But here’s the thing; how many of those products have you bought again and again? I have to admit that I have made repeat purchases, not because I’m an idiot, but because I sometimes feel that a product or service may deserve another chance. But I don’t keep doing it. I don’t continue to buy bad goods and services just because I keep getting bombarded with hype.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that those friendly marketing, public relations and corporate communications people are there to stretch the truth, or even to tell lies and half-truths about how amazing your stuff is. Some will do this for you, but it won’t work long-term.

The best advertising and promotion in the world won’t make a good product out of a bad one. So, before you start bringing in the PR people, before you start working on the audience-message-media mix, it might be a good idea to take a long hard look at your product or service.

Is it good quality? Is it good value? Does it live up to customer expectations? Do they crave more of it? Are they queuing at your door? Do they even know about it? Because, if none of this is happening for you, then maybe you should be spending money on product/service improvement, and not on advertising and promotion.

How many books have you read about How to do Something? I’ve read How to be a Brain Surgeon more than twenty times and I still can’t get the job done properly, and the NHS still refuses to let me near patients.

That’s the thing about giving away your business secrets to customers; they can read them and learn, but they can’t actually do the job as well as you, the expert, can. This opens up countless opportunities to engage with your customers and potential customers. It provides them with information and knowledge, which they’ll appreciate. And the more they learn about how you do things, the more respect they’ll have for your time, skills and prices.

Who can do it?

Anyone can do it; from the butcher, baker and candlestick maker, to the builder, lawyer and museum. Each can give their customers an insight into what they do, how they do it and why they do it, and this can pay dividends for your reputation, as well as for your products and services.

How to do it

There are various ways to deliver your knowledge-based messages. It could be a simple matter of writing about things on your website, or in your newsletter. You could use an audio-only podcast, which people can download and use on their MP3 players, when the time suits them. Or you could use video to provide a demonstration. It will all depend on how serious you are about holding onto current customers and attracting new ones, simply by giving them something extra and, who knows, maybe something special and imaginative.

So, give away some trade secrets and see how much you can prosper.

Don’t be put off by others. If you feel that your promotional idea is good, go for it. Just because it didn’t work before doesn’t mean that it won’t work now. The reverse is also true, of course; what did work before could easily flop this time around.

If you’re thinking up ways to retain or attract customers, you can choose what action to take from three different sources:

• New approaches
• Approaches that worked in the past
• Approaches that didn’t work in the past

New approaches are normally always the best because originality attracts attention. However, just because your approach is original and creative, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a huge success. So ask yourself why you think and feel that it should be. Scrutinise it carefully.

Approaches that worked in the past are always worth revisiting, but you have to ask yourself, “What’s changed?” Your reasons for having a campaign now, may be different from your reasons a year ago, or even last month. Your target market may have changed their attitudes, their buying habits may have changed, or you may be up against different competition.

Approaches that didn’t work in the past should not be written off. There may be good reasons why they didn’t work so, again, scrutinise them carefully and think back to why they may not have worked, and ask yourself some serious:

Who was in charge of developing the idea and implementing it? You may have chosen the wrong person to head up your campaign.

How did they go about it? The idea could have been good but the implementation of it may have lacked some important elements.

Where was the message targeted? It may not have worked because it wasn’t targeting the right people, or it was simply the wrong tactic for those you were targeting. Always try to make sure that each idea, and its implementation, is in line with your target audience.

What was said in the campaign? Lots of great ideas fail because they’re not presented properly, so make sure you choose your words very carefully.

What media were used? Your campaign may have been based on a simple leaflet, poster or brochure, or it could have been more complicated, using a range of mixed media for different purposes, but all within the parameters of your campaign. So, make sure you select the right medium for your audience, your message and for the products or services you’re promoting.

And good luck.

Small businesses and organisations don’t need five year plans, or even two year plans. What they need is a strategy, laden with effective communication tactics, for the next twelve months, or maybe just for the next quarter. Anything else will rob you of your ability to be flexible, fast-moving, highly responsive to changing circumstances, and effective.

Did your last medium-long term strategy work? Probably not! Some small organisations spend more time researching and writing their Communications Strategies than they do on communicating with their target markets. By the time they’ve finished writing their plan, they’ve lost the will to live.

And let’s face it, if you know what life will be like in a year’s time; for you, your customers and your competitors, you’re either very good, extremely lucky, simply guessing, or you have your fingers tightly crossed. If you know all the things that will impact on your products or services in the next few years… well, you get my meaning.

Produce a rapid response tactical plan that’s creative, low cost and, above all, effective.