Firms should encourage clients to consider the lifetime value of customers and to invest scarce resources appropriately

A S A consultant working with small and medium businesses (SMBs), I have found that many of these bu sinessmen consistently make the same marketing mistakes. I will use one example, a health and fitness club I will call the ABC Club, to illustrate these mistakes and show how we can help.

The ABC Club caters to the so-called deconditioned market -the older generation starting an exercise programme for the first time -and seniors, while the other local health clubs appeal more to younger people and families. The club's management understands its clients' fears and concerns and knows they must reassure potential members that the club offers a supportive, non-intimidating environment and fitness programmes suitable for beginners. However, in practice, it runs ads and promotions that use photos of people who are extraordinarily muscular, fit and dressed in high-fashion workout attire and the accompanying copy describes features such as high-tech equipment, advanced sport training and professional-sports franchise endorsements. These promotions conjure up intimidating images for an out-of-shape person. In order to build its client base, the ABC Club needs to align its marketing messages with the realities of its target market.

At our first meeting with the club's executives, the CEO detailed their marketing strategy. He was using the proverbial "throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks" approach. This lack of focus and consistency had the expected result: Nothing was particularly effective in generating the desired volume of new clients, or it brought in people who were not necessarily qualified prospects. This haphaz ard prospecting approach brings me to my next point: Marketing is about creating relationships with people.

ABC's professional staff works with each client to develop a fitness programme based on his or her goals. They continue to provide individual attention even after the initial training sessions. Case in point: It purchased an electronic telemarketing machine that programs in a series of phone numbers, and when a resident answers the phone, the machine launches into a pitch for the club. Yes, the message reaches many people in a cost-effective and timely manner, but is this the image they really want to reflect?

Another danger of the "warm bodies" approach is that it does not take into consideration the return on investment. Considering the statistics that show how much more it costs to recruit new customers than to retain existing ones, it is financially advantageous to attract the right customers and then keep them.

Certainly, not every SMBs makes each of these mistakes. But unlike larger organisations that may have marketing staff, the SMBs owner often wears many other hats on top of handling the marketing. Theref ore, we marketers can bring value to these entrepreneurs by doing the following: 1. We must help the business owner focus on choosing a few right things and then doing them consistently.

2. We must help the business owner look past his product's or service's technical features and craft messages explaining its benefits to customers. After all, this really is what customers are purchasing. Often, business owners are so proud of their product's features that they want to tell the world all about them, but they do not realise that the world does not really care.

3. It is certainly legitimate to be concerned about short-term profits. However, marketing is about developing long-term, profitable relationships with the right customers. We encourage our clients to consider the lifetime value of customers and to invest scarce resources appropriately. In theory, all of this looks simple. But in reality, too many small and medium businesses fail or do not achieve their potential. Our charge is to help business owners get back to marketing basics. The writer is CEO and MD of CustomerLab Solutions