The InsideOut blog is a collection of our strategy, marketing and online thinking.

Averages are funny things aren’t they. They draw people to a common result - that’s the average, it’s good enough, hey we’re not doing too bad. I noticed the retail sales results for the March quarter were out last week and sure enough sales were down 2.9%.

Now if you’re not careful it’s easy to accept this as a benchmark for performance and let it guide the expectations when developing a marketing plan. However it's critical to remember that half the market did better than this and the distribution will be spread as well, meaning some businesses will have achieved results much better than this. So how are you going to focus your business planning?

Marketing at the moment is about being bold and brave. Be confident and getting the strongest message out there. If you don’t then you’ll quickly be on the wrong side of that average! One great example of someone being prepared to buck the trend was Citroen. To launch their new dealership they had a two for one car offer. By one car and get another one free. Now this is often done with T Shirts or tops at Barkers or Max but not often with cars.

Talking to Julie Roberts the Marketing Manager for Andrew Simms European, she reported that they sold more cars in April with this offer than in the entire previous quarter. They also sell Alfa Romeo and Fiats and she noted that while people may have been drawn in by this offer, most people ended up buying a different deal rather than the hero two for one offer.

Overall they enjoyed sales that are nothing like the 11.2% reduction in the car sector. The benefits from the promotion went outside of specific sales as well. The offer generated press and media attention that resulted in a boast in awareness for their brands.

So as you’re putting together the marketing plan for your business don’t think about the average, don’t be drawn in. Look to score way above average. But to do this you need to be bold with your business planning.

Average delivers average. Don’t fall for it!