You may have heard of the uniquely American phenomenon derogatorily known as McMansions. Certain architectural features such as columns, palladian windows, high ceilings, huge square footage, large garages, and so forth, are often major signals of wealth. It was only a matter of time before housing developers discovered something. If they built huge houses, then just threw these features at them, they could sell them as upscale houses even if they cut major corners on things like construction quality and tasteful design. And so “McMansions” are born. They are the “fast food” of luxury homes, and they look like it. Just google “McMansions” and you’ll see what I mean.
Similar things happen in the marketing world. Everyone knows that a good marketing plan includes things like websites, PPC, SEO, Story Brand, landing pages, funnels, social media, email, influencer marketing, etc. So if we just kind of throw these things onto a pile, that will give us good marketing, right? After all, we’re doing all the things.
The answer, of course, is no. You have a marketing McMansion. It is a disjointed combination that wastes resources and will be a pain to actually live with.
Don’t build a marketing McMansion. Build something sensible and efficient. Here’s how to do it.
Learn the basic principles and use common sense
Good architecture follows basic principles regarding scale, balance, movement, and so on. This allows even someone who is not an expert in architecture design to have a sense of what makes a house good or bad. There are similar principles in marketing. Understanding the basics of marketing will allow you to start piecing together a solid, functional marketing plan, even if you aren’t an expert.
But most of all, use common sense. What matters for you as a business? Does the work you are doing in marketing either directly or indirectly help what actually matters to your business? Even if you don’t know anything else about marketing, at least stop and think through this question. Don’t do anything if it doesn’t make sense.
Create a plan and stick to it
Marketing won’t usually happen in a single step. You’ll need to take the time to put together a plan for your marketing, even if it is basic. Seeing signs relating to your business leads to people stopping by your location, which leads to people talking to sales people and making a purchase. That’s very simple, but it’s a marketing plan. Now, if you want to expand your marketing effort, you need to either work within that plan or rework the plan to include new elements. For example, you could make your signs more visible or train your staff to talk to customers more effectively to work within your existing plan, or you could expand your marketing plan by adding something like newspaper advertisements to your existing plans. Most marketing plans are much more complex than just this, but the basic principle remains the same.
Engage with Expertise
As your marketing plan grows more and more complex, you’ll most likely want to bring in professional help. There are a couple of reasons to do this. It might be just that you don’t have time to get to all your marketing work. It might be that someone who knows more about marketing will be able to do better work than you can on your own. In either case, the previous principles still apply. Make sure your marketing work still has a plan. Make sure it still makes sense and follows basic marketing principles.
Anyone you hire will need your input. Marketing needs to tie in closely with the broader business efforts, and your marketing people will need your input. Don’t lose sight of common sense or the need for a plan just because you hired someone. Help them understand, push back against ideas that seem bad, and together, you can craft something much closer to Fallingwater than the McMansion eyesores so common today.
If you need help organizing your marketing plan, reach out to us on our website or call us at 717.340.5539.