“Welcome to the Website for Your Marketing Sucks, the new book by Mark Stevens that shows you how to distinguish between marketing that works and marketing that sucks. What’s the difference? Marketing that sucks is anything that doesn’t lead to a sale. It should be easy to see, right? It’s not. There are so many layers of decision-making and creative grandstanding in marketing that most businesses forget the people who rely on the campaign in the first place, and the only people who are really in a position to tell whether your marketing sucks or not — your sales force.
Take the Your Marketing Sucks diagnostic
Before you get all lathered up and start ranting, “How the hell does he know,” ask yourself a few telltale questions:
Do sales really rise every time you advertise? If so, why don’t you advertise every day? In more media?
Have you ever performed a cost benefit analysis to see if your marketing generates more revenue than it costs to produce?
Do people read your brochure? When was the last time someone commented on it favorably? And more important, when was the last time they were moved to buy something because of it? Can you track one single sale back to your brochure? Why not?
Do people visit your web site? How many? Do these visits lead to sales? Do you have a web strategy (or just an expensive site with all those pretty animations that make you feel soooooo proud every time you visit your own URL?)
How does your marketing rate?
Have a look at this Q and A with author Mark Stevens and read excerpts from the book to see what we’re talking about.
And then ask yourself, does my marketing suck?”
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/yourmarketing/index.html
There are some very good points raised in your article!
And...it reminds me of a preacher who asked a 3500 member evangelical congregation some questions.
It went like this: (True Story!)
The preacher asked “How many of you came to faith in Jesus because of a Gospel Tract?
ONE person raised his hand.
Then the preacher asked:
“How many of you came to faith in Jesus because of a loving friend or relative who made a difference in your life?”
3499 people raised their hands.
It makes one wonder about the value of print advertising.