Make your customers believe

A note for start-ups. Please don't make marketing an after thought. An add on. A 'nice to do'. Marketing works when it's part of what you do. Part of every thought. Part of what you write. Part of how your brand looks. Part of everything.  

The starting place is the message. Tattoo it on your hand. What are you all about? Cheap? Luxury? Expert? Friendly? Informal? Techy? You can't be everything and if you try to be your message will be a diluted, jumble of mixed messages and will ultimately be lost. You need to be believable. 

A dentist who says they are family-friendly, yet when you walk in the practice there isn't a toy in sight, not even a pot of well-chewed crayons. I just don't believe you. You need to say the same thing everywhere. Your website says modern, fresh, high-tech, relaxed and welcoming. I know what to expect when to arrive. Eh?? Your practice hasn't been painted since daffodil yellow walls were 'in' sometime around 1995, your leaflets are full of typos and your staff are dressed like something from a 1980's US law series. So you invested in a fancy new website that communicates a completely different message to what I've found on arrival. Your social media is friendly, casual and informal, I think we could be friends. Then you send me a letter (in the post...) which says 'Dear Mrs Blair' (I'm in my thirties, no one calls me 'Mrs' anything), written in Times New Roman and with an SAE for my response. I'm dumfoonered.  

It's all about marketing. Weaving one message through everything you do. That's what makes you believable. That's what builds trust. That's what makes me so confident in what you tell me that I will recommend you to a friend. And even in this ever-changing world of marketing, word-of-mouth trumps everything else. No amount of spend on fancy adverts, direct mail campaigns, pricey websites, cleverly constructed social media campaigns, beats word-of-mouth.

So before you think about what marketing tools you might employ, advertising, PR and the array of tactics you could integrate into your marketing mix, think about nailing your message, in every area of your business. Then maybe your customers will believe you.