Wait, what? Why should you invest in marketing if you’re already seeing solid sales?

Because without a system in place to consistently attract new leads and convert them—essentially, a marketing strategy—you will inevitably experience a downturn in business. If you wait until that happens to create a plan, you risk wasting valuable time and money.

The best time to focus on marketing is when your business is doing well, and you have both the resources and the clarity to fully engage in the process.

Let’s explore in more detail how investing in marketing during your business’s strong periods can benefit you long-term.

Upfront Costs Aren’t as Scary

The first time you try a marketing tactic is always the most expensive. This also means the ROI is typically the lowest. And what’s the thing most owners are terrified of when they have a downturn in business? Not having enough money!

For example, if you want to start email marketing, you need to select and sign up for software, design an email template, authenticate your domain, clean up your email address list, import the list, and set up your sign-up forms. 

The second time you run your campaign, that work is all done. It’s much easier to swallow that higher cost and lower ROI when business is doing well. It also means you don’t have to rush the process and can think through your strategy. 

 

You Can Be Scientific

If you watch something like Mad Men or Emily in Paris, you might get the idea that marketing is like lightning in a bottle. Creative people hit on some amazing idea and it magically connects with their audience, leading to sales.

While that’s not technically impossible, such stories are definitely outliers. Marketing isn’t magic; it’s a mix of hard and soft science, and a lot of measuring and refining.

I like to think of it a bit like the scientific method. You come up with a hypothesis: “I believe that doing A will result in B.” 

This doesn’t come out of the blue. Your hypothesis should come from your knowledge of your business and customers and what it seems like it will take to reach them. 

Then you conduct your experiment and measure the results. Sometimes, it doesn’t work at all the way you thought. Rarely, it’s a runaway success. Most often, you end up with a bit of a mixed bag.

Regardless, the job of marketing is to sift through those results and revise the experiment to get you closer to the success you want. It takes time, and it involves trial and error. But if you stick with it, your marketing is almost guaranteed to get better and better over time. 

 

Keeping It Running Will Be Easier

Marketing is not an “on/off” switch. It takes time to work. This is why, if you wait until a downturn in business – a point when you need it to be working ASAP – you’ll find the upfront costs nerve-wracking. Put another way, going from zero to 60 in a few seconds takes far more energy than slowly accelerating until you reach that speed. 

Not only is dedicating a specific monthly budget to marketing a lot easier when things are going well, you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot all at once. You may not see huge, immediate results from the marketing you do, but that’s not the point. 

Be the tortoise and work for slow, steady growth that you are able to maintain over time. That way, as you are getting more sales, you’re able to keep up with the demand.

You’ll Have Customers… Which Tends to Lead to More Customers

Here’s one people don’t think about enough: customers are your best marketing tool. People telling friends and family members how great you are. Positive reviews that make others more likely to choose you.

When things are going well, that means you have customers. This is also the best time to try to use those customers to get more customers by hitting them up for positive ratings, testimonials, and referrals.

Why? Partly because it’s largely a numbers game. If you ask 10 people for a review, you might get one. Beyond this, though, you’re less likely to come across as pushy or desperate if you know you have plenty of customers to hit up rather than continuing to follow up with the few you just know would review you well if they took the time.

Bottom line? Start marketing before you think you need it or you’re far more likely to waste money and end up disappointed and angry. Marketing works – but only if you understand how to make it work for you.