Hope is Not a Marketing Strategy
There’s a type of marketing out there that a lot of business owners talk about and a lot of people think they understand. It’s a very intriguing type of marketing yet it’s highly ineffective (prominently in wasting time and money). What I’m talking about is what I like to refer to as Hope Marketing.
Hope marketing is based on the idea that if you throw a bunch of stuff at the wall, something will stick. If you have invested in a number of channels already such as a website, social media, etc. If you’re doing everything that you believe that you should be doing and yet you’re still not seeing results – at least the level of results that you would believe that you should see – you’re probably doing some form of hope marketing.
Hopeless Marketing sounds more like it
You see, marketing should not be based on hope. Sure, that is one path to success that’s worked for very very few businesses in history (ever). Especially in for many where that’s been the defacto business model. It’s not a business model at all…. it’s a hopeless model.
In the business world that’s what they call ‘Hope Marketing’. You’re putting out a product ‘hoping’ that it will find an audience. Hoping that you’ve done good enough. You pay for website or advertising ‘hoping’ people will click. Hoping that potential clients will stumble across it… I hear it regularly from my clients that new clients say “How come I never heard of you” or “where have you been”
Strategic Marketing should be a priority at the core of your business
What I’ve observed time and time again to be effective is to disregard the idea of hope marketing and instead create a marketing as strong foundation in your business. Everyone knows you need a business plan, yet many business owners don’t realise a marketing plan is just as vital. Unlike a business plan, a marketing plan focuses on winning and keeping customers; it’s strategic and includes numbers, facts and objectives.
7 Key Steps to Your Marketing Success
There are 7 key steps ideas behind what makes and helps you to establish marketing as a strong business foundation. It is vital you instill a marketing mindset in your company and routinely work on your strategic marketing plan to grow your business.
- Set Clear Marketing Goals
- Define Your Marketing Messages
- Clarify Your Target Market
- Create Innovative Content
- Choose ‘The Right’ Channels
- Define Your Marketing Budget
- Define Measurement Systems
I hope that you disregard the idea of hope marketing. If you’re feeling like you are guilty of hope marketing, shift your priorities to making marketing a strong foundation at the core of your business.
Being smart with marketing ensures the success of your business by attracting more customers, and keeping them coming back. There are plenty of marketing activities you can make use of that won’t blow your budget. The key is to never stop marketing. You must be intentional. Strategic. Purposeful. Don’t hope. Do!
Infinite People will certainly help but in addition to that we can also help you establish systems for your business, which will increase revenues, improve your levels of customer acquisition and retention. There will be no need for Hope Marketing.
We would be happy to discuss these questions with you and any other business challenges that you face. Give us a call on 07725052349 or drop us an email via ann@infinitepeoplesolutions.com to set up a consultation.
Ann Rodgers Hampton
Business Strategist & Consultant