Marketing is different from selling–the marketer figures out how to sell, the seller actually sells. This issue of the Newsletter gives four simple Laws of Marketing: follow all of them for success. The Fourth Law is most often not followed.
The Laws
Here are Dave’s Laws:
- Keep trying new things
- Measure the results of each thing you try
- When you find something that works, do more of it
- When you find something that doesn’t work, do less of it
Continuous experimentation is the key. When magic happens and you find something that works, then capitalize on it and do more of it. But the key is to not just keep adding marketing costs, but to also trim expenses on things that are not working as well.
If you have “sacred cow” marketing practices that are not delivering business, or you don’t know if they are delivering business, find new ones, measure them, and consider discontinuing old practices. An example that’s quite current is a spend on newspaper advertising, that is becoming less useful all the time as newspaper circulation declines.
The Bottom Line
Marketing is a process of continuous improvement. Markets don’t stand still, so your marketing can’t either. Keep experimenting and improving. And consider killing some sacred cows!
