Though the Huffington Post can frequently be sensationalistic, with “click bait” headlines, we found an article from last year that lays out some basic, foundational marketing truths for all retail businesses. [level-members]
One interesting benchmark is the idea that you should be spending 9% to 12% of your annual revenue on marketing. That might seem a bit high to some of you, but you might consider that spending less is probably costing you money, not saving you money. That’s because money spent on marketing generates new business. New business generates profit. Of course, there are no guarantees that any one marketing initiative will provide a positive return, but if you’re paying attention to our advice, you’ll be spreading your risk sufficiently so that no one marketing effort can derail you, regardless of how poorly it may perform.
The other gold-plated piece of advice is the idea to teach rather than sell. Nobody likes being sold to. (Except, frequently, salespeople, who love watching a colleague strut his or her stuff.) So stop trying to force yourself on your customers and instead inform and entertain them. In other words, if they’re not looking forward to your emails and social media posts, you’re doing it wrong.
Read the full article here. And then take action. Any action, even if it’s small and you’re not sure about it. Measure what you do, track the results and, if you’re not seeing a positive return after giving the new idea a try, try something new. [/level-members]