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8 out of 10 Marketing Approaches You Try Will Not Work

June 2, 2006 on 5:11 pm | In Advertising, Internet Marketing |

98%* of the books or articles you read about marketing will contain glowing reports of what worked well. You never hear much about the things that fizzed, splatted or imploded.

That’s quite different from the real world. Yes, there are some smart or experienced marketers who can make campaigns work like gangbusters most of the time. But in most cases, the reality is this: Most marketing approaches you try will FAIL or be only marginally successful.

You’ll send out direct mails that get a pitiful response. You’ll place an ad that burns a hole in your marketing budget but goes nowhere. We’ve all been there.

But the important thing to remember is….

It doesn’t matter!

If you follow the rule of conservatively testing marketing approaches on a small scale before rolling them out only once they’ve proven themselves, you won’t go far wrong.

Most marketers don’t test enough options (I include myself here). Over the next quarter I resolve to double the number of marketing tests I conduct - I’ll report back with any interesting results.

Question: what marketing tests have YOU conducted in the past? What were the insights or results?

  • This figure may not be strictly accurate. I just made it up.

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6 Comments »

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  1. Hi - my problem is that nothing i try has worked to promote my first aid training business. I would be happy if one thing worked then i could do more but i can’t seem to get ahead. if you have any advice please share it with me.

    Comment by matty — June 6, 2006 #

  2. Hi there,

    As you point out, getting traction with your marketing activities is the first step. Some things you might look at are - who you’re targeting, how you’re positioning your offering (your Unique Selling Proposition) and the media and methods you’re using. If you’d like to read further resources on this area, you might like to sign up for my Client Attraction Newsletter at http://www.marketing-results.com.au/newsletter.php

    Comment by Will — June 8, 2006 #

  3. Classifieds advertising has worked pretty well for me in the past - advertising in small newspapers that have a good community following. However one of my best papers is not performing right now because my service section is too crowded with offerings. I’m going to look into offering something free with every service call to try to change that.

    Comment by Carlos — June 10, 2006 #

  4. 8 out of 10! Could it be?? Wouldn’t lots of money go down the drain that way?

    But yea, gotta agree with you on testing enough options. Maybe it’s through these testings that allow such figures to happen. A viscous cycle?

    Comment by CG — June 11, 2006 #

  5. Hi Carlos - welcome! Thanks for your comment. In my former position at a direct marketing company, we advertised in literally hundreds of publications every month and there tended to be some fluctuation. Something that worked well for a time so the approach had to be tweaked and adjusted. Your idea of changing your offer sounds great. Sometimes a publication will just become too inundated with advertisers and no one will be making money because their’s just not enough custom to go around.

    Hey CG - welcome to you too! You’re right that 8 out of 10 is high, but in some cases it’s probably not far off the mark. You’re exactly right - this happens because people don’t test. They end up throwing good money after bad.

    Comment by Will — June 14, 2006 #

  6. Great advice Will. Thanks!

    Comment by Phil de Fontenay — September 18, 2006 #

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