As an avid gardener I’ve learned that if you want your garden to flourish, you must stay on top of things. You can’t just look out the window, see that things seem to be going well, and assume that this trajectory will continue. You must water the plants, pick the weeds, watch for bugs and diseases, take action at the first sign of trouble, etc. While some potential garden problems can slowly cause problems over time, others require immediate action. For example, the dreaded tomato hornworm (see image below) can devour an entire tomato plant in a matter of days!

This is why during much of the year I’m out in the garden every day, searching for signs of trouble. If I get complacent, I run the risk of not getting to enjoy the amazing deliciousness of homegrown tomatoes eaten straight from the vine.

Complacency can be a big problem in your marketing programs as well

Marketing drives sales. If you don’t keep up with your marketing, your sales are likely to slip. Among other things, “keeping up” means that you need to…

Keep marketing, even when you’re busy. How to make this happen: Be sure that your marketing mix includes some tactics, such as sending out newsletters, that can be set up in advance during your slow periods and then run on autopilot when things get hectic.

Keep your website text up-to-date. How to make this happen: Ask your marketing writer to schedule a website text review call every six months. Sure, you could simply put this on your own calendar without getting anyone else involved. But that outside accountability aspect will make it harder to keep putting it off.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t assume that your proverbial garden is flourishing and everything in your marketing program is going fine. Watch for signs of problems, and then treat every problem as an opportunity for improvement. For example…

• Are leads being followed up on promptly?
• Is your offer working?
• Are you keeping in touch with your existing customers?
• Is your target market still using your preferred social media platforms?
• Are you putting out content that’s actually of value to your customers and prospects?

The bottom line is that complacency can be like those voracious tomato hornworms. Left unnoticed, it can do serious damage to your business.