The Biggest Obstacle to Marketing Success

photo by nickstone333

Many are diving into the social media/social networking/community-building pool with a vengeance. Yes, it’s all very compelling and powerful and a new day is dawning and blah blah blah. But good marketing is platform-agnostic. And what’s frequently missing online is the same thing that’s missing from print and TV, radio and newspapers and magazines and the rest of old media.

And that’s an effective message.

Social media tools are just the latest carrier. They’re not a substitute for something to say. Technologies may change and strategies may evolve, but if your marketing doesn’t answer basic questions like “What’s in it for me?” and “What makes you so special?” and “Why should I believe you?” then you’re wasting your time.

Doug Hall of Eureka! Ranch fame and author of the Jump Start business book series once wrote that 94 percent of marketing failures are due to poor messaging. Turn a critical eye on the marketing that bombards you on a daily basis and you’ll realize it’s true.

What I admire about Hall’s work is that, while others are passing opinion as fact, he and his people actually do empirical research to support what they teach. The “opinion” that 94 percent of messaging is essentially useless is based on quantitative testing of more than 10,000 marketing messages. Given what passes for quality out there today, that’s an assigment I don’t envy.

The good news is that if your message is in the six percent, you’re really going to stand out. But you have to be bold, take chances and move beyond marketing as failed entertainment to address the questions that are on the minds of the people you’re trying to reach.

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Tagged as: advertising, doug hall, eureka!ranch, marketing, messaging