It is June 1. Did you hear the bell ringing? Do you see the clock ticking down? The year is nearing the halfway point, which means it is time to evaluate how you are doing in reaching your goals for the year. Are you halfway there? If so, congratulations, and keep going. If not, there is some action you need to take to catch up.

In nearly every sporting event, there is a break halfway through the game. Halftime is a great time to make adjustments and come up with a strategy to finish well. The same is true of marketing in your business. If you find yourself lagging behind on your annual sales goals, what is causing you to do so? Typically we can point to some common obstacles that cause sales to move slower than expected. For instance, market conditions may have changed. When we build a marketing strategy to meet sales goals, we do so with some assumptions about the economy, consumer confidence and the availability of revenue to buy our products and services. Those situations may have been altered. If so, your marketing needs to change to reflect this new reality. However, sometimes marketing is not helping to drive people to a sale because the promotion is not up to par. This is where you have to be strong enough to hear criticism and reform your marketing plans.

Here are some common points where marketing fails and what needs to happen to reverse the downward trend:

• Marketing is not effectively promoting the brand so that the consumer knows it by name and understands what it is. This is an awareness marketing problem that can be solved by being more ambitious in how frequently and where you place your brand and its messaging.

• There is no distinction between your brand and your competition (or if there is, yours is inferior to theirs). You need to identify the uniqueness of your products and services and promote it. The more difference there is between your brand and the competition, the more consumers will gravitate toward you.

• There is no compelling reason for the consumer to buy your brand. It doesn’t solve their problems or make them feel better. You need to get to know your target market better. Find out what causes them angst that your product and service can fix, or you need to find a new target that fits your brand. In other words, don’t waste your marketing efforts trying to sell to people who will never buy your brand.

• You never ask the consumer to try your brand. This is often a mistake when you see marketing start and stop at brand awareness. Build a marketing promotion that asks for the sale and makes it easy for the consumer to say yes.

• You have not given your old customers a reason to buy from you again. It is a mistake to ignore your current customers in pursuit of potential customers. Once someone has bought your brand, it is much easier to convince them to buy again and again. Build brand loyalty.

If you find any of these are keeping you from effectively marketing your brand, I would advise you to first define your specific problem. Make the change to your strategic marketing plan now. Don’t wait for next year. It is nearly halftime. It is time for evaluation and adjustments.