I want to pass on some sage advice given to me several years ago. Don’t get too comfortable making mistakes. Seems like pretty straightforward reasoning, doesn’t it? Yet, I meet a lot of people who have settled into their marketing mistakes and are quite content doing so.

The truth of the matter is that most companies do not know whether their marketing efforts are having any real impact in attracting business to their doors. They do not have any kind of measurement device to record their marketing waves or lack thereof. When you are not measuring your effectiveness, it is hard to determine whether you are meeting goals or spending time and money on the ineffectual.

I went to the dentist recently. The very nice hygienist who was cleaning my teeth asked me if I was right handed. I made a noise that indicated that I was indeed right handed (how she can interpret what I am saying with her hands in my mouth is beyond me).  She asked me if my toothbrush had bristles that were bent instead of standing straight. Again, I confirmed her uncanny prognostication.  She then told me I was brushing too hard, especially on the left side of my mouth. She was no psychic, she was just observing the results of brushing my teeth the wrong way. She explained that if I did not correct my brushing style, I would be pushing my gum line higher, which would expose the roots of my teeth and I would be in major pain.

Now it’s not like I started brushing my teeth yesterday. I have been brushing my teeth for as long as I can remember. I have a routine. I brush the left side before I brush the right side. I rinse and spit twice. Why would I change my routine? Because it wasn’t working, that’s why. There was a better way, which the nice hygienist showed me. I could keep up the same old thing and go through a root canal, or change my ways and save my mouth from a lot of pain… and my wallet from the expense of the procedure.

It may be time for you to open up your marketing plans to a little scrutiny. A well thought out and implemented customer survey will tell you a lot about what should be driving your marketing efforts. Here are some warning signs that you may be heading in the wrong direction.

1. Are you doing the same thing everyone in your industry is doing? You should measure whether your customer base really thinks there is anything unique about you compared to the competition. If everyone in your industry looks alike, walks and talks alike, you have relegated yourself to a bidding war for business.

2. Do you really know what your customers want from you? If they could have anything what would they ask for? If you think you know the answer, I would challenge you to test that assumption by asking your clients the same question and see if it matches what you thought. If you know what your customer thinks, you will have an easier time meeting their expectations and marketing to their needs.

3. Are you spending your budget on trinkets and calling it marketing? If you think putting your logo on koozies, stress balls, mouse pads, playing cards or any of the other trashy gimmicks that are out there has any bearing on the way your customers make decisions about who will get their contracts, you need to take a look in the mirror and admit that you are a marketing fool. The three most common reasons a client buys from a vendor are price, superior customer service and the quality of the product. That message needs to be communicated and lived out in front of your customer.

4. Are you clinging to old advertising that has become outdated? There was a time when the yellow pages were used as a source for business listings. Now the yellow pages are a marketing dollar bottomless pit. Most people are using the internet and using search engines to find information on businesses. A search engine is quick and there is a lot more info on a web site that will fit in a yellow pages ad. In other cases, there have been restrictions on marketing practices, such as telemarketing and outdoor signage that new media has replaced.

5. Speaking of web sites, have you updated yours lately? Your marketing dollars should be focused on the major areas of communication and influence in your business. For most of us, there is no stronger conveyor of our corporate marketing message than our web site. No one likes to read the same old stuff time and again. Build some sort of information that is new and interesting into your web design.