There Are No Silver Bullets in Marketing

How many times have you heard some version of one of the following?

“ABC Company did so and so with great results. . . let’s do that too.”
“Katz, Katz and Katz Consulting had a huge success with a client . . . we should hire Katz, Katz and Katz for our business too.”

You get the general idea. No matter what you are producing, selling, or servicing, growing your business takes hard work, creative thinking, a great product/service and smart marketing. Throwing money at new marketing tools, tactics and agencies can sometimes give your business a quick growth spurt. But just jumping on the latest winning idea or hiring the “hottest” marketing firm is usually not going to help your business grow long term.

There Are No Silver Bullets in Marketing.

Every business is different. Every problem unique.

I have executed some very successful marketing programs, many of them in education. But I have remained keenly aware that the same solutions that I applied for one client will not necessarily work for another one, even in the same industry. Granted, the odds of success were in my favor since I have a network of people who support marketing efforts to edus and I understand the nuances of the market.

And when I try to apply those same solutions in a different industry, things can get even trickier. It almost goes without saying that if someone has success in one industry, it can be difficult to replicate that same success in an entirely different industry. So be skeptical about the claims that marketing companies and consultants make when trying to win your business. If you are buying into a “program,” make sure you are not just buying magic beans. Dig deep before buying the hype about a marketer’s prior success, even if that success seems impressive.

How to Implement Successful Marketing

So if there are no silver bullets in marketing, then what do you do to grow your business? Well, start by hiring a great team of experienced marketing professionals who can think through your business challenges, solve problems, execute well, and who understand strategy. Make sure they are not just going to regurgitate something they did in the past for another business. When given the autonomy and authority, great marketers should be able to deliver marketing results that match your business goals.

How to Work as a Marketing Team

I am a believer that everyone in an organization is part of the marketing team. They might not be writing copy or buying media, but they have ideas and can see what the competitors are doing. They might talk with customers etc. So be sure to keep those lines of communication open to everyone in your organization, and don’t shut anyone down. No one has all the answers, even if they happen to think they do . . .

Create a plan for each marketing effort you want to implement, focusing on business objectives. Does your business generate leads, drive app downloads, sell online and use ecommerce? Do you have a conversion problem or a cart abonnement problem you are trying to solve? Whatever the case, each one of these items, and more, can be addressed with the right kind of marketing.

As Mark Twain said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” The key here is to find a marketer who can apply that “right kind,” and not just try the latest and greatest idea or a marketing strategy or tactic that worked for someone else.

Growing a business takes hard work. Get the right marketing team in place and let them get to work.