As today’s businesses bob up and down in a sea of economic chaos, most base success on how long they can keep their head above water. Understandably, owners and employees alike are startled by the approaching waves. But, the “stop swimming and float it out” approach seems risky at best.

Each day, Bon’s Eye meets with business owners. Troubled by slumping sales, many tell us they’ve been forced to make some tough budget decisions. Usually, marketing represents one of the first expenses on the chopping block.

We often hear “I’ll market when I get more customers.” We can discuss for weeks the catch-22 logic behind such a mindset. However, it seems more beneficial to explore why a number of owners adopt this ideology when feeling the crunch.

It all starts with our perception of marketing. What is it, exactly?

Well, if you talk to folks in print media, marketing is running an advertisement – preferably full page, color. If you speak with sales reps in television or radio, marketing means placing a spot on the air. If you turn to agents in the PR industry, it’s all of the above (after all, they get commission for each ad placed).

Unfortunately, decades of free enterprise has taught us one thing: Marketing is any sales-generating effort that worked for the business next door. As a result, we invest in the same template approaches. When that fall short, we conclude, “I’ve tried marketing, and it didn’t work for me.”

It only makes sense many feel disenfranchised with the whole concept. All of this time, we defined marketing in specific terms while every business represented something very unique. We focused on the motions and not the effectiveness.

To capture the attention of different target demographics, you must apply different strategies that speak to that individual audience. In other words, just because billboards worked for one company doesn’t mean they’ll produce results for another. The problem is not marketing, but rather the limits we’ve placed upon it. Maybe, the definition of marketing can’t be summed up in generalities.

For instance, I spoke with a potential client a while back. When asked if he had marketed his business before, he replied “Been there, done that.” So, what strategies did he try in the past? T-shirts, a Web site and brochures. What was the outcome? Utter disappointment over the amount of money spent for such little return. After the negative experience, he concluded the best source of sales for his business was word-of-mouth and discounts.

I liken his “marketing” approach to working on a masterpiece using a palette with only three paints. If he sticks to the obvious and applies just those colors as is, the canvas likely winds up looking dull. However, what happens if he goes beyond the apparent and mixes those three dabs of paint together? He creates a rainbow of new, vibrant colors that catch the eye.

My point is simple. In today’s saturated business world, we can’t define marketing as what we initially see on the palette in front of us. To do so, is to limit potential for growing sales.

Instead, it must represent something that exceeds the noticeable boundaries, something that looks different for each business. In other words, to each its own – at least that’s how we view it at Bon’s Eye.

By Steve