“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” “I don’t much care where –” “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Have you been advertising like a maniac but your efforts are not getting results? Well, let’s take a step back.
Do you know how many new customers, or new orders, you need to make a profit at the end of this month? Do you know if your products are priced too high or too low to attract your target customer? Or, are you competing on price to the point you cannot make a profit? How much cash can you dedicate to a marketing initiative? How much new or reoccurring business do you need to get a return on your marketing initiative?
If you do not know the answers to these questions, you should take a minute. Otherwise, you are Alice, you don’t much care where you are going, you just want to get there. Find your business baseline so you can know exactly what you need out of your marketing. More clients, more customers, that is not enough. It is tough at times, but sit down and sift through that paperwork and determine what your business needs based on your business’s finances. Treat it like your gas tank, you have to know how much gas you have to know how far you can travel toward your goal.
Once you know what you need, then it is time to sit down and figure out a strategy to get what you want. Who is your client? What does your customer want? How much can you spend to attract that particular client, or satisfy that customer’s wants? Once you know the answers to these questions, you can start moving forward with a plan. There is more to it than just answering those questions, but it is a great start.
