Why no Preparation and Planning?
Our market research found that 100% of the businesses we spoke to in Hampshire felt their marketing could be more effective and weren’t happy with its performance.
When we asked why they thought it wasn’t performing as well as it should, nearly 80% said they felt it was because they didn’t have enough time and money to invest in it.
You might feel your marketing is not delivering the results you need for the same reason.
We have another theory.
One of the most interesting trends to come out from our research was how little (if any) time and money, is invested by small businesses, into proper marketing planning, before they start investing their time and money in specific marketing activities.
With businesses now beginning to see those precious ‘green shoots’ of recovery, after a difficult few years, it is vital that every penny is used effectively and that should be no different when marketing your business.
What better way to make those important marketing decisions, than by basing them on facts and figures, instead of assumptions and guesses.
Big businesses and corporates spend millions of £s each year on the marketing planning process. The question one must ask, is why? The obvious conclusion, because it works.
The next question that springs to mind is this; if big businesses and corporations value the results delivered from their investment in marketing planning, why do small businesses think they won’t?
As yet, we haven’t got an answer for this. But what we can confidently say is:
Small businesses that invest time and money on the marketing planning process – SWOT analysis, competitor analysis, customer surveys, market research etc. – will get a direct return on their investment through more effective marketing activities and massive savings on ineffective marketing campaigns.
As the old adage goes, ‘Fail to plan and plan to fail’. The same applies to marketing.