MARKETING LIES BUSINESS HOW-TO THAT ARE HURTING YOUR BUSINESS
We have to have some real talk here. For YEARS, we’ve been told direct response marketing is all you need. We’ve been told that if you can’t measure it down to the penny, you shouldn’t do it.
I can’t measure the impact my videos have on speeding up a sale or know 100 percent for sure that new lead did or didn’t come from a single video, but I know that when someone starts quoting me from a video I made, they’re very likely going to become a customer — or at least a fan. I can’t 100 percent track the impact each newsletter I send has on retention, referrals, and new sales, but I know that when I’m even one week late sending out my newsletter (that doesn’t happen anymore, but a few years ago, it happened all the time), my sales are down that week. I do know that every time the newsletter hits and I’m promoting our Tesla contest, I get new leads. I know that without the relationship building the newsletter provides, my churn is higher. But maybe I should stop sending it? According to Tony Robbins, it now takes an average of 16 touches before someone will even think about buying from you — 16 times! But if the first touch doesn’t work, let’s give up. If they don’t buy right away, our marketing is broken or the media doesn’t work. The funny thing is that we have so many more tools now to track, yet tracking is more difficult than ever. Have you ever wondered why that is? There is so much competition for our attention. For example, I’m trying to get your attention with this newsletter, but I don’t just want your attention here for 10–20 minutes. I also want you to subscribe to my podcast so we can chat weekly. (Seriously, though, it’s an awesome podcast: ShaunBuck.com/podcast.) I also want to engage with you at another time in the week via the Weekend Reading emails. Heck, I’d love for you to come to Boise for my sales and marketing bootcamp. (There may or may not be seats left by the time this publishes, but here is a link, just in case: NewsletterPro.com/scaleup.) We don’t live in the same marketing world anymore, and we have to stop acting like we do.
Let’s look at it another way. Have you ever wondered how a company that has zero revenue can be worth tens of millions? It all comes down to attention. Right now, attention is the most valuable asset on the planet. You can have a million eyeballs, no revenue to speak of, and still be worth tens of millions of dollars. Stores track average time in store; they discovered forever ago that the longer you’re in the store, the more you buy. Websites have found that the more times you log on and the more time you spend on the site, the more valuable you are, even if they haven’t figured out how to monetize you yet. In real-world businesses like yours and mine, the more attention you have, the more time you spend with customers and prospects. And the more celebrity or expert status you can create in their eyes, the more money you’ll make. This is also why churn is such an important number; the lower the churn and the longer you have someone’s attention, the more valuable they are to the company. I’ve often been asked why I use newsletters and why I prefer print over email. It’s simple. With print, I can get the average person to read for 10–15 minutes; with email, I get eight seconds. With print, I can lower churn; with email, I actually decrease how much people trust me, according to numerous studies I’ve read. Why print over email? Because that is what works to get people’s attention. If it ever shifts, I will cheerfully shift with it. I’ll leave you with this advice: Stop fighting against the change and start working with it. You need people’s attention and time, so focus on media that gets you that. Need help finding a reputable vendor for whatever media you’re planning on adding? Email me. If I know one, I’ll get you their name and number. Shaun.Buck@thenewsletterpro.com –Shaun
Well, that’s simply bad advice today.
When we were talking only about newspaper ads, radio, and yellow pages, that was good advice. Today, that advice is business suicide. The reality is that you can’t measure it all. Even if you could, the measuring of all media would be a full-time job. The testing would be brutal and very slow going.
Here is the reality of the world we live in today.
I can’t measure the impact of good reviews, but I still do marketing to get them, and I know for sure they help. I also know bad ones hurt. I can’t measure the impact of much of my social media, but I know people look me up on it and that if I didn’t have any social media, I’d lose business. Yes, I know you can measure paid ads. Can you measure the click fraud, though? I can’t measure the exact impact of each email and each direct mail piece in my nurture campaigns (I think there are 40 or 50 steps now), but I know I close less business without them. According to the advice being given today by many “gurus,” I should stop those campaigns, since I can’t 100 percent track that ROI. That is crazy talk and bad advice.
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