Which is more important for the Modern Entrepreneur? So many people are spending lots on Marketing, but their idea’s are still failing and in this discussion I want to share my thoughts on why this happens.
In England, you may see posters on
the street, or in your local supermarket which say something like “Work from Home, earn £ X00 a day”. Many
years ago when I was young and naïve, I responded to one of these ad’s and
spoke to a very well spoken lady who explained to me how she had built up a
business that allowed me her to work from home, it guaranteed her an income and
only needed an hour a day. She was so pleased with it that If I were to send a
cheque for £15, she would send me a copy her very special business plan. That
wasn’t the end though, should I receive the business plan and not like what I
read, I could return it to her, in its original packaging, for a full refund
(minus a small administration fee). Wow I thought, I can’t lose here, its
another income stream, whilst I keep my day job, plus if I don’t like it, I can
return it!!
What I received through the post some
days later was a business plan that told me to;
- Buy a Pay as you Go Mobile phone
- Print a lot of Posters saying “Work from Home, earn £ X00 a day”
- Put that Mobile number on there so people who see the poster can call me
- Speak to prospective customers about how they can start a business from home, but don’t give any more details than what I am shared with you on the phone
- Depending on the kind of area you are advertising in, you can sell this idea for somewhere between £10 - £25, the Admin Fee should be at least 60%, so even if people ask for a refund, you are making something
As I quickly understand what I had
bought, I thought to myself, “serves you
right you idiot”. Now, I would never fall the same mistake again, the
advert had made a customer of me …. but not a client. The advert had conned me
into buying once, but once I realised the content was poor (non-existent in
this case), I would not be returning, no matter how enticing the posters look.
Lets jump forward 15 years and on a
daily basis I see Facebook adverts pop-up on my newsfeed making what I think
are similar promises. If you are one of these companies, then I am sure your great
looking adverts will attract people and you will get some sales. What then
though? Your well put together advert will attract a Customer to you, but to
convert them into a Client you will need to have something to keep them. This
is the same for any business or service provider. You can work hard to develop
a brand and image to find customers, to convert them into Clients you will need
to have something good to sell them. People are not stupid and it won’t take
long for them to realise the real quality of what you are offering.
Lots of businesses, online and on
the high street, spend a lot of time and money on Marketing, but forget that
this is only a part of what you need to worry about. A critical part has to be
good product. When you consider the amount of money you have invested in
getting a customer to try you out, you would be crazy to then let them just
walk out of the door by not delivering a great product. I am most confused by
restaurant owners, who spend a lot of their resources on creating an amazing
look and feel, an ambiance, but then serve up average food. Surely, the food
must be the most important thing right? When all is said and done, you will
only get repeat business if your total package is worth returning for. Every
sustainable business is built of returning customers, there are very few
businesses that can survive on “One-time Customers”.
Now, I am not saying that you should
not be working on the most amazing marketing strategy your can, but be mindful
that once you do get the attention of a prospective customer, you have to then
have something credible to sell them. Those organisations who work on both
their USP and their Customer Focus are the ones who develop longer term
success. So it is important to have a great product for sale when you speak to
prospective clients, or attend Networking Events and tell them about your
company. The best advertising that can happen for you is when one of your
customers tells someone how good your product was and this is the position that
you want to get your customers to … because then they will become walking
adverts for you.
Is there a magic number on what
percentage of your time you should be spending on marketing? It all depends on
where you are on your business journey. You should have a clear idea of what you
want your business to look like, then decide where you are in that journey. If
you have a good product ready, then it’s a good time to ramp up the marketing.
Remember that advertising leads to customer enquiries and if your product is
not right, that customer may not return for a second look. In contrast, if you
wait till your product is perfect, then start your marketing campaign, you may
be late to the market; your customers may have moved on or the industry may
have moved on. Knowing what the correct mix should be, is the skill of the
entrepreneur and should they get it right, their reward is success.
In closing, let me urge you to put a
lot of focus on supplying a good, no an excellent product to your customers,
that meets your customer’s expectations as make this an significant part of
your organisation’s strategy.
Good Luck.
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