I told him – It’s not an EXPENSE! – we saved the business.

I told him “It’s not an EXPENSE!” We saved the business.

In speaking with fellow Business Owners, there is one shift that can turn the whole business around. It’s a shift you could make right now, in this moment. It won’t cost you anything. It will dramatically change the way your business runs, how fast your business grows AND how long your business lasts.

The Shift: Marketing is an INVESTMENT, not an Expense!

The one thought that kills businesses is the belief that Marketing is an expense. What does everyone say about expenses? “Let’s keep our expenses down.” Expenses are a drain on our budgets and profits. We need to reduce and eliminate our expenses. It’s something you try to keep as small as possible. Expenses are the things we cut back on or eliminate when sales are down. THIS IS a DISASTROUS thought in terms of your Marketing.

Treating Marketing like an Expense will Kill Your Business

If you treat your Marketing like an expense you won’t grow, you won’t attract enough new customers, growth will be slow and you will have a difficult time making it last. You will always be out to trim it, cut it and reduce it.

The 1 Time Marketing IS an Expense

There is one time when Marketing is an expense – do you know when that is? Marketing is an expense when it produces no Return On Investment (ROI) – then it’s wasted. When marketing is not measured, you have no idea if it’s working. That is when it’s not an investment.

True Marketing Yields a Return On Investment (ROI)

I always recommend Direct Response Marketing which is measured and carries with it an ROI. During the testing phase you may not produce an ROI but then you drop or tweak it to ensure you move towards an ROI. When Marketing has an ROI it yields a return. ALL your Marketing should yield a return. With each dollar spent you know how many dollars are coming back – that’s an investment.

Selling $5 Bills for $1

For example, if for every dollar you invested in Marketing, five dollars of sales came back to you then you have 5 times ROI. You would want to INVEST all the dollars you could into that Marketing. That’s like selling $5 bills for $1 – you want to buy all you can.

It’s not Easy but Measure and Track it All – Think Investment

I know this is not always easy to find and develop successful Marketing ROI. You have to ensure you measure and track your results. You need to be creative, know your customer’s needs and invest the time to create emotional direct response marketing that works. It’s worth the struggle. As that develops your business grows in customers and in value. When you create Marketing that has ROI it becomes and Investment. When you think Investment you think about how to maximize it, how to put all you can into it – you watch it – you constantly measure it. Investments produce assets. Your marketing produces customers which are assets and have value in your business.

Action Steps – what you can do RIGHT NOW

See MARKETING as an INVESTMENT (not as an expense)
Measure all Marketing for ROI because then it’s an investment
a. Constantly improve it
b. Dump things that don’t produce a measurable ROI
c. Avoid long contracts without an exit clause in case ROI is not there
Invest as much as you can into Marketing (not just dollars but also time)

Marketing is the Investment Engine that drives the business – you need to always keep it running.

Now take control and make it a great day,

Blaine Oelkers

Blaine Oelkers is a lifetime entrepreneur, a graduate of Purdue University and Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship program. He’s achieved over 100 Million dollars in sales and coached 1000’s of people. He’s currently President of the Arizona Marketing Association and Selfluence. He helps business owners with their Personal Implementation Plans (PIPs) elevating themselves to a higher level called You 2.0. He can be reached at Blaine@ForcedClarity.com