Evolution of Do-It-Yourself Marketing
Don’t do it all yourself
It struck me recently in a meeting with two young entrepreneurs that we were struggling to do it all ourselves, when we should instead be calling on professionals who actually have the relevant expertise and experience to get the best results for the minimum expense.
Especially in social media marketing.
It looks easy, but it’s not
We’re all busy Tweeting, Facebooking and connecting on LinkedIn, thinking we know what we’re doing. It all seems a necessary and obvious part of our marketing programs. But are we accomplishing anything? Raising awareness, building our brand, attracting prospects and future customers? Maybe not.
Much like running a restaurant or retail store, consumers recognize good versus bad performance, but that does not mean they know how to succeed at it themselves. It is never as easy as the experienced professionals make it look. It is usually better to pay for advice to get it right the first time, instead of learning from the painful and expensive mistakes that may result from doing it ourselves.
We’ve been making the same mistake in do-it-yourself marketing for decades. Back in the 80’s, it was fun to play with all the available fonts and graphics in the new desktop software and then blast away with junk faxes. Not so much fun to discover that clients soon went from impressed to annoyed. Not the reaction we were going for. But we repeated the mistakes with junk e-mail. Eventually, we learned to be more respectful of inboxes and social media connections to build and retain customer loyalty and engagement.
We have done the same with other marketing initiatives, trying to imitate the best. It looks easy, but it’s not. Choosing a brand name, slogan, graphics design, writing copy on websites and brochures. It all seems acceptable to the entrepreneur, until an experienced professional points out the lack of a clear, consistent strategic message directed at a well defined target market and customer.
Use the professionals well, help them help you
Don’t make the classic mistake of the entrepreneur who prefers to do it himself badly, rather than pay for an expensive professional. Entrepreneurs by nature are curious and self-confident and will certainly try it on their own. Just remember to stop when you have learned enough to be a better, more knowledgeable client so that you can direct the experts to get the results you want within the budget you can afford.
Try it, learn, and then get good advice to do it better.
Your Uncle Ralph, Del Chatterson
Visit also: LearningEntrepreneurship.com:
And check out two new books by Uncle Ralph, "Don't Do It the Hard Way" and "The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans." available online or at your favourite bookstore. To learn more or buy a copy: Click here
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