Marketing tip #83: Less but better

I just wrapped up a 4-part webinar that focused on creating a marketing plan that you’ll actually use.  The final element we covered was marketing tactics.

Now that I know why I am doing this (goals), who I am talking to (best customers), what to say to them (key messaging), how much I can afford to spend (lifetime value of a customer) and the stories I can tell to generate interest, word of mouth and attraction — WHAT am I going to do?

Most people are looking for some secret answer.  The one marketing tactic that they hadn’t heard about or the trick to doing something in a way that no one else has heard of.  That’s actually not the secret.

The secret is — before you add more marketing tactics, take the time to examine what you’re already doing and ask yourself — could we do this better?

You’re far better off to do fewer things but do them better.  Less but better is greater than more.  Seriously – repeat after me.  Less but better is greater than more.

Look at the marketing tactics you’re already deploying.  Could you do it:

  • Better?
  • More often?
  • More consistently?
  • More fun/funny/memorable?
  • More professional look/feel?
  • Shift from being about us to being about them?
  • More storytelling and less telling?
  • Give up some control and let your audience drive the conversation?

Before you add a thing — add some quality, value and depth to what you’re already doing.  That may be exactly what needed to be added.

No small business has the resources (time or money) to be everywhere.  So be significant and memorable in the few places you choose to be.  Less but better really is greater than more.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

17 comments on “Marketing tip #83: Less but better

  1. Alex Press says:

    Great Advice! Sometimes the things that should be most obvious in online marketing are blurred by the abundance of new software and statistic applications. Quality above Quantity, Absolutely!
    Thanks so much,
    Alex

    1. Alex,

      Especially as more and more people create more and more stuff — quality is going to really be the differentiator.

      Drew

  2. Amber King says:

    That is a good tip. Examine what you are currently doing and ask if you could do it better. Often, business are so overwhelmed about new marketing tactics that they do not know what they are currently doing is actually ok but just needs to be improved. Less but better is greater than more indeed.

  3. aju george says:

    Its really a great blog about marketing.Its really impressive one.Keep posting like this.

  4. Jacob says:

    When you get to the quantity/quality tradeoff section of your campaign, I tend to go with quality every time. Consistency is also key, as you said. It can irritate your team when you’re on their backs about staying on point, but it really is vital. What are your thoughts on the funny/professional conflict? Especially in our YouTube-centric culture.

    1. Chris Bailey says:

      Jacob, I absolutely agree about your points on both quality and consistency. The key to the latter is to find your brand’s core identity/principles and stay true to that throughout all messaging. That’s what staying “on point” means to me. But then, adjust tone and approach depending on audience. If your audience in certain places will appreciate a more humorous tone in video or copy, then go for it…but as long is your brand’s core identity and principles remain true.

    2. Jacob,

      I think funny is a very fine line. First — it has to be true to your organization’s brand. Second — even if it is true to your brand, there’s still a line you cannot cross. And third — you have to consider the audience and their perspective as well. I prefer clever to funny but for some brands — funny really works. Tougher to pull off in the B2B space, I think.

      What do you think?

      Drew

  5. Chip says:

    This is really good. So often we try to keep adding more and more to our schedules and our presentations, etc. just trying to keep up. This is a good point that we need to focus on scaling back a bit, and then making that part full of quality! Thanks for posting this. Everyone needs this reminder every now and then. Really, everyday would be good, lol.

    1. Chip,

      I think most marketing people are easily lured by the shiny new object. So that’s problem #1. Second — there are a million different things you can do to market your product. So it’s tough to choose only a few. And third — I think marketing people get bored easily and quickly. So by the time they’ve launched the new TV campaign or enewsletter — they’re a little mored with it. Of course, that means they want to do something new as opposed to digging in and staying the course.

      Drew

  6. Mrs.Batista says:

    Excellent approach.. I really love to learn more from the expert..

  7. Drew,
    Good advice. Good content is going to win in the end rather than a bunch of purchased (fake likes, fake Google +1’s, fake video views and worst of all is fake reviews.

    I still find myself excited about new stuff. Last month it was Google plus, this month it’s Facebook timelines for Pages.

    I especially like the idea of producing more professional results like in videos and graphics.

    Question, what are most of your customers asking for today? I can use this when I go out next week talking to prospects. I like fewer better clients so less is more even in how many people you do work for.

    @ClayFranklin

    1. Hey Clay,

      Our clients are asking for solutions to business problems. They could care less about which tool or network brings the solution — they just want to impact their business goals.

      How about yours?

      Drew

  8. Clay Franklin says:

    Drew,
    You are 100% correct.
    Clients want more customers and more revenue.
    My best customers leave it up to me to provide the solution that achieves their goals.
    I like to keep up on what is working now so I can provide solutions that meet their goals.

  9. Theriz26 says:

    Great post! this is a very interesting topic and providing us this kind of information it really a big help. Specially for a newbie, like me! i will surely follow all the tips that you’ve mentioned here to enhance my knowledge. And i’m so excited to read more from you. Thanks for the post and keep up the good work Drew!

  10. What a great topic. We’ve always been firm believers that quality trumps quantity and this post is spot-on with this concept! Particularly insightful for small, startup companies where it might feel instinctive to always do more.

  11. Jer Marie says:

    What a great blog….. a good tips for me and truly make my wake-up call. Keep on posting tips like this one……….. Good Job!!!

    1. Thanks very much Jer! It’s comments like yours that make my day.

      Drew

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *