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Why marketing is like DIY – 5 tips to avoid costly mistakes

“One part planning saves twelve parts doing”

You know it struck me recently how similar marketing is to DIY, in particular home renovation.

Having experience in both, I now realise that the enjoyable bits, like hanging beautiful wallpaper or choosing imagery for a website, are all the more effective and rewarding after a really good swathe of preparation.

The more effort you put into planning and preparation, the easier the implementation is. And, the better the results. Painting over old wallpaper might look ok, but a crisp plastered wall and fresh paint is so much better. Marketing implementation is often the same… do you bodge around the dodgy work of others, or do a bit of solid prep to get it right?

5 tips on better marketing preparation (can you see the similarity to DIY?):

1. Research:

• Work out what needs fixing (how to make customers pain go away).
• Think about how the space is going to to be used (know your audience and their needs).
• Look at what’s hot and what’s not (competitor analysis, market research, consumer trends and insight).
• Research the best tools for the job (suppliers and systems).
• Get the best deals around (tender your requirements).

2. Specification:

• Get the brief right. Poor detail in = Poor detail out, or an unsatisfactory end result.
• Say what you don’t want as well as what you do want (avoid assumptions) – if you don’t say what you want, you won’t like what you get. (See our blog on writing marketing briefs).
• Detail all those must-haves, special requirements, and legally-required stuff (this is about usability, compliance and customer experience).

3. Deliverables:

• Agree what the end result will look like (is what is in your head in your builder or designer’s head?)
• Cross-check with the budget and build-in some contingencies.
• Agree what is not achievable, too expensive, or out of scope (I mean, I’d love hand-painted wallpaper and designer fabrics everywhere, but hey – you can’t have it all).

4. Pitfalls:

• Think of everything that might go wrong before it happens and get prepared for it (risk directory).
• Try to anticipate negative as well as positive outcomes to things you can’t see yet (research results might change your thinking as much as a cracked ceiling discovered under some Artex you are removing). I’ve lost count of the times we’ve looked at the back-end of a website, for example, to find that the original development leaves more than a little to be desired. This is exactly the sort of thing that potentially results in more work you might not have allowed for.
• Have a plan B if any key personnel or suppliers suddenly become unavailable – or at least understand the impact this will have on delivery.

5. Processes:

• Agree in advance how and when you are going to attack each stage of the task – with check points to review progress and move on.
• Create a project plan and stick to it.
• Keep people in the loop if things look like slipping (see point 4).

And finally, don’t rush. The more carefully you prepare, and the more considered your approach, the less likely you are to have to do the same task again due to sloppy errors… it happens to us all when we’re tired, stressed or rushed. We know that this is easier said than done, but worth its weight in gold. And remember – ‘Buy Cheap, Buy Twice’. We’re not suggesting that small businesses should spend loads of time and money on preparation, but some is certainly a good idea. It can be very tempting to jump in and just ‘get stuff done,’ but it worth remembering that a little consideration can save hours of rework, and serious money in avoided wastage. In small business marketing, every penny counts – think carefully before spending that precious cash.

By Cheryl Crichton | Associate Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @cherylcrichton | www.clear-thought.co.uk

Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.

Published on 20 April 2010