I had a very short business relationship with a customer several years ago. I met with the owner of the business who let me know that he didn’t think much of marketing because it simply did not work for his company. As we talked, he let me know that he never had made the first return-on-the dollar from any bit of marketing he had ever tried. I found this rather odd because his business had been successfully operating for a couple of decades. As we talked, it became apparent that his "marketing” really consisted of ideas his staff came up with from time to time. It wasn’t that they suggested bad marketing methods, but he demanded that this marketing turn instant results. If he placed an ad, posted on social media, hosted a golf tournament, or any other attempt to promote his brand, he would try it once and then shut it down.

Now, unless you are selling a dozen roses for $6 out of the back of your car on Valentine’s Day, the likelihood of you getting instant sales for your marketing is fairly slim. I proceeded to tell him so and that led to our short business relationship. He wanted marketing to be a stop-and-go business switch, much like a traffic light where you turn the marketing light to green and it causes traffic to instantly drive to your brand.

You may be thinking, "Here we go with a blog that advocates marketing that never delivers what it promises.” Let me be clear that marketing that does not eventually deliver in sales needs to be revamped. The ultimate goal of any marketing campaign is to make sales work by delivering new customers or enticing old customers to buy again. However, in most cases, that takes time.

How do you know when you are making progress with your marketing? It starts with a strategic marketing plan. First, set some goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Next, set some realistic deadlines. Understanding that sales rarely happen overnight, how quickly are you trying to reach your goals? Break that timeframe down into smaller chunks. For instance, if you want to achieve a goal in one year, what do you need to accomplish in six months, three months or one month?

Secondly, define your target markets. Who is likely to buy your brand? Who needs what you produce? What do you need to do to convince them that your brand is the best brand for them? How many times would they have to hear about your brand before they begin to believe it is best for them? Here is a little marketing tip: the more your target market hears from you, the more believable your brand marketing becomes. Build a marketing campaign that makes your target aware of your brand and plug it into the timeframe of your strategic plan.

Believing something is one marketing accomplishment. Getting someone to buy your product or service for the first time is another. What does your marketing need to do or say to a prospect to get them to try your brand? What is a reasonable time for them to contemplate a decision without losing interest? Schedule this into your marketing plan.

Once you get them to try your brand, what is needed to measure their reaction to it? Marketing strategies should always measure your success and failure with customers. Based on this information, what can you do to keep new customers coming back for another purchase? Again, build this into your strategic marketing plan.

When you finish, you should have a good idea of what you need to do and when you should do it to achieve your marketing goals. Keep in mind that marketing is not operated with a switch that we turn on and off. In actuality, marketing never stops. It is always in go mode. It has to be operating consistently to keep the attention of your target market. Otherwise, you will never achieve the ultimate goal: a sale!