Gathering dust

As a marketing strategist, my biggest fear is sending a client away with a 100+ page marketing document that will only sit on their shelf and gather dust. Many businesses see marketing as something that happens off to the side of their business – something they do with a spare couple of hundred dollars. So the challenge is set – how do you get businesses actively thinking about their marketing?

My tried and true method is to simply involve the client in the process. Most business people shy away from marketing because it’s so complex, multi-faceted and full of scary jargon. My theory – educate, not just deliver.

One of the most rewarding experiences for a strategic marketer is to see a client implementing something you recommended. To accomplish this, however, they need to overcome the biggest barrier – change. In my opinion, the best way to overcome fear of change is to encourage the client to have the ideas – you just instigate the process, or plant the seed. If the client supports the ideas 100% – change isn’t so hard. When a consultant gives them a 100+ page document full of change – it suddenly becomes impossible.

One product Jack in the box has which follows this exact process, is our Marketing Audit. We don’t give you a huge document that you’ll only read once. Rather, we follow a synergistic process – we work with you not for you, to devise strategies and solutions. We help you understand how marketing will grow your business, not just be another expense. We give you physical examples of how things will flow and function via a chronological action plan, not just pages of written solutions. Many clients who have been through the process have photocopied their action plans and pinned them on their wall, or carry them around with them every day. The action plan is their bible – their reminder of where they’re going, and when they’re going to get there.

So if you want to really understand marketing, be responsible and accountable for your marketing activities and decisions, and be so truly excited about a marketing strategy that you stick it on your wall for all to see – call us.