Just because you watch the paint dry doesn’t mean it will dry any faster. The same is true with marketing. It’s a process, and it can’t be rushed, trying to do so will only ruin your final project. Ever been a part of painting a room in a house? Fascinating isn’t it? That one room can look completely different with a little paint, a few pictures, and some great furnishings. What happens when you try to hang the pictures too quick or move the furniture back in place too early? Ya ruin the wall, the picture and the furniture. An expensive mishap. No one has time for that. Marketing can feel like the same thing. Waiting for it to come together can feel slow and painful, but jumping the gun will only cost you more money. I promise. Facts. 100% of the time. True story.

I meet clients at every point along the road to success in their marketing. On one end of the spectrum are clients who have done nothing, but then a competitor came to town. Or their services became less visible. Or their clientele shifted. Suddenly, just being “the local guy” isn’t good enough anymore. On the other end of the spectrum, there are companies who have been marketing since they opened their doors. They didn’t wait for an event, a catastrophe or a nearly failed business attempt. They started from day one to invite people into their business with consistent marketing messages placed properly. They let time do the work. They didn’t watch the paint dry, they kept working and improving their business while it dried.

One business that LGM has been working with for several years has done excellent, non-expensive marketing from the very beginning. (What is expensive you ask? Well that is another blog.) This business is pacing with numbers that very few in their industry have seen. In fact, this business is doing in 7 years, what another similar, very successful business in a different market took nearly 20 years to accomplish. Not just that, but the first business is currently in the process of outgrowing the longer standing one. The difference? Some might suggest opportunity or market size. Nope. In fact, the opposite is true. The younger business is in a more challenging market with fewer opportunities to do business. What is the difference? Consistent marketing with a comprehensive strategy that they don’t stop just because they can’t see results within a week or a month. They didn’t give up. Strategic placement of ads with consistency to the right audience compounds the effect of the strategy and that makes all the difference.

The most expensive thing a business can do is look at the marketing after only a few months and prematurely decide that it is not working. Just like prematurely moving furniture in a room that you just painted, it is expensive to not be patient.

Even if you never meet me or work with me, trust in what I am sharing with you. This is free advice. Let the process work. Give your marketing a minimum of 6 months to make any decisions about its success. People live in cycles: summer, fall, winter, spring. Think about your product, take into consideration the buying cycle of your client. What kind of decision-making process do they go through? Is it spontaneous, like choosing where to eat? Or is it more thoughtful, like buying a home or changing banks?

There are so many considerations that go into marketing. Projects come together best when you let the process happen. Trust it. Let the paint dry.