Spring is bursting out all over! As I see my flower garden budding and blooming and chat with my friends who are getting ready to plant their fruit and veggie crops, it made me think about how businesses often make some pretty serious “gardening” mistakes when it comes to marketing.
Mistake #1: Expecting a Crop Ex Nihilo
What would you think of a farmer who planted no seed, but anticipated a crop? Ridiculous. Crazy. Foolish. And yet businesses regularly do no marketing, yet expect leads to magically appear.
Mistake #2: Planting This, Wanting That
If you plant tomato seeds, don’t expect to get cucumbers on the vine. Similarly, if you want to attract a certain target audience, you have to plant the seeds that will yield that harvest. For example, you can’t publish blogs geared to the interests of IT techs, and expect to pull in the CEO of a software firm. Know who your target market is and target your marketing!
Mistake #3: Scattering Seed to the Wind
Yesterday, I scattered wildflower seed along a path where I walk. I don’t really care what comes up, or where, or if anything grows at all (maybe the birds had a feast on the seed!). Any flowers that happen to take root will be lovely. But I wouldn’t suggest that approach for marketing. Haphazardly shooting out a blog here, a white paper there, a tweet every now and then, etc. will never bring you the consistent, quality leads you need to sustain your business.
Mistake #4: Getting the Timing Wrong
My fruit- and veggie-growing friends assure me that timing is very important if you want to enjoy a healthy harvest. Plant too late, and there will be no time for the plant to mature enough to put food on your table. Similarly, marketing takes time to gain momentum and bring in results. If you are driving toward certain goals and objectives, make sure you start marketing at the right time to produce the harvest you want.
There are plenty of other lessons from the garden for businesses, but I can’t go into them now … I have to go work in my garden.
Author: Paula Marolewski