The Teckki Says

Why do larger companies devote huge resources and budgets to marketing?

They are either trying to protect their turf or gain market share.

Why do smaller companies believe that they can market on shoestring budgets to successfully advertise?

It's all we have.

I think that we were smarter when our enterprises were farming, fishing and hunting. There was an obvious connection between resources and yield. Bigger and better land (or water space) meant more production capability, thus more yield. If you had more land, you could plant more crops, or graze more animals. If you had a bigger boat and net, you could fish deeper into the lake and catch more. In order to obtain more, you clearly had to start with more.

Today's wisdom says that technology can equalize advantages. As a small company, I want to believe that. As one trying to grow larger, I know that this wisdom is flawed.

Web development is rife with marketing magic. Some of the claims of web marketing, with all flash and pizazz are something right out of Hollywood. The problem comes when customers realize that they’ve been to the movies.

I think it is a good time to be realistic about our marketing capabilities and resources, and if we can reach our targets on the cheap. For too long, we have believed that we can look like something we are not, and accomplish things we cannot.

There is a saying that 80% of all advertising dollars are wasted, but no one knows part the 80% is. In understanding this, we have to face up to realizing that if we think it takes "x" dollars to effectively reach our target market, the 80% rule says that we have to spend five times that amount to ensure that we do in fact reach it. For all of those who have tediously crafted their marketing budgets down to the penny, you are going to have to add four more shoestrings.

I'll offer an example to demonstrate proof of this. If you are reading this post, you are one out of every four persons on my email list who have read any part of the email. My stats are slightly higher than the average, but the mix is not always the same. While the percentage of readers remain fairly constant, the fact that you are reading this post doesn’t mean you have read the last issue post, nor guarantees that you will read the next issue’s post. In line with the rule, 75 – 80% of you don't read my newsletters at any given time, and I won't know who has until after I've sent the notices out.

So, make your budgets, set your targets and craft your campaigns. Then multiply the amount of resources you’ll need by five. You may realize that you have to purchase a pair of loafers to go with those shoestrings.