VERN ESWINE
planned and executed successfully can make
people aware of your existence, bring people in
and make the phone ring or the emails pop. But
there is an equally if not more significant element
in marketing that will actually perpetuate that
word of mouth and that is delivering on what
you promise.
Too many businesses work with an agency, a
radio, television, billboard, magazine or direct
mail company with the idea that all they have to
do is tell people and the money will start rolling
in. The problem with this kind of thinking is that
while the front end of this effort may indeed bring
people in, your role as a business owner truly is
on the word of mouth. That means answering the
question- what will the customers think and say
about their experience?
In today’s world of social media and internet,
word of mouth spreads faster than anyone can
even imagine and that means if there has been
no thought put into how to handle and deliver
what you promise, the positive word of mouth
will not be generated. In fact, word of mouth can
be incredibly negative and now you are forced to
defend the experience.
“ IT’S LIKE ARGUING
WHICH IS MOST
IMPORTANT, THE
CHICKEN OR THE
EGG. EACH BRING
SOMETHING TO THE
TABLE (SO TO SPEAK).”
So, while it is true that word of mouth is the
best form of advertising, it is also true that most
business owners place the importance of this word
of mouth on customers telling their friends and
neighbors about their business when in fact, they
tell them about their experience. They tell them if
you were nice, friendly and accommodating. They
tell them if the food was good, the atmosphere to
loud or the price too high and in today’s world
this all happens instantly and overnight.
Marketing, as we have said since we began, is
an internal and external effort. The consumer is
receiving thousands of communications a day
and you, as a business, need to plan a way to
be heard and become known as an option for
people to consider in your field or industry. You
also, as a business owner, play a crucial role in
your marketing investment and that is to make
sure you, your staff, your service, your price and
any offers you make can deliver. That’s on you!
MARKETING 1, 2, 3
Marketing any business it is crucial to know
and understand three important things:
• Who is your competition?
• What makes you different?
• Who are your customers and where are they?
These three questions will ultimately drive you
to plan what modes of communication and what
increments of your investment will be used in
telling people you exist and inviting them to come.
For many people today, they have embarked
on a path that has decided to drop all forms of
media and to embrace social media because,
in their minds, anyone can do, it’s easy and it’s
free. However, much like anything in marketing,
perceptions like this can end up costing you
money in lack of customers, lack of proper
communications and most importantly knowing
how to follow-up.
Any media buy should be driven by the top
there elements mentioned above. While there
are other important factors that also need to be
considered, these three are crucial in beginning
any marketing effort. In regards to your audience,
if your customers are primarily 55 and above (an
age group that is expected to double in the next
10) years) deciding to place all your efforts on
Snapchat, Instagram or Twitter may be misplaced.
Dropping efforts in using media such as print
media, radio and television could also be a mistake
when it comes to placing your assumptions that
traditional mediums are no longer relevant.
PLAN FOR TOMORROW TODAY
Let’s face it: Today’s world is filled with a great
deal of expectations. We have a passion for doing
something, so we start a business and expect
others to share in that passion. We rent or buy a
place on a busy street and we expect people to
stop in, shop and buy what we have. We develop
a website, establish a Facebook page and maybe
an Instagram account, and we expect potential
customers to start following us in droves.
However, the expectations do not always relate
directly to positive results.
Unless you have an unlimited bank account that
will cover your mistakes, most small businesses
do not have the luxury to just wing it. And they
don’t have to.
Do a little legwork to find free small business
resources, including SBDC, SCORE and some
chambers of commerce. Seek out entrepreneur
hubs and working spaces you can use at little or
no charge as you develop and perfect— plan —
your concept.
Planning ahead forces you to address your
competition and makes you answer questions
about how you are going to be unique or stand out
from others whether in product, services or price.
The planning process also makes you look at
something many business owners never think
about – sustainability. It’s a great feeling to get
a place, decorate it, have the ribbon cutting and
open the business you dreamed about opening,
but what will it take to keep your business thriving?
Hope is nice and meaningful, but it has never
been a worthwhile strategy. When it comes to
investing your time and money, give yourself the
best chance to succeed by thinking through and
planning for that success.
Vern Eswine is president of The Marketing
Company in New Albany. The brand marketing
firm has been in business since 1982. For more
information go to marketingcompany.com or
call 812.944.7728.
EXTOL : JUNE/JULY 2019
79