Marketing. Everyone has an opinion on it. Especially people who don’t work in marketing! There are all kinds of people, giving all kinds of advice.
Most of it is not applicable to the nuances of your business (your offerings, target markets, changing marketing conditions etc).
For business owners, it can be difficult to sieve out the gems that will actually help their business and make a tangible impact on commercial outcomes.
I have developed three core principles over the years that guide everything I and my team(s) do, and help us deliver the growth our clients seek:
Focus on what works
On the face of it, quite obvious. But you’d be surprised how often marketers get swayed into doing things they know are wrong. It can be tough to navigate the politics. However, ultimately, our job is to deliver great results. It’s not what we or any of us think, it’s what works. So let data, insights and results guide decision making. Focus on what works.
The world is increasingly complex. And people crave simplicity. Marketing should help your prospective customers understand quickly how you solve their problems and help them achieve their goals - without having to think or work hard. It’s simple, not easy. I cannot stress this principle enough.
When clients come to us, 9 times out of 10 their biggest problem is that their marketing has become too complex, to the point no-one understands what they want to say, to who, where, or even why. They’ve gotten sucked into doing because ‘they think they should’. Simplify the complicated.
Curiosity is king
Nurture a curious mindset. Why did this work (or not)? What levers can we pull in future? What if we did this next time? How can we test, retest and optimise? What would it mean if I were to do this or that? There are countless variables in marketing.
Whilst you’ll never have all of the pieces of the puzzle, being curious and asking ‘why?’ will significantly help you in achieving what you set out too. Curiosity is king.
And there you have it, our 3 principles for marketing success in 2022 (and any year frankly). A final thought to leave you with is, how easy is it for your target customer to understand how you can help them? Truthfully.
If you don’t like the answer to that question, drop me a line. I may be able to help.