Why Marketing Fails
Over the years I’ve heard a common refrain from marketing executives: “We tried [Insert tactic here]. It doesn’t work in our industry.” The tactic in question might be direct marketing, Internet marketing, trade show marketing, advertising…you name it. If each of these smart people were correct it could be a real problem for businesses – nothing would work!
The hard, cold fact of the matter is that a tactic is only as good as the strategy that comes before it. Whenever I hear the above statement, my next statement is always, “Tell me about the decisions that were made before you tried [insert tactic here].” Consistently the answer is a variation of two themes: “we have no plan” or “we have a plan but it didn’t work” .
We don’t have a plan
I feel kind of funny even elaborating on what is wrong with this statement since we all know how important planning is in business. But, here goes. The planning process is where all possibilities are analyzed, goals are set, targets are acquired and decisions made. It doesn’t matter as much to end up with a fancy binder full of lists and charts – what is more important is that the marketing and sales team THINK through WHAT they are trying to do, HOW they will do it, WHO will be the target, WHAT the target cares about, WHAT the indicators of success will be, HOW the effort will be implemented and by WHOM….etc. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at WHAT the competition is doing, WHAT has worked for other, similar companies, WHAT is happing in the industry and HOW customer habits are changing. HOW can you expect anything to happen in business if it isn’t thought through first?
We have a plan but it didn’t work
Also very common is the claim that “We went through the planning process…” Once I get to look at the “plan”, it is clear to me that these companies don’t know the first thing about creating a marketing and tactical plan. They are good at pumping out financials and ten thousand foot views but what they are calling a marketing plan is doomed to fail from the start. (See above paragraph…).
The truth is: direct marketing, Internet marketing, trade show marketing, advertising, cold calls, etc. WORK. These tried and true tactics are not the problem. The problem is THE PROCESS! Fix the process and watch the business grow.
The hard, cold fact of the matter is that a tactic is only as good as the strategy that comes before it. Whenever I hear the above statement, my next statement is always, “Tell me about the decisions that were made before you tried [insert tactic here].” Consistently the answer is a variation of two themes: “we have no plan” or “we have a plan but it didn’t work” .
We don’t have a plan
I feel kind of funny even elaborating on what is wrong with this statement since we all know how important planning is in business. But, here goes. The planning process is where all possibilities are analyzed, goals are set, targets are acquired and decisions made. It doesn’t matter as much to end up with a fancy binder full of lists and charts – what is more important is that the marketing and sales team THINK through WHAT they are trying to do, HOW they will do it, WHO will be the target, WHAT the target cares about, WHAT the indicators of success will be, HOW the effort will be implemented and by WHOM….etc. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look at WHAT the competition is doing, WHAT has worked for other, similar companies, WHAT is happing in the industry and HOW customer habits are changing. HOW can you expect anything to happen in business if it isn’t thought through first?
We have a plan but it didn’t work
Also very common is the claim that “We went through the planning process…” Once I get to look at the “plan”, it is clear to me that these companies don’t know the first thing about creating a marketing and tactical plan. They are good at pumping out financials and ten thousand foot views but what they are calling a marketing plan is doomed to fail from the start. (See above paragraph…).
The truth is: direct marketing, Internet marketing, trade show marketing, advertising, cold calls, etc. WORK. These tried and true tactics are not the problem. The problem is THE PROCESS! Fix the process and watch the business grow.
posted by Pete Monfre at 3:58 PM
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