Four Things to Consider When Your Marketing Doesn’t Work

Guest post by: Dave Thomas

As a marketer, your goal is to get your copy, promotions and – most importantly – your message in front of countless eyes.

So, what do you do when that message appears to be going nowhere fast? Do you panic? Do you scrub Plan A to move on to Plan B?

At one time or another, most marketing professionals have felt like no one was reading or listening to their message.

Was the message sent to the wrong audience? Are consumers and other businesses so bombarded with marketing material that they’re simply tuning it out? Or was the message wrong to begin with?

If you find yourself facing these marketing dilemmas, take a minute or two to review the following and see if any of these items describe you:

1. The right message. First and foremost, are you sending the right message? Sometimes, in the hurry to get the message out there, the marketer and his or her team do not take enough time to draft a message that not only stands out, but also serves the target audience. Sometimes, grammatical errors make it into the final message. How much credibility would you give to an email or press release that was chock full of errors? Finally, if your message is not clear and concise, don’t hold your breath waiting for a response.
2. The right time. Part of being a good marketer is knowing when to strike. For example, let’s say you run the marketing program at the local college, and it’s time to hit up alumni and others for a donation. Before you even think of sending that pitch out, look at overall economic conditions, especially for the target audience. You can’t expect to set record donations when unemployment numbers are at historic highs. Instead of looking for a financial donation, ask for donations of time or other offerings to help the college secure more funds.
3. The right tools. While many marketers have become adept at using blog posts, videos, and social media to get their message out, others still lag behind. Let’s go back to that earlier example of the marketer working for the local college. He or she would be wise to include a short video with their marketing pitch. Link to the video in a blog post and on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc. Most people will be more interested and attentive if they have an image or short video to work with. Give alumni a quick tour of recent improvements on campus, improvements that were made possible by their financial contributions.
4. The right budget. Finally, whether you have full, partial or no control over the marketing purse strings, make sure you speak up when it’s a good time to spend and why. When budgets are tight, you need to know what is worth throwing money at and what can wait for another day.

As a marketer, what have you found to be your biggest challenges in recent times? Do you feel that your hands are tied? If so, what do you do? Please leave a comment and share your experiences.

With 23 years’ writing experience, Dave Thomas covers business topics for a variety of websites, including Reputation.com.

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