Marketing Expectations
I struggle monthly with the BWCI website even though I get a good amount of traffic, my numbers are solid, I am frugal when it comes to ad costs, and my company is local, not national. It’s because I’m in the brand marketing category of B2B business. Which means I’m in for the long haul. On top of that, I do not expect or get a high number of leads directly from my website. Why? My price point is high. I have come to terms with both of these facts. What I get for my ad dollars is the people I meet, know who I am and what BWCI does for businesses. The Big Water brand has taken hold in the Tahoe Truckee area.
I also have to come to terms with two really important facts; NO business wants to deal with or pay for advertising. Very few of my clients have come from anything but desperation when doing it themselves or other failed gimmicky “easy button” and fly-by-night operations. The one mistake I see most is “it’s social media, let the kid do it.” They understand social media. And what’s wrong with that? This is marketing your business not posting your weekend escapades.
Do you really want a kid speaking out to the world for you and your business?
Will they be here tomorrow, next week?
Do they know how the business end of Meta, Google works?
How much money should you budget for a boost?
Get the picture?
The second biggest misconception is “You can do it for free on social”.
Take into account the time and energy it takes to create content. And for your social feed to populate you will need a ton of content. A recommended 3-5 posts a day to get a TikTok feed to register and begin growing. Then you need to maintain the feed and engage with everyone who comments. I have never sold an organic marketing package. Yes, I do offer, but the cost is 10X a paid ad campaign and I do not do engagement (it scares me).
And don’t forget the big one, CONTROL
We all hear about videos going viral. Which can be good, or bad for business depending on who is watching. The odds are that the people who are watching/sharing may not be your ideal customer base and you no longer have control over the message or how the content is used now that it's in the realm of the public domain, anyone can change the narrative or use it for their own purposes. Your first response may be is to forget social or do as little as possible but you see the successes that happening for businesses with online marketing.
Don't give up.
Be aware that social media lives because there is money in advertising and Meta, Google, and now even TikTok are very mindful of their customers. Control worth paying for. Add to that the real tech advances in data tracking and algorithms with the new IOS14 regulations to keep them in check. This is the beauty of online marketing control and data. When online advertising is done well you can see quickly if your ad campaign is reaching and/or connecting with your people.
As you create your marketing plan keep in mind,
Good marketing has not changed much through the ages, only the delivery. And with that, I will give credit to the speed at which we can test and scale a marketing campaign. That truly is a modern-day marvel.
To begin,
Decide if your campaign is direct sales or brand marketing.
Do you know the difference? And don’t they both do the same thing?
That is a definite no. They can overlap and it happens all the time but campaigns that try to do both are rarely successful. An overlap is best when it happens organically.
Direct Marketing
The buy NOW of advertising where all resources and ROIs are goal-oriented to the number of sales an ad produces. This is the quick money-in-the-hand approach. Cons? Short shelf life. Once your purchases have taken place that customer list is exhausted and it becomes ineffective. Your choice is to build a new audience or switch to branding and go for the repeat sale.
Brand Marketing
A slow slog but can reap long-term benefits. Getting your brand recognized as a valuable asset to your customers is key. Building a relationship and loyalty with your people are the goals. Once this is in place, you can run direct sales campaigns to generate sales whenever you have a new product or feature. Cons? It’s slow to build and takes commitment without a lot of results as you begin the journey. It’s a long-term investment. But the payouts once your brand takes hold can last for decades. I went into depth on this dance Brand vs. Direct Marketing
Platform
Take the time to research platforms. Just because TikTok is all the rage you need to know what you are in for and does the platform have the support and services your business needs. For a primer on platforms, check out Platform Exit? Which Road To Take
Expectations in marketing can leave you in a state of angst if they are unrealistic. Just like life. Perhaps setting high standards in how our businesses are seen by the world and building solid foundations on service and delivery would be a better less stressful road to take.
Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to.
Greg Anderson
Any questions? Please comment below.
Or Reach out tgold@bigwaterci.com
Trina Gold
Master Creator