Is your marketing proactive or reactive?

Which does your business practice?

Reactive marketing

These activities are mostly performed in response to a situation. Usually based on gut instincts or reactions, they are things you should try to avoid. A good marketing strategy will help you do that. Before committing any time, effort or equity, ask yourself if what you are about to undertake fits in with your overall plan (assuming you have one!). If the answer is no, it’s probably a good idea not to use reactive marketing.

Some examples of reactive marketing include:

• 'Copycat' to competitive pressures: monitor what they do, review their activities, but don’t re-act to them.
• Pressure from suppliers (media/agency/printing representatives): advertising reps may come into your office and try to entice you with specials such as advertising for three weeks and getting the fourth at no charge.
• Marketing at the wrong time: don’t wait until your business is dropping off to start your marketing. Have a strategy that includes the whole year.
• Marketing in the wrong media: know your targeted customers and what they read, listen to and watch. Just because something is a good price doesn’t mean it’s right for you if it isn’t reaching your customers.
• Failure to request action: whatever form of marketing you choose, include a call to action. A call to action asks the reader to call or write for additional information. There should also be an offer to entice readers to initiate contact. When potential customers provide information in response to offers of no charge items, coupons or complimentary consultations, you have the opportunity to capture their name, address and telephone number. You can also use the responses to help determine if one form of media receives more interest from prospects than another from of media. The respondents’ information can be used to build your database.
• Failure to track results: ask your clients how they heard about you. This will give you a good indication of which forms of marketing are making an impact.

Proactive marketing

Proactive marketing is your roadmap of activities, based on your marketing strategy. It is how you plan to achieve your goals, based on your research. This kind of marketing must be:

• Sound: Base it on your marketing plan
• Disciplined: Stick to what you’ve planned and don’t make changes as a reactionary measure.
• Creative, coordinated and integrated.
• Well-timed and adequately budgeted
• Measurable: have a way to measure the response to determine if what you are doing is achieving the results you have set.
• True to your business image: once you know what your image is, send a consistent message.
• Focused: always keep in mind the five P’s of marketing – People, Place, Promotion, Price and Product.

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