What kind of message is your company sending?
If you look around the internet, you can see that most companies don't quite have their message or voice figured out.
Check out this ad:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0V6c1rzTsQ]
Did the ad even talk about the car? No. Actually if you watch the ad again, not one single word is spoken throughout the ad. Yet this video got 10 million hits only within a few days which is HUGE growth.
Now, here's where all the D-Bag marketers come in and instantly go to "But how much did it convert? Did it even sell cars? What's the ROI?!?" Once again, totally missing the mark.
Think of everyone you know, including yourself, who has ever purchased a car. Did any of them say, "Oh I saw this fantastic ad, so I went out right there and bought a car!!" I sure as hell don't.
(If you do, forward me their e-mail address because I'm going to make them an ad telling them to give me a few thousand dollars because they are a sucker.)
Most people buy cars because of personal experience, recommendations from someone they trust, maybe reading some reviews online, and feelings about a company in general.
If I was in the market for a car right now, and I had a child, would I think "I totally have to buy a VW because of that cute ad!!" No. BUT subconsciously I would probably have a gut feeling that VW is a family friendly company. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant when it comes to selling things. Most people don't buy out of rational thought, they buy out of feelings, and if I saw enough family friendly ads from VW, all it would take is a few positive comments from some people I know about VW's to put it at the top of my list.
Think of all the most recent things you splurged on, where you went off budget. Or even think of the things you WANT to go off budget for in the near future. How many of them are truly rational purchases? Or did you just have enough positive emotions about a certain brand/company that you can't help but simply buy their products.
Personally, I can't help but buy: Ink Joy pens, Toyota vehicles, Timex watches, and Johnny's Seeds. I have had such positive experiences surrounding each of these companies that even if one of their biggest competitors sent me a lifetime supply of whatever I wanted, it wouldn't matter because brand loyalty runs deep in America. Let's get real here: capitalism is so prevalent in the younger generations that runs deeper than even things like lifetime friends. Good or bad isn't part of the discussion here, the point is that is a fact. The younger generation doesn't feel like a company is just a company, they feel like it is a new long-term friend, and this trend doesn't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Here is the thing I always tell my clients: You can't measure the ROI of feelings. This is because they may not buy right away, but they will buy in the future, but all marketers count numbers on immediate results. If you do this: STOP. The lifetime value of a client cannot be measured. For example: I have my entire heart set on Toyota. I want a Toyota Tacoma and there is zero amount of anything anyone can do to change that. It is my dream car and there is no rational feeling behind seeing that car out and about. So let's say that Toyota puts out an incredible ad that reinforces my liking of their company and I don't buy a car right away because I'm just not in the market yet. Their marketers look at that and say: "Well no one bought any cars, so this has a horrible ROI and you're all fired because sales didn't go up."
This may have been the old days of marketing, but any business owners today have to realize this new fact: You are building a relationship with your customer that doesn't always translate to immediate cash-in-hand at point of execution.
So, if you're a business owner who is trying your hardest, you're building relationships, you are demonstrating a clear message (if not, I have some exciting news coming about this soon... stay posted!), and you're creating positive interactions with your dream clients, but for some reason your sales aren't where you want them to be... STOP WORRYING BECAUSE THEY WILL COME. People buy because of good feelings and if you are creating those good feelings (with some hustle too, of course), then the sales will come I promise you.
Keep focused on creating positive feelings around you and your company, and before you know it, you will have customers for life.