Anyone can run a marathon. It’s simple, just don’t stop running until you reach the finish line. How hard it is between the start and finish depends upon how prepared you are, how seriously you’re taking this challenge, and the plan you have developed. Marketing can be a lot like running a marathon. Anyone can do marketing. Throw anything out there about your business and you can call it marketing. How successful it is will depend upon how prepared you are, how seriously you’re taking this challenge, and the plan you have developed.
When training for a marathon, a runner must establish a clear goal and a plan for how to achieve it. Most set a target time, map out a training schedule, and (if serious about it) try their best to stick to it. Similarly, in marketing, businesses must establish a clear goal for their campaigns and a plan for how to achieve it, and (if serious about it) try their best to stick to it. They must set specific targets, such as increasing website traffic or boosting sales, and develop a strategy for how to reach those targets.
Just as runners must consistently train in order to build their endurance and improve their performance, businesses must consistently implement their marketing strategies in order to see results. Consistency is key. Sporadically marketing is not marketing. Just like throwing on the old New Balance tennis shoes you use to mow the lawn and going for a run every now and then is not training. That is throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping it sticks.
Another example in marketing is random advertising. Advertising is part of marketing but not it in its entirety. I have seen a lot of businesses do multiple, random advertising campaigns with little or no results. They try tactics such as social media marketing, email marketing, or traditional TV, for usually too short of a flight or too little budget, with no plan and continuity. Then they say, “Marketing doesn’t work.”.
Runners must be willing to make adjustments to their training plan as needed. If they're not seeing the results they want, they may need to adjust their diet, change their training schedule, or seek the advice of a coach. Similarly, businesses must start with a plan but also be willing to make adjustments to their marketing plan as needed. If they are not seeing the results they want, they may need to try new tactics, adjust their messaging, or seek the advice of a marketing expert.
Just as a marathon is a test of physical endurance, marketing can be a test of mental endurance. Marketing requires focus, determination, and the ability to stay the course even when things get tough. But just like crossing the finish line, achieving success in marketing is incredibly rewarding…generating more awareness, leads, sales, or whatever ROI goals are important to a particular business.
To wrap up this long run of a blog, just like a marathon requires a clear goal, consistent training and willingness to adapt, marketing also requires a clear goal, consistent implementation and the ability to adapt to market changes. The key to success in both is persistence and determination.
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