Broken marketing happens. A lot.
I see it all the time. Businesses that have a broken piece of marketing — a Facebook page they can’t access because it was set up by a niece or friend who “knew social media,” but then didn’t give the owner access, or a website that can’t be changed because the web company went out of business — and then the business owner is held hostage.
Don’t Be Held Hostage
Here’s a photo of a real life example. I was in Vegas a few years ago for trade show and the group I was with wanted to go to a pub off the strip. Curious, I decided to look it up on Yelp. The very first review I saw was negative, but that’s not the issue. The issue was the owner’s response.
The customer was complaining about the prices being different than what was listed on the website. The owner admitted that the pricing was out of date and then explained that they can’t make changes to their website because the web company went out of business.
Here are some rules to help you avoid broken marketing.
Marketing Rule #1 for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs: Track your Passwords
Part of your internal processes should be a system for tracking and recording passwords. Security is paramount, obviously, which is why I like programs like 1Password and LastPass. Both offer a work or team option, which is good for businesses.
Knowing your passwords is just part of the problem though.
Marketing Rule #2 for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs: Know How Things Work
You’re good at what you do, what you make, what your service is, what products you develop. We know that. You know that.
But, do you know where your website is hosted? Do you know how to access the host? Do you know where your domain is registered? Do you know how to access the registrar account? Do you know how your company email is set up? Do you realize that sites like Facebook and LinkedIn don’t have passwords for company profiles and that they’re access through personal accounts?
You don’t? You should.
Document how things work, along with the passwords. Information is power.
Marketing Rule #3 for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs: Data Security Plan
Since I’ve briefly mentioned security, it makes sense to talk about it a bit more. If you keep any client data, written or digital, you should have a plan for how you keep that data safe and secure.
I’m not talking about customer payment data, that’s PCI Compliance and a totally different animal.
But if you keep any other personal data on customers, have a plan for how you keep that secure.
*****
Broken marketing happens, but if you follow these rules, it doesn’t have to happen to you.
If you have further questions on the rules mentioned above, feel free to reach out to me at josh@tinderboxconsultant.com.