Is your marketing team doing any, or all, of the following things?

• More time is devoted to discussing how things look instead of what they convey.
• The metrics you track are not being used to learn more about customer perception and behavior.
• The sales process is more focused on explaining what you offer than on listening to what your customers have to say.
• A lot of time and effort goes into attracting prospective customers but you are not sure why some convert and others don’t.
• You spend considerable time looking for and implementing the latest and greatest technical gimmick, but don’t invest in adapting time-tested persuasion principles.
• Marketing doesn’t talk to sales or doesn’t respect its input.

Yes? Well, congratulations, you are practicing accidental marketing! But before you click that close box, you may want to read on.

Marketing is a process, not just a great website, creative gimmick, fancy logo, or catchy slogan. It requires “…planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.” That’s how the American Marketing Association defines marketing. Is that how you approach it?

Accidental marketing is not actually a good thing and those who use it, and clicked that close box quickly, won’t be around long if they persist in practicing it – but I did warn them. And the rest of us won’t really miss them anyway, will we?

When you are intentional about your marketing, you start with a vision, then create a strategy, and carry that strategy throughout your marketing efforts in a programmatic way. Intentional marketing leads to better close rates, increased sales, lower costs (especially for marketing and sales), happier customers, and greater profitability. It is often the difference between companies that thrive and companies that merely survive or even close – even when those companies offer the exact same products and services to the same market at the same price point, etc.

Accidental vs Intentional Marketing

The alternative to accidental marketing is intentional marketing. Here are ten questions an intentional marketing program answers – with ease:

• Which came first, the idea for your product or service, or the knowledge that there was a market need that you could fulfill?
• Who are your customers?
• What do they really need?
• What benefits (not features) of your product or service satisfy the needs of your customers?
• What about your product or service is unique?
• What other options does a customer have to buying your product or service? Are those options better or worse?
• What is the process a customer goes through before buying your products or services?
• What is the customer’s perception about your product and your company versus your competition?
• What is the value of your product or service to the client?
• What would a customer say if anyone asked them to recommend your product or service?

If you cannot answer these questions easily – as if they are second nature to you – you are practicing accidental marketing.

Are you ready to start marketing with intention instead of in an accidental manner? Schedule a Complimentary Consultation with me today!