Cultivating Success: Why You Shouldn’t Give Up On Marketing

When it comes to promoting your business, the allure of quick wins often overshadows the value of patience and consistency. Marketing can so often feel like a thankless task or like you’re yelling into an abyss. This can sit especially uneasy when sales are slow or you’re run off your feet or BOTH! What’s the bloomin’ point!?

But a bit like the process of sowing, watering, pruning and nurturing plants before the first blooms reward your attention, a similar perseverance and nurturing approach is required with your marketing efforts before visible results emerge.

The pitfall of short-lived campaigns

While some marketing strategies like flash sales and special offers can bring about a swift boost in income, their effects are often fleeting. These tactics primarily engage existing audiences, offering something new to those who already know, like, and trust your floral business. So once the promotion concludes, regular sales may quickly revert to pre-campaign levels and your business, has a quick cash injection, but is not much further on. Furthermore, the intensive effort required to get such promotions up and running may not be reflected in the return, meaning as well as your ego taking a bruising, undervaluing your talent in favour of a quick sale, your motivation takes a nosedive too. It’s no wonder then that you sometimes feel like giving up.

Sowing seeds for long-term success

Marketing is, without a doubt, a numbers game, and only a small percentage of those aware of your business will be ready to enquire or buy immediately. Instead, patiently growing and nurturing your audience is a gradual process that may not yield immediate results but is indispensable for long lasting success. Consistency and patience are key.

Committing to growth and nurturing

Long-term audience growth involves targeting potential ideal clients and regularly nurturing connections and trust. This necessitates more than occasional efforts; it demands a consistent and patient approach through lots of different marketing channels – think collaborations, email marketing, blogging, social media posting and engagement, SEO, lead magnets, and community networking. None of these activities will guarantee you a sale, but they DO lay the foundation for a steady influx of future customers.

We often liken it to dating. You’re unlikely to pop the question on the first date! And even if you were smitten, were 100% convinced they were the one for you AND brave enough to ask, your date is unlikely to say yes!  (even Pamela Anderson waited for 96 hours!) They would likely want to get to know you first (your brand), understand what you’re about (your values), maybe even meet your parents (your testimonials)!!

So too in marketing. It’s about creating a lasting impression, wooing your audience and proving over time that you’re worth it. Trust the process and maintain your resolve, knowing that these efforts will pay off over time.

Don’t lose heart

Quick wins are great, but don’t get disheartened if the majority of your marketing demands time, consistency, and effort, particularly in the early stages as you put in work without immediate visible results. Because, behind the scenes, your efforts ARE making an impact. People are noticing, growing enthusiastic about your floral arrangements, and gradually becoming comfortable with the idea of choosing your services. There are lots of ‘lurkers’ out there…quietly consuming your content until they are ready to buy. So you need to keep reminding them you are there, ready to welcome them with open arms.

The path to blooming success

So please don’t give up at the first (or second or third!) hurdle. Consistency and persistence are absolutely essential in marketing. We’re not telling you to keep doing something that just simply isn’t working, but give it time. At Least 3-6 months to test, learn and improve. The cumulative impact of your efforts will eventually lead to a day when your marketing endeavours bear fruit. Build it RIGHT, and they will come.

If you want to know you’re directing these efforts in the right direction, consider our Own Your Marketing course. We take you on a deep dive into who your ideal customer is, so you can work out WHERE to invest all this consistency and patience that we’re banging on about.

It would be a shame to persist with someone who was never going to say yes…