5 reasons why your marketing is failing

 This is nowhere near as devastating as it first sounds. Marketing is a lot like any machine; if it is a bit clunky today, things can be totally different tomorrow.

Like any machine, it can be fixed. But it is important to know what parts of the machine need repair.

This is not always apparent, so like you do with any machine, when you can’t pinpoint the fault you have to look for the symptoms.

Well, when I put on my marketer's cap, there are 5 symptoms which show up time and again – often all at once!!

1. You get no leads, website enquiries or phone calls
2. You have no time for a marketing strategy
3. You are paying multiple agencies and get no reporting
4. You can’t track your current marketing ROI
5. Your marketing and sales teams speak different languages

1. You get no leads, website enquiries or phone calls

Your website might be brand new, but very few visitors - if any – are clicking through or trading their contact details; nor can they find your phone number on the site.

Remember, your website competes for you against competitor’s websites in a world where every second counts.

So why isn’t your contact number easily found and highly visible? Why do you ask for blood when people opt to fill out a form? Why is there no logical sequencing and why the annoying dead ends? Why is there too much information when brevity is enough?

Remember, when somebody shows up for a cup of tea, try not to shove dinner in their face.

2. You have no time for a marketing strategy

This is a very common workplace catch-cry. And let’s be honest here, every director or business owner has ample time for a marketing strategy. The true reason anyone claims to the contrary is due to fear of now knowing where to start and this manifests itself into complete inaction. There is no shame in this as it’s perfectly normal to be unsure of where to start with such a highly specialised science. And it is a science! See next point ……….

3. You can’t track your current marketing R.O.I

For as long as anyone can remember, advertising has been labelled as that ‘necessary expense’ which leaves you damned if you do and damned if you don’t. But it’s not the case anymore. A modern digital solution is – and always should be – heavily customised to suit your specific business and its aims.

And the great news is any integrated solution today worth its salt should come with complete R.O.I data. If your provider can’t justify what you are actually getting for your money, then they are most likely old school. Which leads me onto the next point ……….

4. You are probably paying multiple agencies and get no reporting

Time and time again we see multiple agencies at work for a single client. With ‘specialisation’ bounced around as the excuse, your company might have found itself with an advertising agency, a PR company, a web person and probably some other discipline thrown into the mix.

If your business is in this situation, ask yourself this: If you went to buy a company car, would you expect to receive a complete car or would the dealership give you just the body and leave you to find your own supplier for engine, wheels, electrical etc?

5. Your marketing and sales teams speak different languages

How often do you hear the following at your business?

Marketing: “We get all these leads and sales just wastes them”.

Sales: “These leads we get from marketing are mostly useless”.

As they say, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.

When you look at it, both departments have been using the same formulae for so many decades that most companies haven’t noticed the digital age creep up with one key weapon they never had to date: integration!

A well structured CRM platform will change everything. Apart from streamlining processes and eliminating cold calling, it achieves the holy grail for business by putting these two departments on the same page, moving in the same direction. I have even seen them learn to get on with one another!