Why Marketing Fails #1 - Desire For Instant Gratification

It's no secret that in today's day and age, we live in a society that expects instant satisfaction. It probably didn't start with the invention of the microwave, but the fact remains that if we want to heat something up in a hurry, we can toss it in the microwave and make it hot in minutes if not seconds. It takes less than 5 minutes to make a bowl of popcorn - already buttered. My wife and I recently purchased an air popper, and it's amazing how much better the popcorn tastes than the microwave variety. This just goes to show that just because something works fast, doesn't always mean it's the best way to do things. Of course, there are some things you just can't microwave, no matter how much you may want to. For example, if you love a nice, juicy medium rare steak, you aren't going to get it from the microwave without destroying the steak.

Marketing your business is a lot like cooking a stead! Consider what's required:

1) You must choose a good cut of meat - Some businesses are not structured to handle volume, and you have to ask yourself if your business has the capacity to be profitable if its customer base grows? How much business would it require for you to create your ideal life, and what would your life look like if you were trying to maintain that many customer accounts. What are your fixed costs? Your variable costs? What's your marginal revenue compared to your marginal costs? Marketing a bad business is like cooking a bad cut of steak. It doesn't matter how you cook it, it's still not going to taste good.

2) You must invest in the right tools - If you want your steak to be hot, a microwave can get the job done fast, but if you want it cooked right, you need to invest in a barbecue. A microwave may cost less than a barbecue, but it won't work nearly as well, and you're more likely to burn your steak or turn in into a hockey puck than get a great tasting meal. The same is true for marketing. If you aren't using the right tools for your business, your business is going to get burnt. Not every business requires the same tools. Not every meal requires a BBQ. Some meals need an oven or stove. Not every business can benefit from Newspaper, Radio, or Social Media. Some need direct mail, some need SEO. Most businesses require a good combination of the right tools.

One of the reasons why cooking a good meal is such a great analogy for marketing is because, like cooking

Why People Buy

A couple weeks ago I pointed out that marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin. Marketing IS sales. Don't allow yourself to get pulled into this trap that tells you that if you become a good marketing expert you'll never have to sell again. Let me repeat. Marketing IS sales. The only real difference between the two is where you meet your customer in the buying process, because while sales usually involves the immediate exchange of getting your customer to buy from you, marketing is the process of selling yourself to that customer before they even know they need you or your product or service. But, even if your customer isn't ready to buy, you're still selling them on the idea that if they ever need what you have, they should come to you. Also remember that all your marketing efforts can ever do is get a customer to your door once. After they arrive, you still need to possess the skills to convert traffic into dollars - again, sales!

Armed with this knowledge, wouldn't it make sense to apply sales strategies in our marketing? Of course it would! Unfortunately, most business owners hate the very idea of selling (even their own services). Most business owners love delivering their product, but put them into a situation where they have to actually go out and convince people to buy from them, they're scared silly. As a result, most business owners never become adept at sales, and by natural progression, never learn to effectively market themselves properly (I say it again, marketing IS sales).

It's really a shame, because sales is such a simple process. There is no magic to selling. Their are lots of techniques to learn, but only one magical concept that makes all the difference. That concept, is this:

You Can't Afford to Not Advertise!

Over the years, hundreds of individuals and corporations have struggled to discover the perfect system to market their product or service. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written on the subject. Countless researches have been conducted, and billions of dollars have been spent in searching for the ultimate marketing secret. So called "marketing experts" promise to have the secret to marketing success, so they sell their books, publish their articles and blogs, and sell their expertise. The newest trend today is the "Secrets to Marketing with Social Media" and "How to grow you business with Social Media" with hundreds upon hundreds of so called marketing experts promising to to sell you the secrets to success with social media and making it sound like there is some kind of master formula that, when followed, is guaranteed to jump-start your business.

These claims are lies! There is no master forumla. There is no ultimate solution. There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to your marketing woes. 

Here is the fact. As a business owner, you have two resources at your disposal. Time and money. The more time you spend personally hunting

What is Marketing?

What is marketing? These days there are as many conflicting views about the actual definition of marketing as there are opinions about the right way to do it. But let's cut through the proverbial crap and take an unbiased look at what marketing is so we can answer the age old question, is marketing even worth it?

First of all, it's important to keep in mind that there is no one size fits all marketing solution. Traditional companies are staring in wonder at the amazing growth that some industries are experiencing with social media marketing and, considering its cost, looking for an effective way to do it themselves. While some industries can quite easily transition into social media and find great success with it, the fact remains that not every business can achieve the levels of success required to sustain themselves through social media alone. On the same token, many companies are ignoring an extremely lucrative opportunity in social media to pursue traditional marketing tactics that will ultimately only yield minimal results for them.

The goal of all marketing is to feed the funnel. Imagine for a moment that your customers are water, and in