Or is it nothing but high-fat, carb-soaked, emotionally dizzying junk food?
We all know that when we put that donut up to our mouths with the intention of stuffing our faces with it that the next few minutes are going to be awesome. Our senses will be filled with delicious, immediately gratifying flavors and smells that release endorphins into our bodies and a happy food dance into the world.
Moments later, our eyes sag, our stomachs churn, and our minds wander. "Why did I eat that" bounces around our skulls and even slips out from between our lips as we stave off nausea and other body "challenges."
We all do it, and the more we do, the harder it is to put down the delectable fried sugary fat ball when it comes our way - because we have become addicted to it, and it's so easy to gratify this desire. It's the reason why we have such a hard time shaking off those last 10 pounds (let's be honest - sometimes it's 20), and why at lunch, when we swore up and down just 2 hours prior that we were done with junk food, we opt for the fries instead of the side salad.
When we pinch our stomachs and suck in our guts, we know exactly how it got there... and how to get rid of it... - in the same way that we know something is wrong with our ideas about marketing and the agendas tied to the sales process.
Sales & marketing come in two forms - the healthy kind that takes time to take hold and the immediately gratifying, but impossible to sustain kind.
Are they the leafy greens that we know will make our companies healthy and strong, self-sufficient, and able to live as long as possible with the highest output possible, or are we only using fried junk to fulfill those immediate objectives of getting fed today?
The thing is, fast food is quick and easy - just like paid ads... but, like paid ads, in order to gain the necessary nutrients to nourish our bodies and businesses, we have to consume a whole lot more of it, which means we're also going to attract a lot of the things we don't want, like a bigger waistline and spam traffic.
Here are 5 things you need to consider when deciding between pulling the lever on more paid ads versus a real commitment to long-term, objective-focused marketing.
Your body craves nutrients - vitamins, minerals, and overall goodness that we get from our green leafies and colorful veggies. When we fill our stomachs with "empty calories," or food that is highly caloric and low in nutrients, we are hungry again well before we should be... and it's a ravenous kind of hunger.
It's the same with your business. If you stuff your marketing budget into ad campaigns, you get that immediate surge in traffic, and possibly in new customers, but the moment that ad stops running because maybe you hit your limit for the day or month, your traffic and customer flow dies. Without lead-flow, businesses starve.
If you deploy evergreen marketing today, such as those found in inbound marketing (blogging, SEO, content), then you won't get that rush associated with the immediate spike in your business' blood sugar levels, but it will build upon itself, and eventually, your marketing engine will produce leads and customers 24/7/365 - even during holidays, weekends, and off-hours.... and food comas.
Nothing sucks energy out of a room faster and more efficiently than the wrong kind of snacks. Yet, pizza, donuts, and other confectionery & fried sins of the like tend to be more common in the meeting buffet than anything else. So we slip in and out of our sugar crashes and food comas day in and day out because that's what in front of us, and we're already so tired and starving, that it's just easier to give in to temptation. Besides, losing weight takes a lot of time and work, and the immediate is a lot easier to satisfy than the future versions of us 6 months from now.
When we stuff our marketing investment into tactics that provide immediate results, but don't think about the long-term, such as PPC ads, it becomes easier to push aside and devalue the tactics that will pay off in 6 months...
But it's such a messed up and flawed way of thinking, because have you ever heard somebody say, "I wish I didn't work-out at the gym this morning," or, "I'm regretting that salad I ate for lunch today... it's the reason why I feel so fat right now!" No, of course not. And, after you've put in the hard work with a legitimate marketing effort, and the organic traffic starts rolling in and converting, I can't imagine you'll regret any of those choices either.
Even in the short-term... fixing that website to reflect a progressive, cutting-edge organization that understands its customers cannot possibly feel like it's money poorly spent.
It's hard though, isn't it? That first step, especially, is the hardest, because that's when we first face the truths of what we let happen to our bodies, and when we realize how out of shape we actually are. With business it's no different. Those visitation statistics are addicting, and when we shut off the valve to see how much of our interest is organic vs paid, it can be a little depressing.
That's when we see what a mess our websites are, how disjointed our branding is, and how little people actually know or care about us aside from their brief encounters with our paid ads.
Does your website reflect what you want your brand to be? Does your marketing message reflect the quality of your deliverable? If you were a stranger and stumbled onto your site for the first time, would YOU buy from you?
Would you even take your call?
If it's been awhile since you updated your website (say, more than a few years), it's possible that it's outdated functionally and aesthetically. If you're not active and strategic with social media marketing, it's possible you're missing out on a tremendous method for connecting with your prospective clients. If you're not blogging... well, then it's time for boot camp.
Let's say it costs you $1,000 to get 2,000 visits to your website every month using Adwords and Bing. Month 2 is going to generate the same results as months 1 and 3, and, if anything, will only become more expensive over time. To get more visits, you have to put in more money.
To get full, you have to eat more food when it's nothing but junk.
But with your leafy greens and other nutrient-rich foods, your body will actually adapt and crave less over time. It's the same with your marketing. If you kick off an inbound campaign today with the goal of increasing organic visits from 1,000 a month to 2,000 a month, you'll have to invest in X amount of dollars and have to wait X amount of months to see the growth occur. But when month 6 or 12 rolls around, you're working on momentum that will continue to carry you upward.
You can build on 2,000 organic search visits every month. You can even build on that 1,000 visits every month with a lead conversion path motivated by content... but you can't build on paid ads.
Have you ever seen those Datelines or 20/20s where they expose the nasty truths behind labels found on all of those delicious, processed foods, and how they aren't quite as honest as we hoped them to be?
Have you ever wondered why so many people on the opposite side of the planet are interested in your website? I've run ads in the past, and Russians love my website enough to click, but not enough to stick around. I wonder how many of those are bots and how many are actual people.
Yep, that's a thing. More traffic and clicks doesn't mean more real people to your website.
I know that first step is hard, but it's the most important step you'll ever take:
Every epic journey begins with one, and although that first visit back to the gym is tough, it will pay huge dividends in 6 months from now, and even bigger dividends beyond that.
Interested in learning more about marketing that nourishes your business? Click HERE to schedule a free consultation today!