Is your marketing a sail or an anchor? Does it help your business move ahead or does it hold you back from looming danger? It actually can be both, but the trick, as any seasoned sailor will tell you, is knowing when to use one or the other.

Marketing as a sail

The point of marketing is to help you sell your brand. In the case of a business that produces tangible goods or one that services the needs of others, marketing helps you make sales in three different ways. First, it helps define your target market and make them aware of your brand. Second, it entices people in that target group to make a purchase and try your product or service for the first time. Third, it enhances the relationship you have with your customers and gives them a reason to return for another sale. Marketing as a sail helps you keep pushing to get more sales in the door and to make sure your customers are satisfied with your products and services. It strategizes the best way to attract business to yourself. There is a problem when marketing becomes an anchor when it should be helping you catch the wind and navigate ahead. How can marketing be an anchor in these situations? It can happen when you miss a prime opportunity to get in front of your target audience. Skip a trade show, delay getting your website updated, forget to send an e-blast out to clients, don’t follow up with a customer after they have purchased your product. All of these are examples of opportunities lost. There are only so many chances to make a marketing impression. When you miss one, marketing has become an anchor holding back your business from moving closer to more sales. Transversely, marketing anchors can also happen when you are spending your marketing dollars on ineffective marketing methods. When your target audience is no longer responding to your form of marketing, it is time to make a switch to a method they will respond to in a positive way.

Marketing as an anchor

There is another aspect of marketing that needs to be addressed as well. Sometimes anchors are for your good. It is the job of marketing to guard your company’s brands. That has never been more true than it is today, when one negative comment on social media can sink a business. Here is where marketing can act as an anchor that holds you back from devastation. It is important that you know what and how to communicate when your brand is under attack. For instance, I had a customer who was recently called out in a Facebook post for offering a product that was dangerous. The comment was misinformed, but the audacity of it caught the attention of many other people. The storm waters were brewing around this company. Should you respond to a negative comment left on your social media page or should you just let it go and sail away from it as if it were never stated? This is where I would suggest you do your best to rectify the situation, but not over the tit-for-tat medium of social media. I would personally reach out to the person who made the statement to see if you can fix their problem or alleviate their fears. That may or may not happen. I am also not opposed to deleting untrue comments from your social media pages when that is possible. The importance of having a communication plan when something negative comes about is paramount in today’s business environment. There was a day when the sorts of things that are said on social media were of little consequence to most businesses. They simply sailed on. Ignoring attacks against your brand today can be treacherous. Marketing anchors your brand in these troublesome waters.

Are you using marketing as a sail? Are you using it as an anchor? Both should be true in your marketing strategies. Happy sailing!