Marketing...Hunting or Farming?

Do you think of Marketing as hunting for new clients or farming prospects to discover new clients? It is a distinct difference in philosophy and execution. Your attitude dramatically impacts your outlook, budget and expectations for marketing your business. Are you using today's economy as an excuse to lean toward a hunting approach to Marketing? Quick results that drive today's sales or a long term look at marketing for today and in the future.

A weak economy is a tempting excuse to cut marketing expenses, since sales are not keeping up with expectations. The easy answer is not always the best approach and cutting marketing only sets up a downward sales cycle. The better approach is to re-examine your target markets, your sales personnel and your marketing strategy and tactics. If your market has shifted, you need to shift with the market as opposed to blaming sales and cutting the marketing budget. If your sales personnel are using techniques from the 1950's, maybe they need up to date training. If your marketing consists of print advertising and the yellow pages, maybe you need to look at social media marketing.

Marketing is not hunting. It is not the quick sale and the last time you see your customer is in your rear view mirror. Marketing is farming, cultivating customers by learning how your product or service helps them, not how you can sell them a product. Marketing is planting seeds of interest, sharing success stories from satisfied customers and cultivating long term business relationships. Take a long term approach to your marketing and be patient as it takes more work and effort to nurture customers. Would you rather be the farmer that can feed his family and thousands of other families or the hunter that can barely keep himself fed?