Quick, write down all the marketing tools you’re currently using. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
(This is where the theme song from “Jeopardy” typically plays, right?)
OK, if you’re anything like most businesses I’ve helped, you probably have somewhere between 5-10 tools on the list. The length of the list isn’t important, of course, just as long as each and every marketing tool you’re using is contributing to the profitability of your company.
Do they? Are you able to connect the dots between every marketing tool you use and actual sales down the road? You should… whether it’s direct marketing or content marketing… every tool should stand on trial for its life. Every tool you use should help to measurably impact the success of your business. If its not, stop using it. And I don’t care if it’s a new shiny object, like social media. Dump it now.
Now let’s ask a couple more questions about your list. What tools are you using that you don’t have listed? I’ll bet you don’t have tools like your business cards, or letterhead, or mailing envelopes, or referral marketing, of first impressions on the list, but these are all different types of marketing tools that every business can use.
Think about business cards, for example. Did you know that everything walks the talk when it comes to marketing your business? Do you believe your company and maybe your products are different than the competition? Then your business cards better be different. If they look just like everybody else’s cards, then guess what? You’re not different. Same goes for your letterhead and even your envelopes.
And what about referral marketing? Was that on your list? Most people don’t include it when I ask. But then after I mention it, they slap their head and say, “Of course that’s one of our marketing tools!” Hmmm, don’t you think you would have remembered it, if it really was?
That’s the thing about referral marketing. Everybody says it’s important. Everybody claims they ask for referrals, but almost nobody has a formalized referral marketing strategy. If you don’t, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone.
Second question. Which marketing tools available are you not using that you should? I’ve been compiling a list of all marketing tools available to business people today and so far I’m up to 153 different types! I’m totally sure my list is incomplete, but I show this to my clients as a way to emphasize that there are dozens of other marketing opportunities they aren’t taking advantage of.
And this is important. You see, I’m willing to bet that your marketing tool list is almost identical to your top competitor’s. Why? Because every industry falls into a trap of central strategic orthodoxy. We all tend to look alike and act alike. Why? Because, for the most part, we spend our business life in the same world as our competition. We read the same magazines. We attend the same conferences and trade shows. We hang out with the same people. So we watch each other a lot and study each other a lot. As a result, we copy each other a lot.
So the big questions are: how effective are the marketing tools you’re using, and which other marketing tools should you be using that your competition isn’t?
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