The Secret Approach for Marketing Success

For business owners looking to make a quick profit off of a shotgun marketing approach, I have three words for you: It takes time.

No matter what kind of advertising or marketing or communications you do to promote your business, if you don’t put enough time into testing your chosen tactic, you won’t see the success you desire.

Let’s take the case of print advertising, such as advertising in this newspaper. There’s a reason why the advertising rep usually wants a minimum of three months’ commitment to advertise in a monthly publication. This is because he or she understands that it takes time to build awareness, and to do that means your customers must have multiple impressions of your brand and advertisement before they decide to act (or purchase). Trying a print ad one time, and then wondering why you aren’t seeing results, just doesn’t make sense. You have to give it time.

Another example of this in the marketing world is search engine optimization. When you build your website, you can create a beautiful website with lots of awesome content and an offer that you are sure your prospects will find appealing. Google may even recognize your website in the search engines for a while for a few of your targeted keyword phrases. But again, in the ever-changing world of marketing, you have to give it time. If you create a great website but don’t spend the time to keep it up, with fresh content, new offers and other information, neither your prospects (nor Google) will come searching for you.

In the social media realm, those who are the most successful with gaining followers and fans are usually the ones who continue to engage their audience with insightful and regular posts. This takes time and care, just as it does to build a loyal customer base. It can’t be set on autopilot, with little time spent on the content you post or the interactions with others, or it won’t be truly effective. Your customers will see right through you.

 

The most successful business owners know that to win at marketing, they must value the time put into marketing their businesses — not just the dollar amount spent on advertising, a shiny new website, or the latest marketing tactic. Once you have discovered this secret, every dollar you spend on marketing from that point forward will work harder for you in helping you achieve your long-term results.