50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #46
Mistake #46 of 50Don’t keep doing something just because you already paid for it.
If it isn’t working, change it.
What it costs you
Autopilot is expensive.
Most businesses do the same marketing year after year, because that’s what they did last year.
The same ad in the same paper. The same trade show. The same giveaway.
You signed the contract. You already bought the booth. So you keep going.
Nobody ever stops to ask, “Is this still working?”
The money you already spent is gone either way. The only question is whether you spend more on something that brings in nobody.
A real example
Three sheets of paper
Every 90 days, the owner of an auto repair shop comes in early on a Saturday, pours a cup of coffee and puts three sheets of paper on the counter.
Every “How did you hear about us?” answer. What he spent on every piece of marketing. And his marketing calendar, with a check mark next to what actually got done.
The tire gauges he hands out at every oil change? Customers keep mentioning them. Keep.
The ad in the community magazine? He’s always done it. He paid for it again this year. Two calls in 90 days, for a lot of money.
Cut.
One hour later, he knows exactly what to do for the next 90 days.
Cut one. Double the other. That’s the whole decision.
Why it happens
Why the bad stuff keeps getting paid for
Paid for isn’t the same as working.
Do this instead
Keep three. Cut one. Add one.
Every 90 days, take one hour and answer five questions. Then leave with a decision, not just a meeting.
| Ask | Why |
|---|---|
| What did we actually do? | Not what we planned. What really happened. |
| What brought in customers? | Look at the tally. |
| What did each new customer cost? | What you spent, divided by how many it brought in. |
| What should we stop? | Anything that cost money and brought in nobody. |
| What’s the one new thing? | One idea to try for the next 90 days. Just one. |
Be honest about what never got done. Sometimes an idea didn’t work because you didn’t do it. Don’t cut a good idea you never actually tried. Cut the one you did try, that never rang the phone.
Do this today
- 1
List every piece of marketing you’re paying for right now.
- 2
Next to each one, write how many customers you know it brought in.
- 3
Circle the one that cost the most and brought in the least.
- 4
Put a one-hour check-in on your calendar, repeating every 90 days.
Keep what works. Cut what doesn’t. Already paying for it isn’t a reason.
Stolen from the masters · Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker is often called the father of modern management. He spent more than sixty years teaching business leaders how to run their companies better. One of his sharpest points was about effort:
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
A beautiful ad that brings in nobody, run perfectly every year, is still useless. The 90-day check-in is where you find it, and stop.
From the book
Chapter 28: Check In at 90 Days
Starts on page 244. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
Spend it on what comes back.
Idea 122 · book page 322Tire Pressure Gauges$2–$6 eachLives in the glove box for years.
Idea 107 · book page 315Car Air Fresheners$1.50–$4 eachHangs in the car for weeks.
Idea 174 · book page 348Roadside Emergency Kits$8–$25 eachKept in the trunk for years. A lifesaver when it's needed.
Idea 172 · book page 347Baseball Caps$8–$25 eachWorn outdoors right at eye level.Want a plan that keeps what works?
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