I work out at the gym every morning. And, as I put in my 30 minutes on the cross trainer I have a pretty good view of the entire gym floor. Lately, there has been a guy who has caught my eye. Not in THAT way ... I'm married! No, he has attracted my attention because of the way he works out.
You see, I used to work for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and I spent a lot of time around folks who know the proper form for lifting weights. The big thing at ACE was "safe and effective" exercise.
Well this guy uses the worst form I've seen. He expends so much energy ... he's jerking and swaying and pulling - it's quite a sight. Instead of isolating his muscles and working them in a controlled way, he is trying so hard to lift as much weight as possible, that there is no way he can maintain proper form and do the exercises correctly.
The bottom-line is, his workouts are probably not very effective, even though he is spending a lot of time at the gym. And, odds are, eventually he is going to hurt himself.
So what does this have to do with marketing? Well, many business owners are expending a lot of time, money and energy on their marketing, but they aren't following the basics to ensure their marketing will be effective. They are focused on quantity, and getting as much marketing out there as possible, but in the process they are not taking care to ensure they are reaching the right audience, or using the right message, or implementing the right marketing activities.
So just like the guy from the gym, they are spending lots of time on marketing, but they aren't getting the maximum benefit.
What's the solution? Getting educated. Learning how to market the right way. Taking the time to create a marketing plan so you have the proper foundation for your marketing activities. A marketing plan focuses your marketing the same way proper form isolates your muscles. Both are required for maximum effectiveness with the minimum effort.
And, as a solo-professional or small business marketer, with many hats to wear and a small marketing budget, being efficient with your time and money is crucial.