Afraid I would black out completely, I grabbed the handrail and tried to focus on the steps ahead. I stood still for a few wobbly moments until my vision gradually returned and I could proceed up the steps.
Several years ago my vision would occasionally narrow temporarily and I would feel pressure in my head. It would only last a few minutes, so I wasn’t too concerned about it until I started to experience it almost every other day for two weeks.
Even very light exercise seemed to trigger the problem. One day I carried a three-pound load of office supplies out to my minivan. It was all I could do to walk one hundred feet from the van back to the office. Thankfully I was able to grab the handrail on the front steps to steady myself. My vision was almost gone and I felt dizzy. I said to myself, This is it! I’ve got to see a doctor to find out what is going on.
A consultation with the doctor, blood tests, a stress test, and a visit to a cardiologist ensued. The nurse from the doctor’s office called me one day. “We have a prescription sent to the pharmacy. Pick it up today and begin taking it today!”
Why the urgency? It turned out that my triglycerides were way too high (1684 mg/dL), a problem I didn’t even know I had. A blood test from three years before had shown triglycerides at 205, but the doctor never mentioned it to me as being a concern.
How high is 1684? This chart puts it into perspective:
As you can see, I had a serious problem. I was at serious risk for pancreatitis. At any moment I could be in a hospital bed with severe pain and the potential of not walking out alive.
The doctor informed me that I must lose weight. I knew that before, but now I had some serious motivation! I immediately created a diet and exercise plan to reduce my risk of serious illness or death, which was a good step even though it was somewhat misguided.
The doctor sent me to a cardiologist who told me that while losing weight was a good thing, it would not affect triglyceride levels. My triglyceride levels could only be controlled by diet—eating less fat. After three months of dieting and shedding eighteen pounds, a follow-up blood test showed that changing my diet had been effective. My triglycerides came all the way down to 84.
So why did my triglycerides spike? Because of my diet. Shortly after the first test three years earlier, we had bought a Jersey milk cow. The superb milk flavor and the purported health benefits of drinking raw milk set me to drinking a lot.
In fact, I had gone on a diet with raw milk as the primary source of calories (not to mention that my favorite stress reliever was leaning against the kitchen counter with a half-gallon ice cream container in one hand and a spoon in the other). I knew my ice cream habit was stretching the bounds of unhealthy indulgence, but I had no idea milk could be bad for me.
The Morals of the Story
- Even “healthy” people can have serious health issues.
- Diagnose your problem to get to the root.
- Make sure you understand the right way to resolve it.
5 Minute Stress Test
Take this 5-minute marketing stress test to learn about the health (or lack thereof) of your marketing:
Do you have a written marketing plan and budget, including time and dollars?
A marketing plan and budget allows you to leverage time, dollars, and opportunities. It provides focus for your efforts and helps put your resources to work in the best possible way instead of wasting them on gut decisions throughout the year.
What are the top three reasons customers choose your company instead of your competitors?
You need to know why customers buy from you so you can keep doing and improving what they like. If you don’t know why customers choose to buy your products, you may be putting effort into things your customers don’t even care about.
You also need to know what customers appreciate so you can communicate that value to prospects. Other people out there would buy from you if only you were able to let them know that you have what they are looking for. But if you don’t know what they are wanting, you can’t tell them that you might have it.
Do you have a logo that:
- Is instantly recognizable?
- Effectively communicates the passion of your company?
- That appears consistently and frequently across all customer touchpoints?
Strong branding is an investment that pays ever-increasing dividends as your business grows. It improves memorability and engagement with your customers.
Do you have multiple reliable lead sources?
Do you track how many leads are generated from each source?
Do you have sales tools in place to help convert leads to customers?
Do you track what percentage of leads convert to customers?
Multiple lead sources that deliver a steady stream of leads are the lifeblood of your business. If you only have one lead source and the situation changes, you could be left high and dry without customers.
You also need to be converting those leads into customers. What could you do to increase the percentage of leads that convert to customers? It is important to train your salespeople how to sell. Provide them with the tools they need to educate the customer.
Tracking the number of leads and the percentage that convert to customers allows you to test and measure changes in your marketing. Does ad headline A generate more leads than ad headline B? How much has the new showroom layout improved the conversion rate on dining furniture?
Do you consistently reach out to existing customers to solicit repeat business and/or ask for referrals?
In many businesses the existing customer base holds a large opportunity for growth, and can usually be developed for less money than generating new business. What could your customers buy from you that they are not buying now? How could you increase the frequency of their purchases?
Do you set your prices appropriately?
Do you calculate prices based on cost or based on the value you are delivering? Pricing sends an important marketing message. Setting prices too low or too high hinders your sales efforts.
Do you reach out to customers after the sale or project completion to make sure they are satisfied?
This simple activity builds trust in your customers. Genuinely making sure they are happy guarantees that they will speak positive comments when your company comes up in conversation.
Do you know how much profit each product and service generates?
Knowing your margin on each product or service tells you how much you can afford to invest to sell more of that item. If you don’t know your true margin you might be losing money with every sale.
Do you calculate ROI on your marketing investments?
Calculating ROI on your marketing allows you to invest smarter in the future. You must track your leads and your sales to be able to do this. This is a simple process, but it requires discipline to follow through consistently. Even if you capture information for only half of your customers, you still know a lot more than not tracking at all.
Do you know how much unused capacity your company has?
Unused capacity is like throwing money out the window of your truck on the way to work every day. Aggressively look for ways to generate more output with the people, the space, and the equipment you already have.
Whether or not you recognize it, each of the above points adds or subtracts from the long-term viability of your business. Don’t let yourself be surprised with a sudden catastrophe because you aren’t paying attention to the symptoms. Take your marketing stress test seriously and act on the results.
Marketing is the lifeblood of your business. Without healthy marketing your business will suffer and eventually die. Instead of eating too much ice cream and drinking too much rich Jersey milk, focus on improving your marketing and infuse your business with vitality and life.