Tripping Up the Stairs…Again and Again…

A few weeks ago I was running up the stairs at our public library when I tripped over my sandals and mashed up my toe pretty good. It hurt. There was a little blood, and I had to clean up before a client meeting.

The other day, the same thing happened. Again: Sandals. Stairs. Tripping. Blood. Client meeting. I called my wife and told her I’m done wearing sandals when I’m out and about. But…that’s probably not true. I’ll wear them again and I’m sure I’ll trip again and do even more damage to my foot.

Why? Because it’s what I do. I like wearing sandals in the summer as opposed to sneakers or shoes.

And that’s how a lot of marketing is done. We’re afraid to pull the plug on the Yellow Pages because…”we’ve always been in the Yellow Pages!”

And of course, “We’ve always had that newspaper ad.”

Change is difficult, especially for business owners who have been at it for awhile. Check out the websites for local businesses. Odds are you won’t have to look far to find some that just aren’t all that good. And I’m still surprised at how many local restaurants still don’t have ANY website at all!

Social Media? Sure, we get it. But I still run into people every day who don’t have a clue. It’s new. It’s foreign. It’s for teenagers.

They’ve never “done it that way” before and “new” often = “scary”. There is a fear of the unknown.

And that’s why my job still involves a large amount of education. We need to come alongside businesses and show them how it can work for them.

It’s time to stop tripping up the stairs. Again.

Tagged as: advertising, business, facebook, Marketing, Social Media, website, Yellow Pages