A while ago we had one of our best summer holidays ever. Kathy, the kids and I spent a wonderful week in Anglesey – a little islandy thing off the North West coast of Wales.

We lay on the beach in the sun most days, while the kids went off swimming, fishing or paddling around in our little boat. Fantastic stuff.

We weren't initially planning to go. We'd got out all the brochures with exotic and far flung destinations. Lots of exciting looking places we've never been, but everyone tells us we really should go to.

We were struggling to choose, then one evening Kathy turned to me…

“What would you say was the best holiday we've ever had? The one you've most enjoyed?”

“Honestly? When we rented that apartment in Anglesey a few years ago.”

“Me too. Why don't we just go there again then?”

So we did.

And we had a brilliant time again. It suits us. Easy to relax and do nothing – yet plenty for the kids to do.

It's so easy to be tempted by all those exciting new places in the brochures. But by sticking to what we knew worked for us we had a great time.

And it's often the same with your marketing too.

It's so easy to be lured by “shiny new object” syndrome. To see how much success others seem to be having with marketing approaches you're not using.

And I'll admit, I'm a huge advocate of shiny new stuff like online marketing myself. I'll tell anyone who asks it's been the most effective marketing strategy I've ever used.

But often the best thing you can do is ask yourself the same simple question Kathy asked me: what's worked the best for you before?

Whether it's networking, direct mail, conference presentations, referrals. If it's worked well for you before, chances are it'll work well for you again.

You should still experiment. Try out the odd shiny new marketing approach. But not at the expense of what you know actually works for you.

It may not be exciting and new. You may have got a bit bored with it over time.

But if it works, stick with it until you find something genuinely better.