 
By
Jennifer McCay
Ever have the feeling that the next marketing idea is right around the corner?
Did something catch your eye in a direct-mail piece this past week? Have you recently gone to a website and encountered something entirely new that you’d like to try out? Did a friend of yours try out a new marketing idea and generate new business overnight?
It’s too easy to get caught up in the hype of new marketing techniques that promise quick rewards for little cash. But going along with every marketing idea that comes along can be dangerous to your bottom line—or even your entire business. Whenever you try out a new marketing idea, it’s important to proceed with caution. Here are six quick tips to keep you on track:
1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If you have been sending out a direct-mail piece that steadily brings in business at a rate that you are happy with, don’t stop using this technique just to put new life in your marketing plan. Stick with the marketing idea that works.
 |
| Going along with every marketing idea that comes along can be dangerous to your bottom line--or even your entire business.
|
|
Instead, test different types of offers and approaches using a small portion of your mailing list—10 percent is a good start. See what works best, then test some more using that approach as your control. Make sure that you apply whatever you learn from these tests to your other campaigns, and then test some more.
2. Measure your results to determine which marketing idea works best. There’s no reason to try something new if you’re not able to see what works. For example, I recently tested a different approach on one of my website pages solely dedicated to generating subscriptions to my newsletter. To see if the new copy worked, I sent prospects coming from one online source to the new page and tested the old version against the new. I then tweaked the version that worked best until I found a balance that got the best response from my target audience.
3. Marketing isn’t just about the numbers. Sometimes a marketing campaign that you’ve already got rolling doesn’t work its magic right then and there. It has a slower, but longer-lasting effect that will generate long-term sales for you and build trust in your group of prospects. Trust is a major component of your long-term ability to market to a group of people—and it actually feels pretty good, too.
Over time, even campaigns that don’t generate an immediate boost in income have residual effects that ensure the longevity of your business. So remember that you’re selling to people who need time to warm up to you and might not respond the first time you try out a new marketing idea. Give your older marketing idea a little time to work its magic.
4. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had clients approach me wanting to use a new marketing idea because three people gave testimonials on a website stating that they made millions overnight.
There is a reason why the vendors use disclaimers stating that the income earned is atypical and may not work out for you. Their market is not yours, their circumstances are not yours, and regardless of what is claimed, most good things require work to accomplish them.
But don’t let this discourage you. After all ...
5. It’s always OK to try something new—just make sure not to discontinue the marketing you’ve been doing that gets results. The 10 percent rule works here as well. Spend 90 percent of your time and money on marketing that you know has worked before and will work again and again, and use the remaining 10 percent to try new techniques. This way you won’t miss out on a winning concept that really works, but you also won’t bankrupt your business if your new marketing idea fails.
6. Wait three days to decide. That’s all. Just wait. The marketing idea can rest a few days—people aren’t going anywhere. To ensure that you’re making an educated decision, stick a note in your calendar to revisit the marketing idea after three days and see if it still looks good.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Jennifer McCay is the publisher of the Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter, which delivers tips to improve small business marketing. To subscribe and receive a free special report on seven ways to improve your sales copy, visit www.AvenueEast.com.
APRIL 2006
Save Time: Repurpose Your Content
Get Involved
New Business? Or Now Business
|
