Google Ads Is Not A Marketing Plan

How do you get people to know they need your product or service? 

• One way, is to assume they know they need it and assume they are actively looking for it. All you have to do is sit back and offer them a series of reasons why your product is the best.  Create some Google Ads, tweak your website for SEO, and then build a landing page that describes your product’s technical benefits.

• Way number two, is to assume that there are many, many people out there who are not aware of your product or service, or they don’t realize that it can make their lives better in some way. Analyze the customers’ problem, assess why they would, or wouldn’t buy any product, and then figure out why they would buy your product over a competitor’s.

Seems like a “no-brainer,” right?  Not so fast.  Consider this…

At a“DEMO-like” event this week, I heard a revenue stage CEO say that his consumer product sells into a “multi-billion dollar” annual market, yet he is taking only a very small slice of the pie.  The CEO’s five minute product presentation primarily spoke about why his product is technically better than the competition. He wrapped up his presentation by describing “awesome” features his company is now developing.  An audience member raised his hand and asked, “If your product is so much better than the competition’s, why aren’t you investing in marketing it, rather than developing another product with more features?”  The CEO thought for a minute and said, “We are doing marketing.  Do you know how much we spend each month on Google Ads?” 

It wasn’t the first time I have heard this in the last few months.  Part of the problem lies with the fact that entrepreneurs generally understand technology, but they don’t understand how to reach their audience.  They also assume that they themselves represent the “average customer,” which is generally far from the truth.

Google’s Search, Google Ads, and the spread of social media and networks have created a new reality. Today, it is feasible for anybody sitting at home to potentially reach millions and millions of people, worldwide. Companies can theoretically cut out the middleman and go directly to the customer.  But this is like giving everyone in Hyde Park a megaphone and telling them they can speak to everyone else in the park. Since everyone is now blasting through the megaphone, all you get is more noise, no more information.

Yes, social media brings tremendous value to marketing,

Yes, it will likely lower marketing costs, if done properly.

Yes, it may cut out the middleman in some cases.

But, it does not mean you don’t have to still figure out how to use the new media to reach your audience, build a story, and target your potential market. See my last post for some concrete suggestions….