Page 341 - Duct Tape Marketing

Chapter 21

Ten Ideas to Embrace
and Ten to Avoid

In This Chapter

ᮣ What the best marketers don’t do
ᮣ What the best marketers do better than everyone else

Remember the old line about how half of all ad dollars are wasted but no
one knows which half? The truth is, the best marketers do know.

The following two lists highlight what great marketers try awfully hard to
avoid — and what they work awfully hard to do instead.

Ten Worst Marketing Ideas

The following ten marketing landmines masquerade as quick fixes. When the
business chips are down, each of these worst ideas pops up to look like a
good solution. Don’t be fooled. Make sure every new idea soars above every
single idea on this list.

1. Fight bad business with good advertising.
Here’s the scenario: Business is down, so the owner points fingers at the
economy and the competition and decides to run ads to overcome the
problem. But the economy and the competition likely aren’t the culprits.
Business is down because customers have defected — and new prospects
haven’t been converted — because the company’s product or service is
lacking.
Running ads before improving the offering will only put a spotlight on
the problem. In the words of advertising legend Bill Bernbach, “Nothing
kills a bad product like a good ad.” Instead, fix the product, polish the
service, then run the ad.