Marketing doesn't work! - or does it?

I quite often talk with consultants who tell me they've tried networking or direct mail or email marketing - or any other form of marketing and 'it just doesn't work!' - so they've given up. Very often when you chat a little more it seems that it's not so much that the technique involved doesn't work but that the particular variety they've used simply hasn't fit their business and personal style.

A common complaint is from people who've signed up for a local networking group and feel they've spent the whole time referring business to other people and getting nothing back. The problem usually is that these are consultants who need to work with larger companies because their experience is best suited to a corporate environment - and the truth is that large company executives don't generally attend local networking lunches (unless they are themselves trying to sell something!).

If you're targetting larger companies and want to meet the right people then you need to work out what events they do go to - which will probably be the large and relatively expensive conferences that help people keep up to date with their industry. This may seem like a costly approach but 1 good contact in the right industry has to be better value than lots of lunches that get you nowhere!

The same targetted approach applies for all marketing so if you've tried it and feel it hasn't worked you may need to adjust your sights and aim at a different set of people or companies. But whatever you do, don't give upas that definitely won't bring in any new clients!