The #1 reason most businesses CAN’T grow (with actual research)

One of my favorite books on marketing: How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know. By Byron Sharp, Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute (the world's largest center for research into marketing). Turns out, a LOT of popular marketing advice—we’re talking advice that wastes your time and costs you sales—can be disproven with actual data. Like this unwisdom I’ve been calling out for years: The idea that you need to “nurture” your audience before they’ll buy from you? Is completely FALSE. Because it assumes - wrongly - that “nurturing” your audience with lots of free content creates loyalty…which then somehow translates into sales. In reality, the numbers show: Loyalty between brands actually doesn’t differ much! In fact, customers are fickle! Which means that the ACTUAL most important factor when it comes to growing your business? Isn’t what you might have heard, like focusing on “nurturing” your audience, creating loyalty programs, branding, or customer service. (Yes, getting those right is important, but they’re not THE thing.) Instead, here’s what will actually make the biggest difference: Focusing your energy on marketing to get in front of people who haven’t heard of you before. Because the more you prioritize this, the more your business will grow. But of course, it’s a lot easier said than done. Especially considering that it’s expensive to get in front of new people… Expensive in terms of work: Content creation, outreach, partnerships. Expensive in terms of time: It can often take a strategy months or even years before it starts taking off! Plus, you still gotta keep on putting in the time AND the work until it does. AND expensive in terms of money too: You’ve gotta pay yourself, your team, and if applicable, for the traffic itself. Which is why so many businesses can’t afford to do it well. Which is why they can’t grow. Which is why they can’t afford to invest in growth. Which is why they can’t grow. Which is why… You get the idea. So how the heck does one break out of this vicious cycle? I’ve got an entire email planned for you tomorrow, breaking it down. Luisa Zhou [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( Zhou Ventures, Inc. P.O. Box 2545 New York, New York 10163-2545 United States