Is your marketing hurting you?

Ever said something then noticed people whispering about it? Do you bother to ask them what you did wrong? Do you quickly try and correct your statement or do you push on regardless? When it comes to your personal brand you are impacted by what you say. When you are talking about your business or not-for-profit organisation, the dangers of not listening can have a much greater impact.

We live in a world where a competition mindset starts at school and never let’s up. The result for many is a reluctance to listen to anyone you don’t perceive as being on your side.

Over the years I have seen plenty of marketing messages, where you wonder what was going on in the office when someone decided to release it. Let me know if you have any favourites.

This week consider the idea that the biggest risk in your marketing messages might actually be you…

Ask yourself this week: How many times do you have to hear from someone who is criticizing your business or not-for-profit? How many people does it take sending a message before you actually implement change.

One of the biggest dangers of marketing is that we can feel like it’s an ego it can get in the way that you say, “This is the way we are going to do things.”, and you put your big bold messages out and you are uncomfortable in changing them.

Well the best marketing is being able to adapt to a changing environment. So this week, take the simple test. Find out how many people have been saying similar messages to you over the past year.

It’s a good time to review, see if your ego has got in the way of making some real marketing changes to your key messages that could really enhance your ability to resonate with your audience.

When you have a creative idea it can be hard to take on board criticism, but being precious has the potential to increase your pain.

If you have staff, make sure you set up a place to log any messages you hear about your marketing – the good and the bad. Then diarise a time at least every quarter, to look at what is being said. Are there things you can change. Is it possible that those who might even be your competitor might have something worthwhile to say?

In a world which is governed by political correctness, your marketing messages can not afford to be offensive, divisive, elitist or discriminatory. The message is to test first and keep listening to feedback. Never let your marketing ego run the risk of killing your business.