All other things being equal, persistence, not quitting and pressing forward, even when we don’t see the results we are hoping for as quickly as we like, is critical for the small business owner working to build their business and brand.
Persistence is needed whether the strategies we use to help build our business and brand name recognition include a website, permission based email marketing, social media, newspaper advertising, mobile ads, networking events or any other kind of marketing strategy.
Time Is Needed To See Results
Most, if not all, marketing initiatives require time to produce results. Rarely do any of these, or even a combination of these, provide magical overnight results.
Without persistence, we may switch from one marketing strategy to another in an effort to grow our business, never giving any strategy enough time to show results. It’s similar to planting seeds in a field and then uprooting them before they can grow a crop. It’s a big waste of time and resources.
Certainly some marketing strategies we may recognize early on, or even further down the road, as unproductive and needing to be halted. Possibly, an investment of time and money we shouldn’t have made in the first place or one that has been impacted by changes in the marketplace and is outside of our control.
Lack Of Success Often Tied to Unrealistic Expectations & Time Frame
But often, a lack of success may be because our expectations and time frame are unrealistic and we haven’t given the strategy the time or the attention needed to be successful.
Putting an advertisement in one or two issues of a newspaper or on social media, and then ‘pulling the plug’ because ‘we didn’t see any results’ is an example of this.
Frequent Exposure Needed To Gain Awareness
Frequent exposure is usually needed before potential customers even begin to notice an advertisement, let alone consider taking any kind of buying action. This tends to be true for both online and print advertising, unless you are already a highly successful and well known brand and/or you are offering a highly attractive sale or discount on your products or services.
Of course, even a great sale or discount won’t do much for you if the product or service you are selling is not one that people think they want or need, or if your reputation in the marketplace is lacking.
This article was first published on the GrowingSocialBiz blog.