Are all the marketing methods wearing out?

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Unless the business is in a public premises (e.g. shop) that advertises itself just by being there, it all starts with a database of purchasers be they past, present, future, or all 3. 

And even then, walk-ins and buyers at businesses in public premises should be gathered into a database for ongoing contact and reminders, shouldn’t they?   

But are consumers now so immune from the bombardment of messaging, however it’s delivered? And have they shifted from responding to offers to do business, to working out what they want for themselves and then searching for it?  

And if they have, what’s the point of trying to approach them? Why not just create a nice website with an ecomm plug in and do some posting on social media to create awareness? Isn’t that what all the startups do, the way of the future? 

It’s a point of view isnt it? And seductively simple. It’s the same as having a high street shop where people can walk by, notice it and walk in on impulse. Even if they don’t buy today, they now know it’s there and can come back. And because it’s virtual there are no rent, rates, insurance, maintenance costs. Even better! 

But is a virtual shop really the same? Do people walk by and then drop in on impulse? If they are searching, maybe but helped by SEO spending to get on page 1 of Google.  

Whatever the approach, there is no getting away from the age-old imperatives of knowing: 

  1. Who has a need for my product? 

  2. What performance do they expect of it? 

  3. How much will they pay? 

  4. Where else can they get it?  

  5. What would convince them to buy it from me? 

  6. How will they find me? 

  7. How will I find them?   

Through our practical training work with accountant practices and their clients across the UK the most common issue that we unearth is a lack of new customers (products) or clients (services). So, 50% of our work is about developing and implementing small business marketing plans in order to show how it’s done.  

In the last month alone, we have helped our accountant partners to implement marketing programmes for a: 

  • Dentist  

  • Accountant  

  • Psychologist  

  • Mobile phone repair shop  

  • Van delivery  

  • Life coach  

  • Hairdresser  

  • Haulage contractor  

  • Management trainer  

  • Landscape gardener  

  • Bathroom & kitchen fitter  

  • Digital marketer  

  • Café   

  • Builder

  • Events organiser

  • Escape room planner  

 And every time the first strategy in their marketing plan was research. 

Why? Because they don’t know the answers to the 7 questions above.   

So how did they get where they are?  

In every case they rode a wave of new demand with automatic growth by being early into a new market and did very well until it got choked with new competitors. So prices went down, customers proved to be disloyal, business became a struggle and it was difficult to make ends meet.  

Because business had been easy in the past they had a feeling of entitlement, a sense that it’s unfair and the hope of a magic bullet by speaking to their Runagood® business partner who has some clever technology.  

We have to convince them that without market research the risk of wasting money is high because spending decisions will be based on hunch and assumption rather than hard facts. So, they reluctantly fall in with us. And the first discovery we make is that there is no CRM system, so nowhere to collect data about the customers and prospects who will be contributing to the research. They take a little persuading that an excel sheet is not the answer and we often end up getting them a free CRM and setting it up, using Runagood® templates.    

Then the research begins and it’s far easier than they expected, informative and even fun, again using our templates. And here, a transformation occurs. They switch from scepticism to motivation as they start to see why their sales and margins have declined and understand that they are now headed for solutions.  

So, what about the database issue?  

Two approaches: 

  1. Let them find us

    This is the easy way. Rely on the Internet and word of mouth to attract enquiries for the product or service, but no certainty of reaching everyone who needs or wants it. The favoured approach of most businesses, ie capture details of those that find us and just have a database of them.

    Fine until the drought comes, as it always does.

  2. Go find them

    This is hard work but will ultimately identify every business in the area placing the business in the position of being able to deliver messages to them all. But rejected by most businesses as “too much like hard work”.

    Those that do this day in day out avoid the drought when it comes.  

So, are the marketing methods wearing out? 

Yes. Because of the many who use them carelessly which is the reason that effective marketing has become so difficult for everyone. 

But. For those who invest in and manage a live database of customers past, present, and future that they understand, communicate with intelligently, and listen to, there will always be good business. That will never change.  

By Duncan Collins

Founder of Runagood.com Ltd  

Runagood Ltd