Stop Quitting in Life and Marketing

Watching kids grow up is such an eye-opener. You get to see situations and life events from afar. So many answers are obvious, unlike when you were going through the same thing. Back then, you were emotionally caught up in things like applying for college, making friends, or getting a first job. You couldn’t see clearly.

When my daughter wasn’t called back for a job at Chick-fil-A this past week, I knew it wasn’t because of incompetence. It’s because she had a 2-day-a-week schedule limit. But for her, I’m sure there are questions of “Am I good enough?” or “What’s wrong with me?”. (Update: She’s already been hired elsewhere!)

I see this in sports, too. I’ve coached my 11-year-old son’s Little League baseball team for several years. So many of the kids decide on Day 1 “I’m not good at baseball.” Remember, these are kids who don’t play ball in the back yard anymore. For some, it’s the first time they are learning how to throw a ball, and many have never watched a full game on TV. There’s no way they can know their skill level that early, but many quit.

I hate the mentality that you must be good at something immediately. For sure, I believe Michael Jordan had immense ability and coordination. But I also think at many points when he was young, there were players better than him on the court. He could have walked away.

Quitting before giving something a fair try is the worst.

This goes for marketing, too.

I work with a lot of small businesses, who are more or less “dabbling” in marketing and advertising: SEO, social media, Facebook ads, etc. I have a 6-month minimum engagement to ensure a marketing campaign has a chance to work. If you want long-term lead generation from the internet, though, 6 months is not enough.

If you have a business that lasts 20 years or more, do you really think after 6 months you should “rule out” digital marketing?

This is even more true for “need-based” businesses, like real estate. No one’s going to call you because you have a nice-looking and catchy ad. They have to be buying or selling a home at the time they see it. That could be once every 10 years. If you advertise for 6 months and stop, they’ll forget you days later.

Digital marketing simply has to be an ongoing, permanent part of your business.

Why digital? Look at people around you. They are on their phones every second. They’ll see your ads there more than anywhere. More than TV, more than radio, more than billboards. So why do advertisers pay 10 times more for those traditional “big media” sources? I believe because it’s “safe.” If a marketing director tells his boss “I did all I could do, I’m advertising on TV, billboards, etc.” it removes accountability if it doesn’t work. But if the same marketing director is using Google ads, YouTube ads or other creative, digital channels, there’s a built-in accountability there. He is asked for reports, results, and proof that it works.

I understand limited budgets. Small businesses cannot always spend $10,000 a month on marketing. But did you know you can still make progress at a $500 monthly level? You can still show ads on Google, YouTube or Facebook. See our Digital Marketing pricing. If you commit and advertise for years, your business name will become recognizable to your audience. That consistent brand awareness will pay off and lead to sales.

A special note to those of you who noticed my son in a Cubs uniform (we are die-hard White Sox fans). The Cubs Little League manager picked us for that very reason. I appreciated that humor and put up with it for one year, but if it happens again, my son might request a trade!