Dec
21
Earlier this week I happened to be sharing a dram with an hotelier who is nearing completion of a £1 million refurbishment of his property.
These days it is prudent to cut costs. So that’s what he’s doing: Advertising programmes have been sliced; product offerings reduced; staffing levels cut and employee training brought to nearly a standstill.
At the same time, some wild sales offers are being made online – you might have seen these offers floating about on the internet, for example “rooms for only £10”.
Elsewhere on this blog I try to encourage you to think of your marketing expenditure as an investment, not a cost. To do this effectively means you have to prepare it and measure it as an investment. You’re not a bank, no government is going to come and bale you out. You’re not a bank, with a bit of luck you might actually have a sustainable business model.
But unless you treat your marketing efforts with the respect they deserve, your other investments (in the fabric of your property for example) will be exposed to even greater risks.
These days it is prudent to cut costs. So that’s what he’s doing: Advertising programmes have been sliced; product offerings reduced; staffing levels cut and employee training brought to nearly a standstill.
At the same time, some wild sales offers are being made online – you might have seen these offers floating about on the internet, for example “rooms for only £10”.
Elsewhere on this blog I try to encourage you to think of your marketing expenditure as an investment, not a cost. To do this effectively means you have to prepare it and measure it as an investment. You’re not a bank, no government is going to come and bale you out. You’re not a bank, with a bit of luck you might actually have a sustainable business model.
But unless you treat your marketing efforts with the respect they deserve, your other investments (in the fabric of your property for example) will be exposed to even greater risks.
The respect you need to demonstrate is based on several factors:
You need to be patient – marketing isn’t an instant fix.
You need to be well prepared – marketing is not a discipline for the careless or feckless (although I grant you these characteristics are frequently displayed by people involved in marketing)
You need to make a plan – unplanned marketing usually doesn’t work. When it does work, you’ll have no idea why so you won’t be able to repeat the experience and reap the benefits.
You need to work your plan – Your marketing plan is the part of your business that brings new money in the form of new customers. This means that your marketing plan can cause revenue in to your business. But only if you work it hard.
This doesn’t mean you cut the life out of your marketing budget.
It is a source of some amusement amongst my colleagues that hoteliers in particular are notable for spending six or seven figures on a refurbishment designed to maintain or improve their business performance for the next five to ten years, but will then baulk at the thought of spending three figures on telling people why they should buy it.
…but over our dram, it emerged that my hotelier friend had made dramatic cuts to his marketing budget. One of the things he cut was the frequency of his conversation with his customers: Advertising is now 10% of what it was; website expenditure has been cut to 5% of last years’ figure and direct mail campaigns that were so successful last year have been cut to one delivery every six months, instead of one every month.
In effect, he is saying to existing and prospective customers,
“Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once”
What a pity. The money he’s planning to spend will be wasted, because it simply isn’t enough. It’s not causing enough frequency in his messages to his customers.
Because whether you like it or not, a lot of marketing is about repetition, whether online or offline doesn’t matter. Repetition matters.
You see, the people at whom you’re pointing those adverts or sending those emails or targeting with your mailbox flyers will not respond to a message delivered only once.
They do not listen carefully.
They will not notice your beautifully crafted (ha! If only…) marketing messages.
Once. Is not enough.
You need to nag your prospects, you need to say it over and over and again and again. There are simply too many marketing messages competing for their attention.
Once is not enough to make them understand the connections required between their needs, your product and why they should buy it from you.
Once is not enough to get the sales you need to protect your investment in your business.
If new customers are going to be harder to find, you need to step up your investment in marketing, not cut it.
There are enough challenges facing your business today. Knocking the living daylights out of your marketing budget just adds to the challenges you face.
You need to be patient – marketing isn’t an instant fix.
You need to be well prepared – marketing is not a discipline for the careless or feckless (although I grant you these characteristics are frequently displayed by people involved in marketing)
You need to make a plan – unplanned marketing usually doesn’t work. When it does work, you’ll have no idea why so you won’t be able to repeat the experience and reap the benefits.
You need to work your plan – Your marketing plan is the part of your business that brings new money in the form of new customers. This means that your marketing plan can cause revenue in to your business. But only if you work it hard.
This doesn’t mean you cut the life out of your marketing budget.
It is a source of some amusement amongst my colleagues that hoteliers in particular are notable for spending six or seven figures on a refurbishment designed to maintain or improve their business performance for the next five to ten years, but will then baulk at the thought of spending three figures on telling people why they should buy it.
…but over our dram, it emerged that my hotelier friend had made dramatic cuts to his marketing budget. One of the things he cut was the frequency of his conversation with his customers: Advertising is now 10% of what it was; website expenditure has been cut to 5% of last years’ figure and direct mail campaigns that were so successful last year have been cut to one delivery every six months, instead of one every month.
In effect, he is saying to existing and prospective customers,
“Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once”
What a pity. The money he’s planning to spend will be wasted, because it simply isn’t enough. It’s not causing enough frequency in his messages to his customers.
Because whether you like it or not, a lot of marketing is about repetition, whether online or offline doesn’t matter. Repetition matters.
You see, the people at whom you’re pointing those adverts or sending those emails or targeting with your mailbox flyers will not respond to a message delivered only once.
They do not listen carefully.
They will not notice your beautifully crafted (ha! If only…) marketing messages.
Once. Is not enough.
You need to nag your prospects, you need to say it over and over and again and again. There are simply too many marketing messages competing for their attention.
Once is not enough to make them understand the connections required between their needs, your product and why they should buy it from you.
Once is not enough to get the sales you need to protect your investment in your business.
If new customers are going to be harder to find, you need to step up your investment in marketing, not cut it.
There are enough challenges facing your business today. Knocking the living daylights out of your marketing budget just adds to the challenges you face.
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