If you haven’t got the right tools it makes marketing a LOT harder – if not impossible.
I learnt my lesson many years ago. I was struggling for too long with a particular job when it dawned on me:
There must be a better way to do this!
Trying to market your business without the correct tools is hard work. There is also the risk of losing focus on your marketing and business goals. Your objective shifts to trying to make the most of what you have.
Is it better to use what you have or make sure you have the right tool?
OK, sometimes you have no choice. you have to accept you must work with your existing resources. Even so, it’s important that you don’t forget what it is you are aiming for. It is still about taking your business forward.
In business and marketing, in particular, things change rapidly. There are new opportunities to make your marketing easier, cheaper and more effective. One of the main areas where things are developing is online. Many digital marketing tools and techniques, previously the domain of costly specialists are now accessible to all. But there is a challenge…do you stick with the old ways where you accept it may cost more but you know the job will get done (and will continue to be more expensive when you want to do it again in future)? Alternatively, or do you explore the new opportunities which may allow you to do things more quickly and more cost-effectively? You may either do more in-house or the better tools enable an external supplier to deliver more quickly and at a lower cost? There is a cost/risk in the learning curve of adopting new tools and approaches but perhaps this should be seen as an investment rather than a cost? Taking the step to adopt better tools in your business can pay dividends in efficiency and reduce cost long into the future.
The Tools are out there
In todays world, there are many and varied tools that make the job of running and marketing a business much easier. These include those assisting with the traditional marketing jobs like websites, promotion, email etc. But over and above these as other systems like accounting and telecoms become more open and connected, these too can make life easier, and play a roll in marketing your business and connecting with your customers.
You may have the right tool but do you have the knowledge and experience to use it effectively?
Its all well and good having access to the right tools, but I touched on this in the last section, one of the biggest costs in marketing can be the fee charged by marketing professionals. As online marketing tools become easier and quicker to use, marketing professionals can see the risk of reducing fee income and so resist the shift to using better tools. At the same time, while these better tools may be easier and quicker to use, you may not want to go the whole step of doing everything in-house. Sometimes, calling in an experienced professional is the most cost-effective approach – so long as you can find the expert who will work with the better tools and charge correspondingly less!
I have raised the idea several times before and it is central to my business ethos; customers and suppliers should work together in a framework of mutual confidence and trust where everyone is focussed on delivering the best outcome where everyone benefits. These relationships can be challenging to build but they are immensely valuable to everyone.
At BSA we are always keen to adopt the best new tools. Whether we are using these in-house, for our own needs or creating better opportunities for our clients. This has been our philosophy for over 20 years and it continues to pay dividends to everyone involved.
Over the next couple of months, we plan to look as some of these Business & Marketing tools, examining how they can ad value to your business, and how we use them in partnership with our clients to deliver real world benefits.