How to Get Your Marketing “In-Shape”

It's the time of year where our fitness level goes downhill. In my household it starts with Halloween.  Lots of candy requires a lot of "getting in shape."

And getting in shape usually consists of us getting mad and taking action.  No real plan, just action!  

• You get a gym membership
• You buy a NutriBullet and wipe out the produce section at Publix
• You exercise, watch what you eat, and take care of business.  Then you lose the weight.  You are proud.  You have knocked out 10 lbs. in 10 weeks.

And then it happens.  You get a little too confident!  You take a few days off from the gym, eat some food you shouldn’t eat, and in a two week period you are back up 7-8 lbs.

You become convinced that this fitness thing just doesn’t work for you.  Maybe it’s genetics.  Maybe it’s your metabolism.  Maybe it’s the government!

The same thing happens in our marketing efforts when sales go down.  You get mad and you take action.  No real plan, just action!  

• You join a networking group
• You buy ad space and pay-per-clicks
• You beat down doors, make phone calls, and take care of business.  Then you increase revenue.  You are proud. You have increased sales 10% in 10 weeks.

And you get a little too confident!  You take a little time off from networking events, quit buying ads, forget to follow up with old clients and in a two week period you are sitting there with no clients.

You become convinced that this marketing thing just doesn’t work for you.  Maybe it’s the competition.  Maybe it’s your customers.  Maybe it’s the government!

The truth is we need to market our business consistently and not just when we get out of “shape.”

1. We have to decide how much we want to increase revenue, i.e. $20,000 in new sales this year.
2. We have to decide which marketing channels will reach our target market, i.e. trade shows, print ads, specific social media platforms, prospecting, etc.
3. We have to schedule the marketing efforts to our calendar of choice; Outlook, Google Calendar, your phone, or    even your old school Day-Timer to schedule marketing activities.
4. We have to actually do the marketing and selling!
5. We have to track our sales to see where the sales are coming from, figure out which is getting the best response, rinse and repeat.

While this is not a guarantee for us to reach our sales goal, it makes it more likely to achieve than just getting mad and getting busy.