‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this’

You don’t know what you don’t know, but here’s 5 ways to find out

(May 1, 2013) Your search for strategies that drive new business to your doorstep is a never-ending one.  When I work with business owners on their marketing strategies, the responses I get usually fall into these categories.

See if any of these remind you of you:

• We’ve tried that and it didn’t work.
• I’ve heard that’s not a very good strategy in my profession.
• We used to do that but we stopped a while back.
• No one does that anymore.

Based on those assumptions, I’ve heard of businesses saying:

• We stopped direct mail because we only got a couple of customers and a lot of returned mail.
• I won’t hire a telemarketer.  They just bug people.
• We don’t want to do an advertisement in that magazine because it’s too expensive.
• We’re going to try hanging flyers on people’s doors.
• We’re going to invest big $$ in an SEO company.  We keep reading about all these businesses that are getting new customers because of better SEO.

None of these are good ideas based on that information.  You can’t afford to start or stop marketing based on feelings or broad generalizations.  Literally, you can’t afford it.  The next time you’re tempted to make marketing decisions based on anything but data, stop.  Take a minute.  Look at the numbers.

Here’s 5 Ways to KNOW if you should continue a marketing strategy or not.

1. How many leads is it generating?
2. How many of those leads are becoming the right kind of customers?
3. How many times are those customers coming back?
4. On average, how much are they spending with you each time they show up?
5. What percentage of that sale from that strategy is staying in your pocket?

Marketing is math, and if you don’t know your numbers, you won’t get the math right.  

By Blue Ribbon News special contributor Trey Finley of Rowlett, a business coach certified through ActionCOACH,  the world’s #1 business coaching franchise, ranked #77 on Entrepreneur’s list of franchises worldwide.  Last year, ActionCOACH clients saw a $10 return on every dollar they invested. 

Trey is super-thankful for mentors who have made a difference in his business and his family.  When was the last time you had a mentor?

Visit his website at rockwallbusinesscoach.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/actioncoachtrey.

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  ActionCoach, Good Business, marketing, Trey Finley