You’ve probably heard the famous Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
GOOD MARKETING ADVICE
While this prayer brings peace of mind to many suffering souls including me, it also provides a good lesson about marketing.
Great marketing is usually developed by organizations with leaders who have the wisdom to do what they can — and get help for the rest.
PROOF IN THE ADS
Do you think Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, came up with “Just Do It”? No, he had the wisdom to hire Seattle agency Wieden+Kennedy.
Apple founder Steven Jobs is brilliant, but he hired agency TBWA to come up with the “Hello, I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” campaign.
THE BUDGET EXCUSE
Many businesses use the excuse that they can’t afford ad agencies or marketing firms like mine. But the truth is, they usually end up wasting money doing things cheaper —because those efforts are ineffective, or worse, they actually hurt their business.
If they hired professionals to assist on a project basis, they could be saving money by working on the part of the business they do best, while increasing business with effective marketing tools.
THE “I DO IT BETTER MYSELF” EXCUSE
When you see the owners of a mattress store put pajamas on over their clothes and lie on a bed in their showroom and ask “How did you sleep last night?” — does it make you want to buy a mattress from them? Or does it make you want to ask them, “How can you think that’s a good TV commercial?”
“MY BUDDY DOES WEBSITES”
Friend, the internet is not going away. It is far and away the number-one marketing tool a business needs. Yet STILL we see organizations with websites designed by their IT department, a college student or a friend’s daughter fresh out of college with a graphic design degree.
It’s not just the cheesy look and the outdated technology that these cheap efforts net you — it’s what you DON’T get.
THE DIFFERENCE
When the Farris 5-Star Web Design team works on your website, we bring sharp writers, 3-D animators, code experts and experienced marketing professionals who research your business, your industry and your customer base. They know what CONTENT is needed — and HOW TO PRESENT IT.
It may cost more than having your neighbor do it. But you’ve heard the story of the professional barber that saw a shop that advertised $5 haircuts open up across the street. He stuck up a sign that read, “We fix $5 haircuts.” Just like him, Farris usually has to rebuild sites that have been done on the cheap.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sure there are lots of things you can do yourself. But when it comes to marketing, there are some things you can’t do. And the successful organizations know the difference.
Stay tuned and stay smart.
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