Are you engaged in Panic Mode Marketing?
Panic Mode Marketing is defined by the all encompassing thought of “Oh SH*T! I need money NOW!” It’s when you begin focusing upon this quarter’s sales figures instead of next quarter’s sales figures.
Now, the BUSINESS SAVVY business owner knows that smart marketing means what you do today is laying the ground work for the sales of the next QUARTER. In other words, the things you’re doing TODAY are intended on filling the marketing or sales FUNNEL of the next quarter.
No where is this practice more evident that in the brick and mortar retail consumer goods market place. As a matter of fact, consumer goods retailers begin planning for Q4 in Q2… not Q3!!!
Failing to lay next quarter’s ground work TODAY dooms you to staying on the path of Panic Mode Marketing next quarter as well.
The problem with “panic mode marketing” is that when you begin engaging in it, you lose your forward focus. Your decisions are all based in a “7 days or less” time frame instead of a long term growth plan with an eye to the next quarter… the next year and beyond.
For a seemingly silly example, take a small beer brewery who wants to boost sales this quarter. They launch an advertising campaign that proclaims, “Excessive beer intake proven to prevent prostate cancer.” Sure, the outrageous claim makes for a short term sales spike… but where will the brewery be be next quarter… or next year?
The mistake I’ve seen time and time again is business owners whose entire focus is upon creating a DYNAMITE campaign that excites the public and drives them to the company’s web site or doors by droves. (By the way, marketing campaigns RARELY generate such a stampede!) Meanwhile the product or service offered isn’t ready to meet the needs of the customers.
When I worked as a newspaper advertising account executive, my sales manager had a standard reply to the business owner who claimed newspaper advertising didn’t work. He would challenge the business owner to run a 1X1 ad offering to give away $5 bills to anyone who walked in the door, (remember, this was spoken in the 80’s). Without exception, not ONE business owner took us up on the challenge. Their immediate response was, “I can’t afford to give money away to everyone who walks in the front door!”
My manger’s response, “I thought you said newspaper advertising didn’t work.” I don’t think he closed many sales using that technique… but it was a nice illustration.
Want to generate a stampede? Run an ad promising to give away $20 bills to everyone who walks in and asks. (After all, it’s the 2008!) However, don’t do so until your product or service offerings are compelling enough for those same customers to turn around and spend that $20 bill and more buying your product or service!
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