Is the investment worth it?

Business owners ask themselves this question for just about everything they do. Where I hear it most, is with regards to marketing efforts. Many small business owners don’t have a succinct marketing strategy, so they are left to decide each individual item as it is approached whether it is worth it? Things like advertising with a particular vendor either online or offline, direct mail campaigns, social media outreach, sponsorships and more.

And what they are really trying to determine is "if I invest in this marketing strategy, am I likely to get new clients?"

And the reality is, without first sitting down and mapping out a comprehensive marketing strategy that ties into your business goals and objectives, none of the marketing ideas you might dabble in will truly be effective.

Consider for example a law firm with a few partners and associates. The firm specializes in personal injury and has a particular interest in cyclists (this being Seattle). As they gain clarity on their ideal client, they develop a succinct marketing strategy to reach their target market. They invest in sponsorships that get their name out to the cycling community, their social media outreach targets educating cyclists and they develop relationships with chiropractors (for referrals). If approached, they will determine a non-cycling athletic event is not worth the marketing investment. While they may have non-cyclist clients, those are not their ideal client, meaning they won’t spend marketing dollars or resources on activities to attract those clients. Those activities would not be effective for them.

Another example might be a hair salon with several stylists. The salon has taken a look at their clientele and determined the average client is female between 18-29 years old. Their marketing strategy would include lots of social media interaction targeted to the places this audience hangs out online. For example women dominate Pinterest with 42% of online women using the platform (compared with 13% of online men) and 34% of 18-29 year olds use it. While Facebook is gaining older users, it still touts an 87% usage rate amongst 18-29 year olds use. Instagram sees 53% of 18-29 year olds but it is more evenly split between men/women. LinkedIn only has 23% of its users in the 18-29 year old range, so LinkedIn won’t be a part of their marketing strategy.

The investment is only worth it if it fits into your overall marketing strategy. Without a strategy, how do you know if it is the right target audience for you and that you are talking to the decision makers who have the influence and authority to buy from you? And keep in mind the investment can be in dollars or time. You are much more likely to waste your investment of time because business owners tend to discount what their time is worth.

Start with your marketing strategy, and then you can decide whether the investment is worth it. And don’t forget to measure in order to check your results!

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NOTE: all data is from Pew Research for 2014.

About FocalPoint Business Coaching

FocalPoint Business Coaching is the world’s premier coaching organization. It is an elite group of focused senior business people who have a commitment to ongoing learning and teaching others. As a result our high achieving clients experience an ROI much greater than traditional business coaching.

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About Karol

Karol Dixon de la O works with serious business professionals to find the next level of achievement in their business. Business owners and entrepreneurs who struggle with time and priority management, sales, marketing, delegation, strategic thinking, relationship building or leadership effectiveness can elevate their game with business coach Karol Dixon de la O.

Karol has over 20 years of experience analyzing challenges and opportunities within organizations. Using powerful business concepts and strategies to impact your business, she works with clients one-on-one to discover the best path forward and how to leverage strengths to reach the next level of success.