Faced with a bad economy, people can get desperate.
I’m here today to tell you to take a chill pill – and to offer concrete marketing tips to help.
Just to get this out of the way, my recommendations do not include using “AI” in every other sentence. Yes, you need to be on top of the changes AI is bringing and take advantage of them where you can.
But usually when everyone is leaping on a bandwagon, jumping on it blind is a bad idea. Now, if you got on the bandwagon before it becomes a stampede, that’s one thing.
Just get it in perspective. AI is still only a small fraction of search.
There are two ways to get rich quick Off a bandwagon: Get there early, or sell to the stampeders.
In the California Gold Rush (1848) large numbers jumped, “rushing” to California to get rich.
You know who got rich then? It was mostly those selling to the Gold Rushers. You know, like Levi’s Blue Jeans?
So my first piece of advice, quoting from “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” , is “DON’T PANIC.”
A thoughtful approach is likely to produce better results.
I’m assuming you have some kind of going concern, not trying to start something entirely new, and that you haven’t gone completely busted.
So,
1. Take a good hard look at what’s gotten you business in the past. There may be successful things you stopped doing or could do more of.
2.Refine your metrics. If you aren’t using several metrics to track your business, you’re using antiquated method. Try driving in a Formula 1 Race with only a speedometer to guide you.
Now this can take quite some work, as it means really understanding what makes your business tick AND how you can accurately measure every important aspect of it.
It’s true a lot of businesses are very Simple. I know someone who has done very well brokering containers of tuna for import. Steps: Find someone looking to buy tuna. Find someone with tuna to sell. Negotiate a deal acceptable to both parties. Collect a nice fat commission on the sale.
Alas, for many of us it is not that simple. If you are running an online store for example, there are many little steps (and therefore metrics) you may need to track, between point A: “Never herd of you” and point B: a Sale.
It takes a hard-nosed, no nonsense attitude to do this, get accurate metrics, properly analyze their significance so you know what to do, and then take the right action.
Oh, but what a happy day when you see the sales rolling in.