Marketing is Like Farming

When a farmer decides to grow a crop for income, they know going in that the return on investment is months down the line. They understand seeds must be purchased, machinery and tools serviced, staff assembled and paid to plant the seeds, time taken to weed, water, and fertilize, and then assuming they followed all the other steps correctly, they will have a crop they can harvest and convert into sales. They understand hard work, consistency, and patience are required to get from point A to point Z. They also understand the “Act of God” element. They know that sometimes you can do everything right and due to storm, famine, bugs, or whatever the scenario, they may still only see a fraction of the return they hoped for. A farmer understands something the average business owner in today’s instant gratification world struggles with…patience.

Lack of patience is the killer of more plans and projects than possibly even failure and doubt! You have a great idea, you formulate a plan, and then….you get frustrated and give up. You are hoping marketing is like making a microwave dinner. Open the package, warm up for a couple minutes, and chow down! We have all done this. Good luck finding an entrepreneur on the planet that has not fallen prey to lack of patience every once in a while. You see this lack of patience attitude especially when a business owner is in a place of need. It’s the… I need a new sale or I will not be able to pay my business expenses. I need new leads or there will be nothing for my sales staff to do. I need to generate more interest or my event will fail. These business owners feel the need, decide to plan a “Hail Marry” marketing move, and ultimately end up frustrated by the results. Or even worse, they find a great marketing firm and begin a marketing plan just to realize later they had an unrealistic expectation. I am sorry to say fellow entrepreneur, but if you waited until the point of desperation before you called the marketing firm there is only so much they will be able to do to service your immediate needs. Put down the razor blade though because all hope is not lost! If you create and implement a strategic marketing plan now, you will indeed see results down the line. Just like the farmer, once you begin that planting process there will be a crop at the end of the road. So do not give up. Keep weeding and fertilizing until you get what you want. Patience and planning will save your farm!