Where And When To Begin Marketing?

Guerrillas are never stopped by analysis paralysis. Don’t let it stop you.

Many business owners realize the simplicity of marketing, but just don’t know where they should begin. Analysis paralysis stops them in their tracks. So many tasks. Where to start? So they don’t start. They know what they must do, but don’t really have a plan, so they make disconnected efforts to achieve a hazy goal. When they don’t see encouraging results right off the bat, they lose confidence, if any existed in the first place.

If there’s any correct time to start, it’s right now. If there’s any proper place, it’s right where you are. You’ll never feel you are completely ready, so you may as well begin immediately.

If there’s any secret to be learned, it’s the secret of taking action and never stopping. You’ve heard Diana Ross sing when she was a member of The Supremes. Hear now what she says about taking action: "You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream; you’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself."

Guerrillas have learned that the best time to market is when they don’t need any more business. They know that the best source of new clients is old clients and that the best marketing is characterized by quality and not quantity. They realize that their best marketing vehicle, and least expensive, is a satisfied customer. And they know that the two best ways to measure their marketing are by customer retention and by profits, both a part of each other.

It’s wise to think of your marketing the same as you think about your rent. You pay it and never think twice. It’s also wise to think of your marketing as breathing. You couldn’t exist with only one breath, or even two or three. Don’t think you’re going to attract a new customer with only one effort, or even two or three. You keep breathing and stay alive. You keep marketing and stay profitable.

Every part of your success is dependent upon one individual. You are that individual. You’re in charge. You say when to begin. You’ve got the insight to make the right decisions now. To succeed, you’re going to need that insight, along with courage and conscientiousness. If you’re frightened of making mistakes, you’re sunk. Accept that you’ll make mistakes. Each one has a lesson to be learned.

A whale of a lot has changed since I wrote the first guerrilla marketing book in l984. And almost all of it favors small business. Marketing itself has changed dramatically and interactively, not to mention electronically. So has the array of weapons available to guerrillas -- more powerful than ever, yet half of them completely free. That's why so many guerrillas are smiling so broadly. They also know that many things have not changed and that those things are as important as the things that have.

It's not possible to ignore the fact that we're in a new century, even though if you look out the window, you can't see much that has changed. If you look into the hearts and minds of your prospects, you'll see that very little has changed there, too. Certainly, there's a growing awareness of the precious and elusive nature of time, perhaps even a bit more humanity, made possible by, of all things, technology.

Guerrillas welcome the changes as much as they welcome the status quos. They are fully alert to what has changed and what must never change. They know well the difference between change and improvement. Analysis paralysis is a condition that has been eliminated in their world