Picture, if you can, a time before cell phones existed and roadside assistance wasn’t as easy to summon. There’s a guy driving an old truck down a country road – let’s call him Bill.
So, Bill’s humming along to the radio when all of a sudden, he hears a thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk. Yep. He pulls over, steps out of the truck and sees the bad news: he’s got a flat tire.
Now, Bill knows he’s got a spare that he can put his hands on pretty easily, but for some reason, his jack is missing. He can’t find it anywhere.
This is a problem, a big one, until he remembers that his buddy Sam lives just down the road a short distance away. So Bill starts heading to Sam’s house on foot.
On the way, Bill gets to thinking about things.
As he’s walking, Bill remembers that Sam wasn’t very friendly to him the last time they saw each other. What was that about, he wonders.
He takes a few more steps, and then he recalls that Sam is actually pretty particular about his possessions. Very neat fellow, this Sam is, and he likes to keep things right where they belong. Obviously, Bill surmises, Sam would be nervous about whether Bill can take care of what he borrows if he doesn’t even know where his own jack is.
And even if Sam did loan him the jack against his better judgment, Bill decides, he’s not going to be happy about it. He’s probably in the middle of his supper right now anyway and is just going to be irritated about being put on the spot like this.
So on and on, as Bill thinks through the possibilities, he starts to get mad, a little hot under the collar himself. “Who does Sam think he is?” he finally asks himself as he reaches the front porch and rings the bell. Right then, Sam opens the door. So Bill takes one look at him and says, “You can keep your stupid jack!”
Sometimes it doesn’t pay to think things through.
That’s an old story that’s part joke and part parable with a lesson marketers can apply today.
We make assumptions about our markets, services, customers. We think we know what to do based on our own preconceived notions. We may even get mad when customers don’t respond like we think they should. But what if we’re the ones who aren’t thinking clearly? When that’s what’s happening, how can we correct our point of view?
Let’s look at this as a three-step process.
1. Listen to others. Get input, welcome feedback, check your assumptions. Don’t be like Bob, secure in your own hot takes, but listen to customers, to marketing coaches, to other contractors, even to competitors.
One area for listening could mean paying attention to reviews and comments that your customers leave. If you want to get better at what you do, you need to know how you’re being seen. Customer feedback is extremely valuable market research on your service, your products and your processes. So when you get feedback, even if it’s negative, accept it as a gift for improvement. But also check out reviews for your main competitors to see what their customers praise or what they consider frustrating.
Also, listen to your team. You may be surprised at the good ideas you could tap into when people feel their suggestions will be heard. But then, go outside your team as you…
2. Learn from experts. Become a student of marketing. Consider that you’re not actually in the “contracting business,” but you’re in the marketing business, and your product is contracting services. In fact, a study released last year noted that a marketer who is committed to learning tends to be happier in his or her work. So, remember, learning is not just good for your business, but it also affects how you feel while conducting business!
So, consume the best advice from marketing sources that resonate with you, but don’t stop there.
3. Apply what you’re learning. Make a plan and take calculated risks. Watch the analytics, metrics and response rates to see what works and what doesn’t. Test, measure and fine-tune. Make adjustments as you see what’s working and what isn’t. Then try again. Especially with digital marketing, it’s easy to run a test on your campaigns. If you don’t get the results you want, you can change the copy, the audience, the offer itself or other factors.
So where are you on the road to success? If you’ve got a flat, don’t worry, we’ll gladly help you change the tire!
For help seeing your marketing more clearly, give us a call at (800) 489-9099 or shoot us an email to [email protected] to get a coaching spot. If you’re ready for your next turn, we’ll help you map out a strategy. Or if you’ve hit a rough patch, we’ll work together to get you back up and running.