I’m just like you. I’ve put off making certain marketing decisions because I didn’t want to spend money. Sometimes that was a smart thing to do. But other times it just cost me money… and time… and I bet some future clients as well.
What do I mean?
For example – my recent changeover to an email service provider (ESP) to deliver NousNEWS, my monthly email newsletter. Not an earth-shattering decision on it’s own. But this one decision will save me hours of work and enable me to market my business more effectively. This will mean thousands of dollars in revenue to me over a 12-month period.
Not only will I save time in future, but guess what? I’ve wasted plenty of time in the past. Wasted time by being inefficient. Wasted time by thinking I was saving money. Wasted time by waiting.
In fact, because I waited to make the changeover, the task is much bigger now than it would have been if I had done it earlier.
Although it’s not always that simple. Take my ESP decision for one. There are also technology issues to be considered. And there’s integration with my web site. And there are the procedural issues (systems) that need to be altered. It’s easy to see how decisions get put off until “some day”.
Beware... Waiting can bankrupt your business.
Example 2.
I have a client in a computer support business who is non-stop busy for a few months straight, fixing client problems, responding to urgent phone calls, and putting every client request first. Things look rosy. Clients are invoiced. Revenue rolls in.
Then it stops. The feast-famine cycle has hit again.
It stopped because decisions were delayed. “Busy-ness” got in the way of effective marketing management. Decisions that could have created future revenue were not taken.
Example 3.
A client had been operating his consulting business for two years. Initially his clients had come from ex-colleagues, industry contacts and business associates. But a few years down the track my client had lost faith in his abilities. Although he is very good at what he does, prospects had dried up and his confidence had faded.
So what went wrong?
Yep... you guessed it. He waited to get his marketing organised. He waited until he wasn’t so busy. Trouble is, he also waited until funds were tight and he didn’t feel like he could “risk” spending any money. Waiting was bankrupting his business.
The solution.
The good news is that my client reorganised his finances and used my assistance to develop and prioritise his marketing tactics. Then he spent money on essential marketing tools. In this case it was a few thousand dollars on re-designing his business cards, letterhead and creating a much improved web site.
So there you have it. Waiting costs you money. Waiting can also cost you time, clients, and visibility in your market.
The remedy is to plan ahead and make sure you have a constant stream of marketing activities happening. It’s not that hard to do.
Waiting Can Bankrupt Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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Stuart Ayling
(Visit Stuart's Website)
Stuart Ayling runs Marketing Nous, an
Australasian marketing consultancy that
specialises in marketing for service
businesses. He helps clients to improve
their marketing tactics, attract more
clients, and increase revenue. For
additional marketing resources, including
Stuart's popular monthly newsletter, visit
his web site at www.marke
tingnous.com.au
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