I was quoted in Entrepreneur Magazine this month, ranting about some of the things you’ve probably heard me say more than once.
To read the full article, click here: “How to Be Your Own Boss”
Here’s an excerpt of the part where I was quoted:
“The most important thing people need to know when they leave a job to start their own business is that their success will not depend on how good they are at what they do,” says Dov Gordon, a small-business marketing strategist. “It will depend on how good they are at marketing and sales.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing and sales, entrepreneurs receive “boatloads” of bad advice from “experts” in social media, telemarketing, networking and public relations, Gordon says.
“The innocent entrepreneur invests thousands of dollars and several months with this or that method-specific expert, and usually the results are far below expectations,” he says. “Marketing tactics are like plumbing, electricity or flooring. Before you hire a plumber or electrician you need an architect who designs the blueprint. Fact is, it’s hard to find a good marketing architect, but the marketing plumbers are everywhere. They mean well, but they’re taking entrepreneurs for a ride.”
Rather than getting stuck on one particular marketing tactic, take time to develop a strategic marketing plan, including regular marketing outreach, to ensure your marketing time and money is targeted toward your goals. “Good marketing enables the entrepreneur to focus her time, energy and resources on just the people who are most likely to become customers,” Gordon says. “Marketing is really not about telling [people] how great your products are. Good marketing is based on a deep understanding of the problem your customer has and doesn’t want, or the result they want and don’t have. When you focus your marketing message on the customer’s problem and desired result, they notice and come over and ask for more.”
I’d love to hear your comments below.
Dov
