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Mr. Marketing: Investing builds the bottom line

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mr marketing for webMarketing — expense or investment?

Larry Rosen

I’d vote investment, and not just because I’m in the marketing business.

Investments are supposed to (hopefully) increase your wealth. Some will make money for you in the short term, others will take years to pay off, and others still will fail miserably regardless of your best efforts.

It’s the nature of the beast.

Issues affecting any given investment’s health and long-term results may include war, natural disasters, elections, preconceived ideas, personalities of those handling the details, and countless other extraneous factors.

But here’s the thing that slays me: Most people only think of stocks, stamps, gold, and the like as investments. You buy them, lock them away, and one day sell them.

Gold’s down $6.50 per ounce today. How boring!

Marketing is an investment you can actually see making money for you. Create an active, consistent communications campaign, and watch as email inquiries, phone calls, and mailbags full of orders come pouring in.

Anyone in business knows that to survive you must make sales. These sales invariably derive from some form of marketing communications effort.

And as with financial issues, not all communications vehicles are equal. Some are more appropriate for you, some will cost more, and some will work better.

To determine which financial or marketing investment tools should work best for you, draw up a plan spelling out your goals, resources, and timeframe for success. And recognize going in that there are no guarantees, no matter what you do, for success.

Like your financial portfolio, your marketing portfolio should be diversified, and it will probably benefit from professional advice. You can do everything yourself, of course, but you’ll need reams of information, scores of resources, and unlimited time to do it properly.

Doing it all yourself also means less time to do whatever else you do best. And let’s not forget the cost of lost opportunity because you didn’t know about the latest and greatest thing to hit the market.

When done properly, any investment should put you into a stronger position. Good stocks will strengthen your household’s net worth. Good marketing will strengthen your company’s bottom line.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

Mr. Marketing has spent 30 years learning which marketing tools work best for different industries, audiences, and messages. Invest in his knowledge at www.askmrmarketing.com.

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