Introduction

Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

Marketing tactics change rapidly

Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Results

Marketing tactics change rapidly

How many times have you seen this disclaimer? Most of the time, we think about finances and investments when we see this. But this also applies to marketing.

That’s because marketing channels and tactics are developing, being tested and used, and then being abused so quickly it’s hard to keep up. Which reminds me of the typical product lifecycle curve. It looks like this:

If you’re familiar with this, it shows that it takes a while for people to discover, try, and then trust or use a product. Then everyone jumps on board. And over time it declines, because another technology has come along to supplant it.

The same holds true for marketing tactics. And the time it’s taking for them to come and go is getting shorter and shorter.

The most recent of these phenomena is the LinkedIn “social selling” approach. Have you seen this? LinkedIn used to be a place where people connected and networked. Then, all of a sudden, a few sales people found out how to game the system, reaching out to connect with people and then pushing their product or service.

The “abuse” of the channel really took off when they decided to stop selling whatever they were selling and to “teach” how to do this social selling. All it took was a few months of this for them to have over-saturated the market with people trying to sell rather than trying to connect. And it was game over.

I think this product lifecycle took all of a year or so to have run its course. There’s nothing more annoying to me now than to have someone reach out to connect, only to have them turn around and sell me in the next message. I don’t even bother with these messages anymore.

Which brings me to my point about marketing in general. It’s great when you find a marketing message, tactic, or technique that works. I really enjoy that discovery myself. And, when it works, it’s important to maximize the time and spend on it. Because you never know where you are on that curve, when it comes to a marketing technique.

More and more, marketing tactics that worked before don’t work now. And, marketing tactics that seem to take off have a shorter and shorter lifecycle.

So – if you’ve found a great way to marketing your product or services – go for it. Invest in it. Get all you can when it comes to your ROI (return on investment).

But also be on the lookout for the next best way to market. Be testing all the time. Because it’s only a matter of time for the cycle to change.

Not sure where you are – or where to begin? Contact me and let’s chat!

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