What This Marketer Doesn’t Like to Tell You

I have heard this question time and time again – “What does our marketing strategy need to have?” A few minutes later I’ll get, “How much will that cost?” and “What if it doesn’t generate any sales?”

These are all excellent questions! I don’t have the answers, and I hate admitting that. The full answer is that I don’t have the answers yet, but I am more than willing to hammer through some trial strategies with you to find what works!

Unless you’ve already found your winning strategy (in which case, you probably wouldn’t even be asking a marketing professional), no one knows what the best marketing for your brand is. The best answer I can give is that you put together at least two strategies, track engagement for each, and let consumers vote with their clicks and dollars. Take the winning strategy, make tweaks you think will enhance it, then test the previously winning strategy with the new version, and so on.

How much will it cost? That really depends on your budget and the approach you end up taking. Now, for some types of media, cost is actually easy to settle on because they are fixed rates. Social media advertising and Google Ads, on the other hand, are all estimates. You determine a budget, but that budget may or may not be adequate and it’s hard to gauge until you’re actively working on it.

What if the strategy doesn’t generate sales? Then you try a new strategy. It’s not a total loss, though I realize it feels like a waste of money and time. It’s one way (or two) that didn’t work and, hopefully, you learned something from it. It’s one step closer to the successful strategy.

Honestly, businesses rarely ever leap into complete darkness. There is always some sort of data or market research that aids in forming the initial marketing campaign. Personally, I would try to get feedback from your target audience and/or past customers. What do they like about your product/service? That’s a selling point! What got their attention? That’s a starting strategy! Create content and ads that speak to whatever data you have, then learn from each round and make improvements.

Sometimes the truth is hard to digest, and it’s even harder to hand over your hard-earned cash toward an unknown return on investment. I get that. Your business won’t get anywhere without some risks and trial-runs, though. There’s nowhere to go if you don’t take that first step, because you’ll have nothing to learn from and improve. So, my best advice is to take what you know and start your first campaign.

May the clicks and dollar-votes be in your favor!

Thanks for reading.

Amber