A new customer called yesterday to inquire about transferring her videos. And when the conversation turned to how she found me, she said she saw my newspaper ad. I had not advertised in the paper in about three months. Then she said she also found me online. This kind of answer is becoming more common. A new customer often mentions two or more of my marketing campaigns. In the last couple weeks, customers have said they saw my car ad , a discussion in a local Facebook group, referral from another customer, reviews on my Google my business map listing, and yard signs.

While I receive lots of jobs from just a single marketing campaign, it seems like many people act only after they’ve seen a couple of my ads. All of these campaigns work, some better than others. But you must keep at it and always record the data. None of these ad venues cost very much. The newspaper ads probably cost the most and it brought in a lot of new customers. But to answer the question Which Marketing Campaign Works?, the answer is all of them work. Most people just don’t follow though.

My brochure mailed to every household in a wealthy community was expensive, but brought in sales worth more than twice as much as the cost. My inexpensive business cards have brought in their share of sales too.

If you are just starting a business or trying to revitalize it, you just have to be marketing. It’s more important to start than it is to have a perfect plan. As General Eisenhower said several times “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”