What really, truly works in marketing?

Let’s find out.

Never in the whole history of marketing have you needed marketing TRUTH.

Let me explain.

If you’re like me I’m sure you agree that it can be hard to know who is telling the truth these days. From politics to religion to public figures to health experts to a sea of experts - is everyone lying? So the effect on us is this means we now tend to question any advice given by anyone or we take a risk and hope the advice works. How many times have you read the news and asked yourself I wonder if it’s true?

And never in my 38 years in business have I seen so many self-proclaimed experts with absolutely no expertise. Now with the rise of A.I., it’s getting even tougher.

So the truth about marketing your business is now tough to come by.

I want to share this truth and observation with you to help you.

I can actually remember search engines coming starting. SEO was to be the only way to push any business. It was pushed through the marketplace and so-called experts that all other forms of marketing were old-fashioned and could eventually be dropped (money saved) and all marketing focus would be online. The problem they all forget was NOT everyone was online at that time. When I began asking people to sign up for emails most people didn’t have their own email address. For the companies that followed this new marketing advice, they lost a ton of sales.

Then later social media arrived. Two marketing case studies I remember reading at that time were KitKat and Coke. Both companies had been advised by their marketing agency to invest all of their marketing budgets into Facebook and others. Both had a huge drop in market share. Both then eventually dropped social media as an outlet for marketing and reaching their buyers. And today it’s about that single digital experience in marketing or trying to win the viral wars. Most fail.

The FACT and TRUTH in Marketing in my FOUR DECADES of Experience is This.

The idea and principles of marketing never really change.

• Have a product or service that has its own demand.

• Research the buyers and know what they want.

• Get that service or product in front of their faces.

• Create a high-visibility campaign loaded with triggers.

• Create an easily remembered brand.

• Test the campaign over 12 weeks.

• Once it’s working run it until it stops working.

And where do you run this MARKETING TRUTH campaign?

Most marketers will assume and advise it runs on social media and digital. That’s yet another marketing truth that isn't true and shouldn’t be wholly practised.

Why?

It’s really simple: Most of your buyers are not sat on digital or marketing media looking to buy. That is why even social media companies use TV and other marketing outlets.

Like I said at the start, here’s the truth.

Find out where your campaign will be seen by your target buyers and make sure you get your campaign in front of them. I know, that’s too simple for most marketing people that love to make marketing sound complicated. The complexity is actually called fee justification.

This Client Got a 223.7% increase in business in just 7 DAYS

Here’s how.

They own a hairdressing salon.

This business had already hired and fired marketing and business experts that hadn’t been telling them the marketing truth. Not that their experts were devious liars they just didn’t know. They told them to post daily on Facebook, set up Adwords, and use Instagram at least five times daily - That was it. They did just so and began losing money rapidly.

Here’s what I did for my new client.

Created their story and use those story-driven messages in everything.

Created  street huge marketing posters that went on billboards

Posted the posters even in changing rooms

Public toilets

Retail stores

Empty shop windows

Created flyers with a single message tied to their story

Handed out 1000s of flyers every single in a week

Left piles of them everywhere in the town

Filled car parks with them

Created stands filled with them at high-value shopping precincts

Made huge 20x10ft banners

Hung the banners on a bridge

Put them on buildings

Put them on streets

Put them in high visibility locations facing car parks

Created a massive referral campaign

YES - we created a supporting Facebook and Instagram campaign

Also, we ran more than one direct mail campaign

A twice-daily email campaign

Huge PR campaign to create buzz

And frankly a lot more.

Old fashioned I know.

Yet as predicted it was a marketing campaign that was results packed and that’s the marketing truth.

The result was a small business that was about to close had far too much business in just a 7-day period.

Proof of TRUTH?

See the business owners’ comments below.

Again, How did I do that?

I told them the truth.

By using marketing truth. The truth is this. Don’t restrict yourself and do everything you can that is proven to work. What I call mass visibility marketing campaigns that never take a break - be relentless.

Doing this simple marketing truth I have seen crazy results yet most of my new cleans resist doing this massive volume of marketing. Some even go back to the experts that will tell them what they want to hear, what they want to do, and what gives them less of a result. Crazy I know, but it’s what I have seen.

I have even seen my own clients stop doing what I have shown them, and just sat and watched their results drop, and eventually fold their business.

But when I see results like these … 

2,300% increase. £74,000 in sales. £88,400 sales. £2.4 million. £485,000. 6.4% conversion. 11% conversion. 17 leads per hour. 404 new clients. £250,000 advert. £22,00 saved. £66,00 saved. an extra 125 clients per day.

I know they only arrive from what I told you as marketing truth earlier. And that is doing everything so your service or product is seen by the buyer.

My own experience goes all the way back to 1985 when I began my first business. I needed customers. I knew where they were so I got my message in front of them. 

Can you imagine this result happening to you?

I have a client that used to pay an expert £4,000 every month on a retainer. This means the marketing company invoiced them £4,000 and promised to increase their business. Once they took charge with their amercing truth my client quickly realised this. His business turnover dropped by £2,000 a month. Why? His so-called expert told him to drop all of the old-fashioned marketing he was doing and they would focus on social media. This expert almost broke my client’s business.

When he came to me his business was down to £4,500. By the time I got them rolling his business was up to £11,000 in under 12 weeks.

I have another enquiry that never became a client but he kept in touch. He decided to go with an agency that invoiced him - HALF A MILLION - for their marketing truth and expertise. They advised his restaurants to focus on Instagram. Exactly 11 months later his place slammed the doors shut. Why? They failed to take into account some very simple marketing truths.

Truth Vs. The Lie in Marketing

The real problem is lies have become viral. When you have countries leaders lying, when you have TV celebrities lying, when you have businesses lying, officials lying and many others lying it has a viral effect. The fact then makes lying very easy.

Of course, not everyone lies. There is more to doing good than telling lies. 

I have packed my website with facts, testimonials, real results, real people, verifiable numbers and more. Not only that just know I am a fanatical expert when it comes to results. I test everything (including A.I. and its results) I read everything I track everything, I measure everything and I do all of this in my own businesses and in businesses like yours.

You cannot get the kind of results ongoing I have and have created over the decades by telling lies. That’s just not possible.

My advice to any business is to forget fads and what is in fashion. Yes, they can work at a small level, but if you want to be visible you have to be doing every last thing you can to get seen regardless of what the marketing experts tell you.

That’s my marketing truth.

Alan Forrest Smith