Remember when you were a kid, dumping that little envelope of powder into the container of water? Your head filled with visions of a tiny kingdom of sea creatures frolicking in their new land all under your watchful eye and careful direction? Remember staring until you were nearly cross-eyed desperately waiting for results to show and just when you were about to give in, you noticed tiny movements in the murky waters? Yes! This, ladies and gentlemen, is also a bit like the murky land of marketing.
You see, in today’s marketing climate – things like brand differentiation and thought leadership are completely different than product placement or prime-time advertising. Where once you could pay for placement that would put you in front of the crowd, today it takes a little more maneuvering, a little more work and a little more strategy (you knew I was going to say that one!).
Now, this doesn’t mean it should take an inordinate amount of time to start seeing results from your marketing – and let’s face it – if you want to spend more money on that prime shelf space or TV slot, you will probably see results faster. But, if you’re going to manage your own promotions or use online media or create a campaign message – it’s going to take work and a little more time. Just like those sea monkeys, nothing happens overnight.
And here’s the other thing about sea monkeys – remember how you had convinced yourself that they were actually starting to grow and resemble those friendly looking mer-folk from the package? Then one day, “whammy!” some minor upset to their fragile eco-system (like you forgot to add fresh water?) and suddenly they all died off? Yea… that’s a bit like marketing too.
You see, just when you think you’ve got the message right – it’s time to change it again. It could be an economic shift you have to adjust for, a new opening in the market segment, different time of year, different message platform – even a different President of the United States may mean a change in your marketing depending on who you’re talking to. With a strategy in place, you can be better prepared to adjust when needed – and being flexible with your marketing will help you avoid those “whammies”.
And finally, even when you’ve done everything right – sea monkeys just didn’t last forever. Same with your marketing & advertising. You’ve got the logo, the website, the print materials, videos, social media and more but none of it is meant to last forever. Go ahead and change it up – you may even discover that sea monkeys just aren’t your thing. Go ahead and try a hamster. Who knows, you may find a whole new audience that appreciates you way more than those sea monkeys ever did.
Leah Goold-Haws is the Creative Director/Marketing Strategist for LGH Marketing/Strategy. Leah’s experience has included campaign development and strategy implementation for multi-agency collaboratives, corporations and non-profits as well as entrepreneurs and small business clients. You can now meet with Leah at the Small Business Development Center. The SBDC provides low or no cost business assistance. Schedule an appointment today by calling 242-7630.
