At the start of the year many Australian business owners are too quick spend big on marketing activity only to be disappointed in the results. I’m making it my personal crusade to stop people in business from throwing any more money away on needless, wasteful and potentially damaging marketing! Panic marketing could be anything from spending big on developing a new website, advertising or loosing thousands by signing up for online social couponing deals in an attempt to attract more customers. I’ve met too many businesses who have spent big on panic marketing tactics without having a strategy of how the activity will build their business. Marketing from a place of fear such as lack of customers, cash flow or the state of the economy it becomes tempting to choose a marketing quick fix without thinking through the repercussions. My advice is to have an objective approach, which comes down to making the right choices based on your understanding of these 6 questions: 1. What do you need for your business, numbers of clients and their value? 2. The top five to seven attributes of your ideal client, who are they? 3. The goals your ideal client wants to achieve, what do they want? 4. How you can help them achieve their goals? 5. What proof do you have that your product or service delivers results? 6. Where does your ideal client like to hang out, what do they do, what do they read and the media they consume. By understanding even 1 of these questions you will increase your marketing impact, understanding all 6 will maximise its effectiveness overall. I read a quote recently from the Author of Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, basically saying that marketing is your opportunity to educate people about how you help them get what they want. As opposed to a larger proportion of marketing I still see today which is focussed on educating people about their business, frankly who cares? Those businesses that choose to continually sell to the masses using features, benefits and group discounts will soon be wiped out, paving the way for those that choose to serve their customers by creating and offering something of value. Its not just a numbers game anymore, its about building relationships. The problem is that many businesses, even those with highly experienced marketing teams, are getting the numbers terribly wrong, damaging relationships their bottom line. As a business owner or CEO are you and your marketing team struggling to hold a unique marketing position, generate the best and most profitable leads for your sales team and generate massive return fro every marketng dollar. Contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@KONA.com.au to discuss with Sarah (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbirken) how she can show you how to start solving your business problems using effective brand and communication strategies.