*Exhale*
My latest blog post addresses how to avoid three primary things new and intermediate subject matter experts risk losing when they try to market alone or unsupervised.
The three things they risk are significant losses of:
⌚ Time
💰 Money
And…
👀 Interest/Attention
Ultimately, “The 3 Risks of Unsupervised Marketing (and How to Avoid Them)” blog post shows you exactly how to not be a victim of unsupervised marketing tragedies.
So, before it’s too late…
Learn how to avoid the same mistakes new subject matter expert consultants make.
First, What’s Unsupervised Marketing?
Unsupervised marketing consists of marketing efforts that lack a customized blueprinted strategy and therefore fail to produce predictable and consistent revenue.
In short, if a marketing strategy has no blueprint behind it, then it lacks the “supervisory” mechanisms of accountability and troubleshooting when revenue results are lacking.
The term “predictable” refers to results that one can expect based on a blueprint. This is different from the uninformed follow-the-latest-trend marketing approach some consultants still fall for.
A customized (marketing) blueprint is similar to a construction blueprint.
And it also offers the certainty, predictability, confidence and comfort one would expect from a well-built home. But in this case, the expectation would be for the certainty, predictability, confidence and comfort resulting from consistent revenue results.
When a home is under construction, every wall, door, light fixture, wiring etc. has its place. Each of these can be installed using a physical set of documents – a blueprint. If something ends up incorrectly constructed, there’s no other reference point to look other than the blueprint.
But if the blueprint has errors, that’s where the construction issue(s) must be addressed before building continues.
The same applies to marketing activities.
If you’ve attempted or slaved over a campaign that’s under-performing, there should be a blueprint i.e. a document or some kind of diagnostic checklist that you can use to fix the issues.
If there isn’t a reference document to use when marketing efforts fail to be profitable, a blueprint should be created. This helps diagnose and remedy current and future problems. Otherwise, marketing problems are bound to resurface which means lost time, money and other resources.
But What Happens When Correcting Your Blueprint Doesn’t Fix Your Revenue Issues?
Great question.
This is one of the greatest pain-points for the subject matter expert consultant turned overwhelmed entrepreneur. This same entrepreneur can sometimes be found wearing multiple hats. AND they insist on handling their own marketing – the DIY way.
There’s no way around a blueprint that doesn’t work. It MUST work. But it takes a trained eye to make the corrections.
So, plain and simple…
The answer to that question of “what happens when correcting your blueprint doesn’t work?” is:
Check the blueprint (and implementation efforts) for errors. You can check for overlooked glitches which include but aren’t limited to:
📌 Ad copy (format and messaging)
📌 Landing page traffic
📌 Weak landing/sales page copy
📌 Lack of credibility elements i.e. no testimonials, outlandish product benefit claims etc.
📌A weak lead generation resource i.e. PDF download, video series, free consultation etc.
📌 A poor product or service offer
📌 Pixel install issues
📌Broken links
📌 Avatar (target market behavioral and interest assumptions)
📌 Low converting email series
📌 Poor follow up or add-ons offer
📌 Overall messaging or approach and…
📌 Even inaccurate financial forecasts or assumptions
This list is not exhaustive. But it gives you an idea of how difficult trouble shooting a blueprint can be. And it also reveals the level of skill required to produce marketing results.
Now can you imagine trying to market without a systematic way of trouble shooting these items?
So, How Do You Fix These Blueprint Glitches?
The first answer is painfully obvious.
1. You should have a somewhat functional blueprint from day 1.
2. A great blueprint usually comes from a good marketing “architect” or implementation specialist based on project size. This person should also be able to show you actual proof of results produced with other clients.
(Make sure they also offer you an agreeable guarantee on results. This can be tied to revenue outcomes as well i.e. they get a percentage of sales produced or paid clients)
Well, as would be the case when a physical building starts to have construction site issues, the architect is held to account for either making necessary corrections to the blueprint or apply solutions proposed from the contractor/builder(s).
This should be a rare situation, but it happens.
So this means, don’t be afraid to hold your marketing “architect” or implementation specialist accountable for making corrections that produce results.
And What Should I Be Looking For in An Effective Marketing Blueprint?
Without killing the construction blueprint metaphor – an effective blueprint looks similar to a set of good building documents.
From my experience, a great marketing blueprint for the subject matter expert-entrepreneur should have:
👉 A clearly defined target audience i.e. Customer Avatar
👉 A remarkable offer or product message (incl. pricing packaging)
👉 Great email follow up series
👉 Actual drawings or illustrations (of the work to be done)
👉 “Specs” aka specification documents which refer to what tools or technology will be used for implementation activities.
👉 An analytics and metrics section which ties into your financial projections
👉 Project budget and expense document
👉 An invoice and billing standard operating protocol section (if needed)
👉 A reference section for all accounts (including login info) that are being used for the project i.e. Social media accounts that will be used, software accounts – email, zoom, google drive account etc. (So, make sure you provide all the needed account information)
Most of all, the blueprint should be duplicatable i.e. it should produce similar results when used project after project.
👉 Some flexibility – enough for changes or adjustments (as needed) to produce better results.
The moral of the story, if you’re not applying a customized marketing blueprint approach for your business/practice, you’ll be exposing yourself to the 3 risks of unsupervised marketing.
That means you run the risk of losing:
⌚ TIME wasted on hope-and-pray efforts
💰 MONEY on tools, staff, services and ads that don’t work or work as well as you hoped
And most of all…
👀 INTEREST/ATTENTION
That last one, interest/attention, is perhaps the biggest one. See, when you put time and money behind something, it’s because you believe in it. But when that initiative fails you AND you can’t figure out how to make key corrections, hope gets lost.
When hope is lost, so does interest and attention.
When interest and attention goes, so does everything else – self esteem, belief and confidence.
So, regardless of how far you’ve come in your journey, never underestimate the power and value of a well crafted marketing blueprint (and a cooperative marketing “architect” who stands behind it).
Hope this has been of some value to you.
Best,
Buihe Madu
PS: If you need help figuring your marketing blueprint snafus, I’m happy to help – schedule a strategy session here.
PPS: If you’d like to see a blueprint like the one described above in action, watch the new pre-masterclass training series based on my “10-Account Strategy” for predictable revenue growth.
