It would be nice if every time we sent out a flyer we could get a predictable stream of people coming into our stores. Like pressing a button, we would then send out a flyer, get the desired number of people in and manage our businesses well. If we were overstocked, we could send out an additional flyer and get an expected return.
But it doesn’t work that way. We tend to find a great marketing plan and run with it (which is okay) until it stops working (which is not okay). If that’s where your marketing is right now, here are some ideas to “kick start” it again.
Fire your marketing firm. If you are employing a marketing firm and you are paying them to resurrect the same marketing ideas (with some small adjustments) again and again with diminishing results, they need to go. They are riding the coat tails of their success and have put your advertising on autopilot. Feel free to demand a new campaign, hire a new firm, or do your own marketing.
Send a customer survey. Find out what your current customers are looking for. Ask them what they wanted when they were first shopping around and what things about your company made them do business with you. You may be surprised to discover that your customers have shifted somehow and they were looking for something quite different than what you are advertising. Survey all of your customers but put a greater weight on the responses from the most recent.
Look outside of your industry. This is a great way to kick start your marketing campaign. If you are a home renovation company, don’t look to see what other home renovation companies are doing…instead, look to see what doctors and pizza delivery companies and donut shops are doing. That will help separate you from your competition.
See what your competition is doing. Even though you should look outside of your industry, you should also take note of what your competition is doing. Maybe your marketing is perfectly good but is simply faltering because your competition has a better campaign, a better offer, or a better product. Keep an eye on them and make changes as necessary. Remember: don’t try to be as good as your competition…try to be better.
Spend a day with school-aged children. This unusual tactic is a great way to change your perspective. Perhaps volunteer at your child’s school or throw a neighborhood party. Why is this unusual idea so effective? By their very nature, children are simple, ego-centric creatures- very much like our customers. That ego-centricity will help to reset your marketing if it has become too much about you and not enough about your customer. As well, children have great imaginations and a funny idea of how the world works. These two factors can help to break the mold of your thinking and get you thinking in new direction. (The karma you get from doing good in the world doesn’t hurt, either.)
