By Dan Fine, Sales Manager at Hive Business.

Have you ever walked into a shoe shop and been approached by a grinning salesperson brandishing a pair of shoes telling you “these are the perfect shoes for you”?

I predict that you haven’t. In fact, depending on your personal disposition, this would probably appear creepy, compelling or possibly even somewhere in between. However, how you feel about that scenario is irrelevant to the point I am making. What I’d like you to consider is: how likely is it that these are the perfect shoes for you?

Let’s begin with size. The salesperson could have been smart and gone for the U.K. averages with women being 5.5 (15%) and men 9 (14%) but that still leaves 85%/ 86% of the population respectively alienated. This is before we even begin to consider the intended function of the shoe. Last time I tried to play rugby in jelly shoes it was tough, but not a patch on performing Swan Lake in Ugg boots… as you may suspect I have made these examples up. They do however serve the dual purpose of conjuring up some odd images and, more importantly, exposing how unlikely it is that this ‘chancer’ has chosen the correct pair of shoes for you.

In dentistry there are many marketing companies behaving exactly like this salesperson. Before they have considered your business, budget, audience, skill set or aspirations; they have already formulated the solution. Which, frankly, is wrong.

This does not mean that the solution is invalid, it is likely to be something that would be featured within many marketing plans. However, without considering all the aspects and your ultimate intention for the business, it is unlikely that this will be the perfect play for you.

In fact, this is exactly why people lose faith in marketing or proclaim it just does not work. They have used legitimate tactics, but because they were employed as a singularity and not as part of a carefully considered and ever evolving plan, their impact has been negligible.

So please, before investing in any marketing tactic, at minimum ask yourself where is my business and what am I trying to do with it? If you don’t, the results could be as effective as flip flops on Everest!

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your marketing strategy with us please call 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.