|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover
Are you on track for hitting all your business goals for the year? A quick check-up of your promotional efforts can reveal "week spots" and help identify what needs tweaking to give your business a healthy boost in the next few months. Here are five key areas to focus on with your mid-year marketing makeover. 1. Clarify Your Objectives (some prefer to call it goals) Are you clear on where want to end up? If you are thinking this has nothing to do with marketing ? think again! You cannot design and implement effective strategies unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish. If you are looking for a magic formula to give your business a boost here is a tip: there is nothing more powerful than writing down your objectives. Your ability to language and clearly articulate what you want to achieve exponentially increases your chances of getting it! 2. Makeover Your Business Model. Many of my clients "paint themselves into a limited-income corner" by structuring their business in a wrong way. No matter how hard they work and try, they can't seem to be able to make more money and just end up being more frustrated. Take Debra for example (not her real name). She is a successful small business consultant. Her well developed lead generating process attracts enough clients to actually make them wait a few weeks before she can start working with them. But she still makes only half the money she wants to make. Let me explain... You see, Debra's business model is to deliver her services using one on one engagements and she can only handle about 15 clients at a time. With her average monthly client value approaching $1,500 she's right on target to make just over $250,000.00 this year. But she wants to m@ke $500,000.00 ? can you see the problem? Chances are in some way, you might have a similar challenge ? your current business model is incapable of producing the results you want. What's the solution? Here are a few ideas: * Diversify your product/service offering. Analyze the needs of your clients and look for new ways to serve them. (Hint: you do not have to deliver all the solutions yourself ? instead form strategic alliances). 3. Makeover Your Lead Generating Systems. How many ways are you generating new leads? Do you have at least three to five lead generating vehicles that are consistent and automated? Too many businesses don't understand the lead generating process and depend on vague methods of getting new clients ? like "word of mouth" and "networking". No having structured and easy to duplicate system to attract attention and turn it into sales is a sure pathway to a total disaster. * If you need clients fast ? consider direct mail, fax broadcasting, narrowly focused direct-response advertising, strategic alliances, ask your current clients for referrals and ? don't forget the big one ? reactivate your past clients! 4. Makeover Your Follow-Up. Are you keeping in touch with your clients and prospects? Do you have a way to automatically connect with them at least monthly? If not ? you are only getting about 20% of the m0ney you could be making! Most people give up following up after just three attempts. Most prospects don't make a buying decision until they've been exposed to your marketing message at least five times? See a problem here? * If you are not doing it yet, start an online or offline newsletter. Create a monthly postcard program. Regularly send out information you come across that your audience would benefit from. 5. Makeover Your Marketing Assets. We all have a limited amount of time, and if you are spending it all working with clients you are not creating long-term leverage. Schedule time every week to create marketing assets that work for you. * Invest in your own knowledge: read more books, attend high-end training programs, purchase home-study courses, hire mentors to help you gain greater proficiency. Become a perpetual learner and always look for ways to transfer or implement your knowledge quickly. Finally, keep this in mind: these are all simple things but combined they can make or break your business. So while others are preoccupied planning their summer vacation, I suggest you get busy giving your business a marketing makeover. (c) 2005 Adam M. Urbanski ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Motivating Shoppers with Online Coupons (Part 2 of 2) Last time we discussed how online coupons and promotion codes can motivate buyers. We discussed examples of coupons and some of the aspects of these offers that can boost sales and generate urgency to a purchase. Today we'll focus on how to create great landing pages and the use of affiliate programs to further enhance your marketing efforts. Multicultural Marketing ? Taking Care of Business At Hand Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is getting the attention of small-business and other organizations looking for an edge in diverse ethnic markets. "Gone are the days when businesses succeed with a 'one size fits all' approach to marketing. It's a 'mass market' no longer," insists Rhonda Albey, a diversity consultant with Allen Associates in Los Angeles, "The multicultural markets are where the opportunities are, and successful entrepreneurs are quickly learning how to get there." Direct Mail Sales Letter Mistakes to Avoid Some companies that use direct mail to sell their products and services are like the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn't there. They repeat the same mistakes, and enjoy the same poor results. Here are their eight most common misdemeanors, and a cure for each. Can Message Board Marketing Work For You? One of the things that makes the Internet fun is all the message boards and forums. You can sound off about nearly anything, get and give advice, and even build a relationship or two. Is Your Marketing Working... That is the question, you should be asking yourself. Many feel that it is I'm sure. But is it really! Linking Features & Benefits I'm sure that you've had those Eureka! moments, too. When a piece of information suddenly helped you see or understand something that hadn't been apparent before. Understanding Survey Software Features If you take a look at the features that different survey softwares offer, you will quickly realize that understanding all of them is no mean task. But it is very important that you do because only then you can choose the right survey software. It is important for one other reason, it determines your price. More features invariably means more dollars. So if you don't choose the right survey software, you might end up paying more for features you don't need. Burnout Today I want to share a question from a reader who writes: Marketing, Lead Generation, and Research: A 3-in-1 Solution I Hate Cold Calls People Pleasing Postcards Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a key form of promotion? The biggest reason is the simplest: You don't have to open a postcard. It won't get lumped in with all the direct mail envelopes that people toss without opening. Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success? What?!? Sabotage your own success? Who would do that? Well, you'd be surprised how many small business owners think they are effectively marketing their business, when in fact they are cutting their own throat. The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product! The REAL key to successful marketing of any product is building relationships. The most successful tools for this strategy are forums, communities, coops and the new form of media desktop software, i.e. "Your Easy Street's" new Media Pilot. In order to properly build product sales, you must gain trust and understand the needs of the people you are selling to, or you'll get poor returns on your efforts and investments. The Top 10 Ways to Market your Business or Professional Practice Without Advertising Every business and professional practice MUST be in the public eye. You need customers! Folks need your goods and services -- it's a mutual alliance for mutual benefit! But if potential clients and customers don't know you exist, or can't find you, you will go bankrupt! They won't benefit from your services, and you won't make any money. So, marketing is a necessity. Advertising is one form of marketing, but it's terribly expensive. Here are the Top 10 alternatives: Marketing Got You Stumped? It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea of marketing intimidating. Even seasoned business owners often feel their marketing efforts aren't working. Networking the Media The media is a business's absolute best friend. It is THEsource of information distribution to the masses. Even "bad"press has been known to stimulate business. Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer: A Step by Step Guide for Developing Awareness, Building Credibility and Acquiring Customers Massage Marketing Made Easy: A Simple Nine Step Marketing Plan for Therapists and Bodyworkers Marketing is actually very simple. It involves telling people what you do...over and over and over. The key to successfully marketing your massage therapy business is consistency. Every Days a Holiday! You probably know that February 2nd is Groundhog Day. But did you know that it is also Kiwi Fruit Day, Laugh and Grow Rich Day, and Bonza Bottler Day(tm)? Each of these holidays was created by someone who wanted to commemorate or promote something. FYI-Bonza Bottler Day occurs each month when the number of the month is the same as the number of the day (e.g., March 3, April 4, etc.) and it is heralded as "an excuse to have a party at least once a month." Good Marketing is Like a Bad Habit You know those bad habits we get. Like raiding the chocolate biscuits during late night TV shows. Or slouching we when we sit. Or biting our fingernails. The M-Word It was a real eye-opener to hear the perceptions people have about what it means to market professional services, as well as the anxiety the "m-word" (marketing) conjures up. It reminded me that, just because professional service providers have a lot of expertise in their chosen field, it doesn't mean they have the same level of understanding about the business of growing a practice.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
