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Business Coach Griselda Kumordzie Togobo exposes ‘good marketing advice’ that loses you money and offers 4 questions to help you avoid it
I recently spent a strategy day with a client strategizing and mapping out key systems to increase her visibility and credibility in the market place.
She was looking to re-launch her business and she had rightly sought the services of various “experts offering good marketing advice” to help her re-launch her website and market her business better. They offered her some ‘good marketing advice’– create brochures for your business.
It was heart breaking to see that a lot of what she was spending time and money on would almost certainly end up in the bin, although it seemed like a good idea.
It’s common sense marketing advice that you should create beautiful brochures, cards and flyers to tell people about your business. But most small businesses spend a lot of time and money creating brochures and other marketing materials that simply don’t pass my “bin test”.
The bin test is based on my personal response to a lot of the marketing material that I’m constantly being bombarded with; so called because, unfortunately, most of them don’t make it pass my bin. My bin test is my framework for reviewing the brochures, flyers or sale letters I receive every day through my post box and at various events, and whether they grab my attention and emotions enough to want to buy the said product or service. These are the ones that will get results and ultimately make it into my swipe file.
A swipe file is an advertising practice where copywriters keep a collection of adverts and sales letters that have been tested and proven to work. A lot of small business owners can benefit from this practice.
The harsh truth is that a lot of the materials that are given away at conferences and events sadly end up in the bin despite their owners best effort.
Basically it ends up in the bin because they are of no use to me or the other people they are being thrown at.
Simple but true!
When I receive information from other businesses I quickly scan them to assess whether:
If I don’t get a ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then straight into the bin it goes to be recycled. I’m aiming for an uncluttered way of life, so no hanging on to useless paper.
Flyers and other brochures work, but only if they pass the bin test and you know what you are doing. Otherwise they are just a waste of time.
Good marketing advice but a waste of time if not done right.
Although it took some convincing, my client saw the light. She is now going to “beef up” her marketing materials so that she has something of value for her prospects rather than just another brochure.
So before you spend any more money on brochures, letters and flyers, just ask yourself these four questions to see if they pass “the bin test” and save yourself some time, money and energy.
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Griselda Kumordzie Togobo (ACA, MPhil) is a Business Growth Consultant to independent professionals and small business owners. She specializes in using high-impact but low-cost business growth strategies to improve profitability. Griselda writes on entrepreneurship, personal development and small business management issues for various publications and on her blog http://www.awovi.com. |
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If you are in the service business and struggling to establish yourself as an expert, then check out her little book of BIG ideas on Amazon “How to become an expert in 7 simple steps” |
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