You don’t expect to plant seeds in your garden one day and then have blooming flowers the next day.
And once your flowers do bloom, you don’t expect them to stay alive and keep blooming without water.
Your relationships and connections are also living entities and will wither and die if you neglect them.
Trust takes time to build and you don’t want to needlessly damage what you’ve grown.
Consistency may not seem like an exciting way to grow your business, but it works.
“Trust is built with consistency.” Lincoln Chafee
Many business owners know this but still struggle. So what’s the problem? We’ll get to that in a minute.
First, I want to connect you to the reason why consistency is so crucial for your business.
How Consistent Marketing Pays Off
When you are consistent with your marketing actions, you will build trust and create connections with people.
Trust and connection lead to people becoming your clients.
“Consistent action brings consistent results.” Christine Kane
You know that people like to do business with people they know, like and trust.
Consistency builds trust because people see that you are reliable. You keep your word. You make a promise and you keep it.
Trust is one of the most precious things you can create as a business owner. Trust is a rare thing these days and people are yearning for it.
Consistency also allows you to stay ‘top of mind’ with your community.
Trust and ‘top of mind’ also lead people to give you more referrals. Who doesn’t love referrals?
Barriers to Marketing Consistently
It’s easy to get distracted by the latest marketing craze and try it out for a week or two and then conclude it doesn’t work and stop doing it.
The solution here is to be aware and don’t fall for it. Commit to not trying anything new until you master doing what is already working, consistently.
Another problem could be that the thought of consistency bores you because you like to keep things fresh.
Good news, you can make solid commitments and be flexible about how you execute them.
For example, let’s say you want to post daily updates on social media. One week you might post updates every day and another week you might choose to schedule all of your posts for the week in one day.
Finally, it could be that you need to put some systems in place to support you so you can take consistent action.
This can be as simple as utilizing a platform you’re already on but not making the most of.
Or maybe you need to learn a new platform that will simplify things, like using Hootsuite for social media scheduling. Find out more about it in my post, The Best Tool for Managing Your Social Media.
Examples of Consistent Marketing
Your Newsletter
You may think that no one will notice if you don’t send out your newsletter for a few weeks (or months, yes I’m talking to you).
And you’re right for the most part. People won’t notice, until you send the next one.
Then they will either be wondering who in tarnation you are.
Or they will remember who you are and think that it seems like it’s been a while since they’ve heard from you.
Either way, this does not build trust or connection.
But no one is going to give you that feedback. It’s just the way it is and you need to know that this is the situation that you are creating.
Which is also the good news; because this means you have the power to change it.
I know that’s a mega-dose of tough love, and it’s coming from a place of good intentions. I want you to succeed and thrive in your business, for real.
Social Media
Another example where consistency is essential is on social media.
If you haven’t posted to your Twitter account in two years, people are going to wonder if you’re legit.
A simple solution for any platform you are not using, is to pin a post to the top of your feed directing people to the platform where you are active.
So here’s your next move. Take a look at the marketing strategies that have worked for you in the past and start doing them consistently.
You may discover that you want to stop doing some activities that are not effective or that you don’t enjoy doing. More on this in my post, How to Do Less and Accomplish More With Your Marketing.
Schedule your marketing actions into your calendar and allow time and space around them so they don’t get pushed out. I love Asana and use whatever works for you.
Avoid anything new for a few months and be creative about how you implement your action so you can have fun with it.
Take the long view and stay connected to the deep value that building trust and connection create and treat it with the respect it deserves.
This is the real deal, people. Try it and let me know.
© Stephanie Ward
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set create meaningful and prosperous businesses. Grab your FREE copy of the special report ‘7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: https://www.fireflycoaching.com.
How do you make sure you take consistent action with your marketing? Share your thoughts and questions below in the comments section. I respond to every comment.
