How is your marketing measuring up to your goals for this year? As we head into June and the halfway point for this year, this is a critical time to take stock of how well you’re progressing toward this year’s goals. Or, if you’re not progressing toward this year’s goals.
When I start working with clients, they’ll often have one of two types of expectations for their marketing:
- The Fireworks Watchers: They’ll expect significant changes to their business with one or two marketing “hacks” that’ll get them amazing results in a few days. Often they’re setting this expectation without realizing that significant change in a business can ONLY happen if changes also occur in other business areas outside of marketing.
- The Tip-Toers: They’re so hesitant to try a new marketing campaign or strategy that they don’t commit to doing it well, resulting in what seems like a failure.
What do they have in common? They expect quick marketing results, often within a week or two. And without that immediate result, they decide that the new strategy or campaign has failed. After years in the field, I can tell you that it can take up to three months to know if a new marketing strategy or campaign works for a business.
Some businesses will see quick results from a new campaign or strategy that hits their ideal clients at just the right time, and only when they’re ready for something new. Immediate results are the result of a significant business change alongside new marketing.
What to Do Instead
Rather than expecting a quick result from new marketing, I always encourage clients to take the time to let it work into how their ideal clients see their business. For your business to become top-of-mind to your ideal clients, it’ll need to be in front of someone consistently for weeks or months before they’re turning to you without hesitation. So, let that marketing do its work for a while before you measure whether it’s been effective.
In short, take the marketing slow lane to your business goal.
Do the work that’s part of this new marketing. Then also do the work in your business to support the new marketing. You may run across some of this while you do:
- Updating your client onboarding process
- Creating a waiting list queue
- Streamlining how you create content for your social media
- Adding time to create a newsletter for your email list
- Setting aside time to do the administrative work that keeps your business going (bookkeeping, time tracking, paperwork)
If you’re still running the same business with new marketing, take stock of what needs to change. When you do, you may see that there are items that need your attention. With consistent marketing that works, you will experience changes in your business. It may only take a while.
