IT SEEMS THAT today, everyone wants everything, right now, all the time. When it comes to marketing, the question usually is, “How long before I start to see results?” That’s a loaded question because it really depends on many factors, such as your budget and strategy. But it also requires a word seldom used these days: patience.
With the rise of digital marketing over the past decade, marketing has become fast-paced and expectations are through the roof. If a marketing firm doesn’t “deliver” in the first two to three months, some businesses start to look elsewhere. The result is they start over again, and, if they don’t pick the right agency, repeat the process over and over, becoming their own worst enemy.
Instead, take the time to pick the right partner. Notice I said “partner,” not “agency.” That’s because it’s a two-way street. Retailers should be looking for the right fit, but so should agencies. That relationship trumps almost any other factor. Make sure your agency knows your business, understands your needs, and, of course, knows what they’re doing.
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Once you have a true partner, you need to build a plan. Not just plug-and-play paid search and social media, but a real strategy. If it was as easy as just throwing money at marketing, everybody would be selling jewelry. There are two types of buyer prospects: in-market and not. Most want to focus on the in-market, and while they’re important, the “not in-market” is a much larger population and more important to long-term growth. This group requires a different approach (think “brand building”). This is to say, how does your business stay top of mind so that when they become “in-market,” you’re the first they think of?
This requires another word seldom used these days: campaign. A marketing campaign is about long-term brand building and messaging. It’s also something true marketing agencies are great at. It seems everyone offers digital marketing services these days, but most are not creative. So, have you been thinking about your marketing all wrong? What’s your campaign strategy? Because I can tell you it takes more than a couple months to deliver consistent results.
If you want to truly grow your business, find the right partner, build a strategy, develop a campaign to deliver your message, and most of all, have a little patience.
