Have you ever in a moment of madness cut your own hair? Perhaps you thought it was just a little job that was easy enough to do on your own. Or you thought, “I don’t need to go to a stylist or hairdresser – I can save money and cut my own hair”. So out came your dull scissors – the same ones you use to cut paper and plastic with?!
I haven’t heard many DIY hair-cut stories that have ended well. Yet sometimes in business we do the same thing and try to save money and time by DIY’ing things that should be left to the experts.
When providing marketing guidance to our Good Business Consulting clients, we find the most savvy ones can realise when they can do something themselves, and when they need to delegate or outsource tasks.
When DIY marketing goes wrong, it can be embarrassing. You’ve all seen it (or maybe you are guilty of this!):
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- Designing your own logo, letterhead, newsletter or website. It looks like a kid in Grade 2 made it. You know it. I know it.
- Attempting your own PR while at the same time permanently damaging relationships with journalists.
- Going with the cheap business cards. They are so thin you could pick your teeth with them.
- Not doing any marketing for a few months. Enough said.
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If you are guilty of these DIY sins, what should you be doing about it?
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- Know when you can do something well and when others can do things better. If outsourcing marketing aspects to professionals would allow you to make more money by using your time on other aspects of the business – then do it! Don’t forget that some aspects of marketing are an investment. So calculate how much money you can spend on marketing and then outsource your weak points to those who have the skills that you may not have. A good way to do this is to calculate a percentage of your projected gross revenues for the year (e.g. 20% of sales).
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Savvy business owners can implement many marketing tactics well, if they have an exceptional marketing plan or guidance from professionals. With the right guidance and the ability to know when they can do something themselves and when they need to delegate or outsource tasks, DIY can work well.
What aspects of your marketing do you feel safe doing yourself?
