Avoiding A Costly Marketing Mistake Even The Big Brands Make.

[anonymousadguy]

It doesn't matter how big or small your business is. You could run a one-person home business. You could run a Fortune 5 oil company. Whoever you are, and whatever the nature of your business, the correct approach to marketing is fundamentally the same.

Sound nuts?

I've worked with a wildly diverse roster of clients. My agency has several big brands that pay most of the bills. But we also love working with small, local businesses. An air conditioning repair company. A web-based business solutions firm. A specialty wine store. And in every case, we've found that these clients are prone to the same basic mistake that the biggest of the big make every day.

Here's what happens time and again in my business, with clients of all shapes and sizes. They'll call up and say, "We want a TV campaign," or "we need a flash-based website" or "my kids love YouTube, so let's do some edgy viral stuff."

To which we always ask the same question: what's the core business objective you're trying to achieve?

To which we often hear the same response: silence.

These businesses are committing one of the most common and costly mistakes in marketing. They're putting tactics ahead of strategy.

See, an ad is really just a tactic used to carry out a specific strategy. Minus the strategy, you know what it is? A waste of money. That's because a tactic that's right for one business can be dead wrong for the next.

That's not marketing. That's shooting dice.

Got any thoughts on how people can put strategy first? Post them here.

And for a few simple ways to avoid this mistake, check out the full article at anonymousadguy.com.

[MisterMcJib]

That was a really excellent post. Thanks man

[Woodcs82]

I think every business needs to think and map out a clear plan so they aren't blindly spending their monies.

Internet Marketing and Offline marketing are much differnt. However offline and online marketing can be done together for a much greater effect. In this day in age i would say online marketing is a must.

How many of you open a phone book? I rarely do, in the cases i do its when im in my car travelling.

Folks ...the fact is that MOST business comes from referrals, second business comes from internet searches via google most likely.

-Colin

[Iamnotsatisfied]

Interesting post.

Marketing is a bit like playing checkers

Sometimes it might look like a good move at first, but it will cost you more than you gained after a while.