals… these are all business development strategies that lead to results, provided that these strategies are relevant to you, the type of business you want to build and the type of client you are looking for.
I know entrepreneurs who have excellent results with LinkedIn, others with seminars and others with influencers. The way to get results is different, but the fundamental strategy remains the same: take a step back to analyze the initiatives and think about your current clients and the results you got in the past.
So, when considering to embark on “another” marketing initiative, I’d like to invite you to take a step back before moving into action (which you will obviously do afterward…).
When you have an idea, ask yourself the following questions before taking action:
- Is this idea related and bringing me closer to my business goals?
- Will this idea allow me to meet more people who fit my ideal client profile?
- Does this idea give me energy or drain energy just thinking about it?
- Is this idea worth the investment? How will I measure the return on my investment (time and/or money)?
If you answered “yes” to these four questions, take action! Determine a specific date by which you want to put this initiative in place, then break down each step and action that needs to happen to get there, as well as a timeline and an owner for each.
If you answered “no” to the first three questions, eliminate the idea immediately. Having a Twitter account could be fun, but if the idea does not attract new clients, don’t waste your time. In the same vein, the organization of another eventwith the same clients attending needs to be redesigned and reconsidered as a marketing initiative to grow your business.
If you answered “yes” to the first three questions and “no” to the fourth – keep the idea, but find a way to achieve the same goal at a lower cost: negotiate, compromise, think differently: “How can I achieve the same results in half the cost or half the time? ”
In marketing, we want to repeat initiatives that deliver results and eliminate those that don’t. For that, we can analyze the past: from which marketing initiative come your most recent clients or potential clients? Have these initiatives attracted ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ clients? Make a comparative chart, if your client events have attracted ‘A’ clients, this marketing initiative should be repeated. If cold calls have attracted ‘C’ clients, you should think about dropping this initiative and focusing your efforts somewhere else.
Unlike the stock market, in marketing, past results are pretty good predictors of future results!
July and August are often months where entrepreneurs plan their September initiatives. Plan your fall calendar with marketing initiatives that will give you tangible results this year.
To your success!
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P.S.: I’d really appreciate your feedback, did you find this useful? Is there a specific topic you’d like me to address? Send me an e-mail to let me know!
