No, I am not trying to sound like the old kung-fu master from a martial arts movie. I’m just saying that you need to treat your business investment like a car; you should take good care of it.
I’d like to think that marketing tactics (or marketing strategies, whatever you call it) is like a brand new car. It’s squeaky clean, shiny, and it purrs like a kitten when you turn on the engine. But use the thing again and again, you’ll suddenly notice the changes. Damaged seats and car interiors, smudges of oil all over the vehicle, and the heartbreaking scratches and dents on your car’s body.
So what are you supposed to do with a badly damaged old car? Well, either you sell it to some unsuspecting brat who’s all too eager to get his hands on a car or it goes to the junk store.
Wait. This situation is overly familiar.
I’ve watched popular marketing strategies and marketing guides go up the ladder and suddenly go down the drain because of overuse. You have to understand that these programs have their limitations. They’re basically made by humans as well and could often make mistakes. Simply put, a marketing strategy will not work on its own, so it needs your help as well, just as you need to do some daily maintenance for your car! That being the case, here are a few pointers on how to keep your marketing machine well-oiled.
1. Get what’s necessary-Picture a car with an engine problem. Do you instantly get a brand new engine and replace the broken down one? Of course not! Well, unless you’re a millionaire, there’s no way that you can afford getting a new engine for your car, especially since money is hard to find nowadays.
The same can be held true for a marketing strategy. If you’re planning to invest a good amount of money for printing materials, advertisements, and online marketing software, then you better make sure that they’re worth it. I’ve seen a lot of people burn so much money for marketing that they end up getting bankrupt in less than a year.
So how exactly do you do this? Continue reading below and you’ll eventually learn the answer.
2. Research-Yes, research. Do some research first before investing money on any marketing strategy. Read articles, guides, and tutorials for online marketing programs and then decide whether they’re good enough for your money or not. I remember a good friend of mine who invested too much money on a very popular article marketing program. Everything was fine and dandy until the Google Penguin updates showed up. This article marketing program went down almost immediately and my friend ended up regretting big time.
One popular marketing method that needs tons of research is the use of ad prints. People spend thousands of dollars on companies who are supposedly the best when it comes to print materials for marketing. If you do your research, you’ll find a really good company who makes good advertising print materials. But if not, then you get stuck with companies who make prints and ads like this.
Just like a good car owner, you need to learn what works best for your marketing tactics. Don’t just stick your nose on one particular guide. Discover and engage with a community of marketers so that you’ll know the tricks of the trade.
3. Complete Overhaul-If your marketing strategy is still not working, then maybe it’s time to do some major change. But before you do that, list down the things that worked with your marketing strategy. What where the things that you were able to accomplish? Don’t forget to add the improvements that you would want to have when adopting a new business guide. As they all say, experience is always the best teacher, so use your experiences in becoming a better person when it comes to marketing.
Or even when it comes to taking care of your car.
4. A Change of Oil-Have you ever asked why there are a few marketers who struck gold with their marketing campaigns? Well, it’s probably because they found the right marketing “fuel” for the job. When I say fuel, I meant your goals and motivations. When building your marketing strategy, you should be able to answer these two important questions:
- What exactly do you want to achieve with your current marketing tactics?
- How long before you can achieve results with your strategy?
Now if you can’t even answer these two questions, then you have a problem. Just like a car owner who opts to get a new brand of oil or gasoline for his/her car, so too must you choose a new marketing strategy that will ensure your brand’s popularity and your business’ success.
Well, that’s pretty much it. It’s amazing how easy these tips are coming out from my mouth when a few years ago, I am pretty much a beginner in the world of online and offline marketing. Always remember to research, learn and ask for opinions from other marketers. You could learn a valuable thing or two from these people.
