I sat with an exasperated business owner the other day. He told me that everything he had ever tried to do in marketing was a failure. Now to be fair, I know he wasn’t telling me the entire truth. His company has a website from which his customers browse and contact him. He has printed collateral materials that he hands out to these very same customers. He sponsors customer appreciation days and golf outings, has a big sign on the front of his headquarters, yet he is convinced his marketing isn’t working. However, I get what he is meaning. He means that he is not able to connect the dots between the marketing methods he has used and the sales he makes. In his thinking, he should be able to spend marketing dollars and get a return on his investment. You know what? He is right!

Why would there be a disconnect between marketing dollars spent and sales? It could be that you are not realizing the impact your marketing is having on your customers because you never ask them why they are buying from you. At the same time, there are reasons why your marketing may not be working. Here are some key questions to help you understand just how much impact your marketing is having.

Is your brand distinct?

If there is nothing to separate you from everyone else who is selling the same products/services as you are, you have a marketing problem. Whenever consumers cannot make a distinction between you and your competitors, all you have left to convince them to buy from you is your price point. You have to be the lowest bidder because you have become a commodity to your target market. The other day I saw that a nearby gas station had changed brands. When that change happened, I could not tell you for sure. All I ever look at when I pass the station is the price placard they have on display out front. If they are 1¢ lower than their competitor down the street, I will purchase their gasoline. If not, I will go to the competitor’s gas station. You see, gasoline has become all the same to me, there is nothing distinct about one brand of gas over another. You do not want to become a commodity in your industry.

The first question you should ask yourself is this: is there anything different about our product/services when compared to our competition? If yes, then you need to ask yourself a second and third question: is it clear to my customers that there is a difference and, if so, does it make any significant impact on their thinking during their purchasing processes? If you can answer all of these questions with a "yes,” then you need to market that distinction at full tilt. If you said "no” to any of these three questions, then you need to do some work on your product/service offerings. The reason you have a brand identity is to help your target market understand the key difference between your brand and your competition’s brand. That difference should be the deciding factor that your customers were looking for to make a purchase.

Does your message connect with customers?

Another problem you may have with your marketing is how well your message connects with your customers. You may have a very clever tagline that you use in all of your advertising. You may think it to be a stroke of genius. But if your message is meaningless to your target market, it is just a bunch of words that are not helping you sell a thing.

Here are a couple of questions to ask yourself about how effectively you are connecting with your customers. Do your customers connect your marketing message with you?

Take your marketing message, such as your taglines and campaign slogans, and put your competitors’ logos and names in place of yours. Does the marketing promotion still make sense with your competition making the same claims? If yes, you have a connection problem. Second, is your marketing message memorable? Successful marketing campaigns are going to be simple so they are easy to remember. They will use simple words that are easy to pronounce. Any catch phrase should be short and to the point, and captivating enough that people will remember them.

Are you marketing at the right time?

Marketing is about selling at the right time. If you are trying to sell ice in December where I live, you have the right product in the wrong season. Come back in the middle of summer, when it is hot and people are eating and drinking outside, then you will be successful in your marketing of ice. Are there naturally slow times for the sales of your products/services? Is there a season when most of your sales happen? Build your marketing around these natural selling seasons.

Is your competition simply better than you?

If your competition is doing things better than you, you will have a tough time marketing for a sale. Typically, there are four areas where consumers make a purchasing decision: Quality, Price, the Time it takes to deliver the product/service, and Customer Service. How are you doing in these four areas? If you are ahead of your competition, you can make key marketing points with your customers by emphasizing these four areas. If you are getting beat by your competition in most or all of the Big Four, you need to shore up your business. When you do, you can then market the changes you have made.