Urban Dictionary defines the Spaghetti Test as testing a questionable concept by taking it forward to see if it passes or fails. Ostensibly, this is a reference to the practice of throwing cooked pasta against a wall to see if it sticks. If it does, it’s fully cooked and ready to eat. If it doesn’t, well, that might make us think about another axiom – it’s half-baked.
Without research and planning, your marketing is unlikely to pass the Spaghetti Test, and perform about as well as say a half-baked cake. It’ll flop at the birthday party.
Marketing without a solid plan is like flinging spaghetti at the wall
A lot of “marketers” will promise to tell you how to do any one of the many marketing tactics available to you. And let’s be clear: social media, Google My Business, email and advertising are tactics. If you’re trying tactics willy-nilly without a solid plan, you are truly flinging spaghetti at the wall. Will it pass the Spaghetti Test? Maybe. But maybe not.
You might take a one-hour how-to class and come away ready to post on Facebook or Google My Business, but how do you know it will work if you don’t have a full plan with research-based objectives with measurable outcomes to judge the success of your campaigns?
Only 13% of small business owners say they successfully handle their own marketing
You started your business because you are really good at what you do. Your chosen field is a career path, and so is marketing. It may be unrealistic to think you can manage all the things you do, or that your staff do
es, AND land the perfect marketing campaign. Anyone who tells you it’s easy is kidding themselves, and you.
But don’t just take our word for it.
According to the 570 small business owners who responded to our Small Business Marketing Survey we sent out in May, only 13% of Small Business Owners say they successfully do all their own marketing, and 20% say they happily use an agency. A quarter of respondents aren’t thrilled with the results they’ve gotten from an agency, and pretty much everyone else doesn’t know what to do or have the time to do it.
This is really important because marketing is a pretty big chunk of your budget – three-quarters of our respondents say they spend anywhere from 6% to more than 15% of revenue on marketing. That’s a lot of cannoli, especially if you don’t know what you’re spending it on.
Anyone can write an award submission, but did your campaign win?
We win awards for our work. We win LOTS of awards. Mainly because In Plain Sight Marketing follows the tried and true and proven method recommended by the Public Relations Society of America which is founded in research, planning, implementation and evaluation (RPIE).
Why RPIE? Because it works. But don’t just take our word for it.
Since 2014, IPSM has racked up 23 awards of excellence for work we’ve done on our clients’ behalf using this method. And it’s not just about the awards. Anybody can fill out an awards submission.
The proof is in the results. Half-baked marketing schemes don’t meet or exceed their objectives OR win awards. Well researched, well-planned campaigns with measurable outcomes that define what success looks like do.
Back to Business…but BETTER
Our proven, award-winning process to build a marketing plan for your company will:
Show you WHY you are spending so much money on tactics and not getting results.
Show you WHY you begin with research.
Show you WHY to build a plan with measurable objectives.
Show you WHY you need a strategic road map.
Show you WHY you want to select the tactics after you do the research and build the plan.
Show you WHY implementation planning is critical to your success.
And…
Show you WHY evaluation is so important to your ongoing success.
We thoroughly research your business well before we get into tactics, so you can get a really great picture of where your business is today, where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there.
Want to do it yourself? This fall, we’re launching our online course so you can work through this process with us online. Stay tuned for more information.
Stop flinging that pasta and let’s make a plan to pass that Spaghetti Test!