Why You Need a Multi-Channel Approach

Retailers like Walmart, IKEA, and J. Crew reach customers with print catalogs, TV advertising, online ads, and websites. Insurance companies use telemarketing, TV and radio ads, various online channels, direct mail, and print ads. Car dealerships can be found online, in newspapers, through direct mail, and on TV.

To be sure, there are still many successful businesses that practice only one type of marketing. But it is our belief that those companies are an endangered species. Relying on one marketing method to build your business today is like swimming upstream with one hand tied behind your back. It can be done, but it is very difficult… and completely unnecessary.

To be at the top of your game, you need to continue to do what you do so well – the kind of marketing that is now working for you – but you must gradually add new arrows to your quiver. You will notice a sudden and substantial improvement in sales and profits if you do.

Relying on one marketing channel is simply foolish. Even if you choose a lucrative channel, there is no telling when it will change to a mere trickle. You can make temporary adjustments by using marketing tricks – special offers and over-the-top promises. But those gimmicks will not sustain sales for long.

By Michael Masterson & MaryEllen Tribby

[Ed. Note: Mark Morgan Ford was the creator of Early To Rise. In 2011, Mark retired from ETR and now writes the Palm Beach Letter. His advice, in our opinion, continues to get better and better with every essay, particularly in the controversial ones we have shared today. We encourage you to read everything you can that has been written by Mark.]