Shake It Up

Take an objective look at your marketing program to make sure it stays fresh.

It’s not surprising that many in the rental business keep using the same means to advertise their business year after year. Most of us know that using the same strategies year after year when business is changing is seldom a good plan. Yet, many continue using the same message and the same means of keeping their message in front of their prospects for far too long. There is no better time than now to explore how you can shake up your marketing in a very positive way.

Recently I realized that it was time to “shake up” my own business. It was time for a fresh look at my advertising message and the method of transmitting it. I reviewed my marketing plan and the strategies for letting prospects know what services my consulting business offers and how they would benefit from having me come to their businesses. One of the results of this analysis was that it was now time to put a greater emphasis on my website.

I was tempted to simply make a few minor changes to avoid a larger expense, but I decided that I would pay an expert website designer to take an objective look and to make recommendations. I told him that my website was functional, but I wanted “to really shake things up” by doing something different. I wanted a new set of eyes to view my possibilities.

It’s often difficult to see opportunities in your own company and to make changes. We’re all creatures of habit and change is difficult for various reasons. Certainly, business owners and other business decision-makers have so many other duties and day-to-day issues vying for their time that advertising sometimes suffers. Also, major changes to one’s advertising, or for any part of the business, can hurt some people’s pride. It might sound strange, but there are some people who feel that doing everything as they have in the past is the best way to go. However, there are many benefits to having someone from the outside view your operation from a different angle. Plus, there are benefits in doing some things radically different from how they are being done now.

One of the keys to a successful marketing strategy is finding a way to quantify a new campaign’s success or failure. This is a fairly simple thing to do with your website. Depending on the hosting company you use, you will have access to different site analysis tools, such as hit counters. Using these tools will allow you to see how many people are visiting your site on a daily basis. It’s also important to analyze the effectiveness of your other advertising that channels prospects to your website. You could have a top-notch website, but if nobody goes there, it will not be effective.

I did have the web designer make many of the major changes that he recommended. In fact, it would have been wise for me to invest in website changes earlier. Like all of you, I believe that if I am able to present my offerings clearly and make it easy for customers to do business with my company, I can help more customers.

It’s important to try to keep all of your advertising messages fresh. It’s healthy to periodically have an advisor view your operation with new eyes and make recommendations to take your business to the next level. If your company has done well this past year, you might be tempted to coast and not try anything different. So, shake up your advertising. Shake up your training. While you’re at it, shake up and refresh your whole operation. Be proactive. Don’t coast to a stop.

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