No Fizzy Drink?

Last Thursday I went to a local takeaway for lunch.  While I was waiting I heard the most incredible conversation between a customer and a member of staff.  It went something like this.

Staff: No can of Coke today?

Customer: No.  I'm giving up on fizzy drinks.  I'm not even missing them.

Staff: When did you do that?

Customer: Monday.  If I don't notice a difference by Friday I'll start drinking them again.

I had to hide a small snigger.  Here we were on Thursday and he had kicked his habit for 4 days.  If he didn't notice a difference by tomorrow the whole enterprise would be deemed a failure.

Regardless of how crazy this sounds, it's something we see all the time.  Maybe we do it ourselves.  

I'm sure we've all started diets, or going to the gym.  If we don't see instant results we stop as quick as we started.  I know I have.

The one I see a lot is in marketing.  Many bookkeepers start going to networking and if they don't get a client in the first few weeks they give up.

Letters are sent to prospects, Facebook ads started, flyers posted.  When results are not experienced straight away, it's stopped and they move onto the next thing.

Just like the boy in my story won't notice any benefits of sacking the fizzy drinks in a week, nor will you get results from marketing quickly.

Don't look at your marketing efforts as something that will give you a quick win.  Instead focus on the long term.  

Instead of sending 100 letters and sitting back, send 10 letters each day.  Every day.

When you start a networking group, plan to go for a year before deciding it's not getting you clients.

Your marketing will work best when you commit to doing it every day, or every week rather than once or twice and throwing in the towel.

I used to do it on social media.  I'd login to Facebook and put up 5 posts in 2 days, then when something else came along I'd forget about Facebook.  Instead, I'd have got better results putting up 1 post each day, every day.

Consistency is the key to good marketing.  It doesn't matter if you have the greatest message in the world or not.  If you keep showing up when everyone else gives in, you'll get the business.

What will you commit to?  1 letter a day? One networking meeting a week?  £1 a day on Facebook ads?

Stick a comment below and let me know.