When Marketing is a Waste of Money

July 18, 2011
12:00 pm
Anya Smilanick

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE WASTING MONEY ON YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS? WELL IT’S ACTUALLY ALL TOO COMMON WITH SMALL BUSINESS.

Small businesses are throwing money into SEO (search engine optimization), postcards, print ads, flyers, circulars, conventions, radio and even tv commercials with out having a system in place to convert leads into sales. Or by not collecting customer information so they can follow up or try again for the sale later. Or by collecting customer information and then doing nothing with it (this is the most common problem we see). Generating new leads is expensive and it is a waste of money if there is no system in place to follow up with those leads on an ongoing basis.

How do you avoid this? First, start by having a questionnaire next to the phone, or on your website that captures valuable information, collect your customer’s contact information and ask them how they heard about you. This is the most basic information you can collect, if appropriate you may want to get birthdays and anniversaries so you can send out cards and specials. You may also need their address so you can add them to your mailing list. But that’s just the start.

Next, you need a system in place so you can follow up with the new leads and convert them to new business. This may include phone calls, emails, email marketing, invitations to events, or greeting cards. How ever you choose to follow up make sure you have more than one way to contact your leads, and keep your communication ongoing. One follow up call or email is not enough.

Whatever you do, don’t launch a new expensive marketing campaign without having a follow up program in place.

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