We meet with potential clients on a weekly basis. And the conversations typically start like this:
- “Tell me about social media. I think I need to do something on Facebook and Twitter because that’s what everyone’s doing.”
- “We are launching a new print ad in this publication that goes out to 10,000 homes in our area. What do you think?”
- “We want a new website that looks nice. We want it to be easy to use. And oh yeh, we want to be on the first page of Google.”
- “This year, sales have been down so we gotta do something to stop the bleeding. Should we do a billboard – something BIG?”
- “We gotta get more referrals. What do you think about paying for referrals?”
- “Our ministry needs more donors who tell other people to give. We think an appeal via direct mail is good. Your thoughts?”
- “Our church wants to come into the 21st century, so we gotta know social media. Should we start with Facebook?”
These questions are typical of every business or ministry organization we often speak with – but the good quesitons are ill-placed in the conversation about marketing.
The #1 mistake organization leaders make each and every year is to think COOL TOOLS before ever having a PLAN to follow.
That’s putting the cart before the horse.
Renew your commitment to smarter marketing by memorizing this: “STRATEGY BEFORE TACTICS”!
Wouldn’t be nice to have a simple 7-step system in place as your strategic foundation for your marketing? Yes, it would.
John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing offers a great article called, “Marketing Without Strategy is the Noise Before Failure.” Worth your time!