Hint: Don’t Throw it Against the Wall
When I was a youngster (in the days before the Internet was part of anyone‘s marketing plan), I spent my nights at the UC Davis Extension learning the “official” rules of “The 4 Ps” (Product-Price-Place-Promotion).
One of my first professors (I think his name was Mr. Aguilar) had a strange attachment to the term “pasta marketing.” He must’ve used this term at least twice each night.
His point was that lots of people do their marketing like they cook their pasta: they throw it against the wall to see if it’s done. If it sticks, they think it’s good. And if doesn’t, well…they go back to the drawing board.
Week after week, he drilled it into our brains. “This is NOT a smart way to spend your marketing dollars. Focus, people. Focus!”
For the record, I don’t test my pasta by throwing it against the wall. (By the time it’s done enough to stick, it’s over cooked.)
Nor do I test my marketing this way. And after all these years, I can vouch for Mr. Aguilar. The only way to ensure your marketing works (e.g. sticks), is to:
1. Do your homework (research!), find out about your target market, and focus like a laser on your niche.
Sure, we all know what we’re supposed to do. It’s the actual DOing it that seems to trip us up. Is that true for you? What I’ve seen over and over again is that getting your marketing done means setting aside the time every day to:
2. Create a Marketing Plan (outline the different ways you’ll reach your target market)
3. Carry out your plan (make time to implement and then DO the things you said you would do)
4. Test (did it work?) and then, yep…
5. Plan again.
If you’re spending at least 20% of your day on marketing and still not seeing results, it may be time to go back and do more research. Ask yourself these questions. If you don’t know the answers, then it’s safe to say you need to do more analysis:
- What does your prospect worry about most? Or, What does she want or desire most?
- Why can’t she solve her problem? Or, why can’t she get what she wants?
- How is she making do? Who else is helping her get what she wants?
- What emotional benefits do your customers get from buying what you offer?
- Where do your potential clients hang out? What do they watch on t.v.? What radio stations do they listen to? What do they read?
- What are your customers talking about? Dreaming about?
- And what are you an expert at?
The answers will help you understand who your target market is, what niche you serve, and how to connect with your prospects. In short, the answers are a crucial foundation to getting your marketing to stick.
If you’d like help with any of this, you might consider watching Prosperity’s Kitchen. Our first episode covers a lot of this. If you’re doing well with your marketing, what do you attribute your stickiness to? Share!
Photo Credit: Skånska Matupplevelser
More From Story Bistro:
The Hero of the Story: How to Keep Your Dinner Guest in Mind
5 Marketing Lessons from Celebrity Chefs
Deep Fried Kool-Aid: a Marketing Parable
The Golden Triangle of Coffee Joints: A Marketing Parable
Must-Have Kitchen Tool: The (Sales) Funnel
Features vs. Benefits: The Stories that Produce Sales
Is Your Ideal Client Trying to Tell You Something?
Thanks for the heads up, Megan. I’m going to turn my broken links checker back on… (all fixed now).
Hi, Tea — The links below the first paragraph are 404-ing. I’d love to get the “full story” if you have replacements. Thanks!
Great Advice!
Awesome! Compliments to the chef…Sound advice indeed, but what impresses me the most is the bridge you’ve created between pasta and post.Next time I cook, I’m going to throw my pasta at the wall. haven’t done that for years! I’ll make use of your handy checklist too.
I must admit we have not really thought about our customers and target market. Blogging has been more of a finding our voice and unique niche, then down the track based on the response from our blog we will think of and market a product. So I guess you could say we are doing a forum of “pasta marketing” to see what sticks. Or perhaps we are doing an extended form of “market research” ?
Thank you! This is exactly what I’m doing now, and it’s NOT working. But I feel like since I have no budget, I have no choice. I’m so looking forward to to test kitchen and learning a better way.
Brilliant analogy! It made me laugh and cry at the same time. It reminded me of a previous contract with a sales driven organisation (as opposed to customer centred). The marketing director, from a sales background, was of the oppinion that the more messages the company throws at its customers/prospects the more likely it was for some of them to stick. As expected, this strategy did not work out well and as a result the company got blacklisted.