| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
8 Instant Ways to Create Consistently Successful Marketing Campaigns
It's almost a given that when I speak to a new client, she tells me how much she's always hated marketing herself. "I'm no good at it" and "No matter what I try, it doesn't work" are common complaints. Worse, many small shops hate marketing so much that they literally avoid it entirely, or do marketing using the "dribs and drabs" method -- you know, a drib here, a drab there. In order to gain the trust of your prospects, you have to make contact with prospects enough (and make contact with enough prospects) to show them that you're the solution to their problems. Are you marketing your business enough? It's high time you found out! 1) Outline your current marketing activities. Which techniques work? Which ones are a waste of time? Measure the quantity of new business that each method achieves, as well as the quality of business sent to you by each technique. If something proves to be a dud, think about either optimizing the process or dropping it to free up time for other marketing activities. 2) How often do you contact your current clients? Do you stay in touch with paying customers regularly and reward them for their continued relationship with your business? If not, why not? Is there a good reason for people not to return, or are you losing your most valuable asset -- a bird in the hand, so to speak -- after one-time sales? If your business is a legitimate one-time deal (such as a wedding vendor), is there a way of getting current customers to refer others to you? 3) Do you have an ezine or other marketing tool that allows you to stay in regular contact with your prospects and current client base? People will tend to forget about you if they're not reminded of what you have to offer. Once a month is about the longest amount of time you should wait between contacts, which makes an ezine one of the best ways to get the word out. 4) Do you regularly seek out new prospects? If not, what could you do to expand your marketing horizons? Would a quarterly postcard campaign help? Would participation on online forums send more customers your way? 5) How many contacts do you ordinarily have to make before you close a deal? If the odds of finding a new customer are 30 to 1 and you need 6 new clients a month to grow your business at the rate you desire, are you contacting 180 prospects every month? If not, it's time to start. 6) Is there something you can implement every month that forces you to do the marketing work? As I have already mentioned, an ezine is a good method to ensure that you stay in touch regularly. When there's no one egging you on to get your marketing done, it's hard to be disciplined about it. In my case, my ezine forces me to think about my marketing on a regular basis. But an ezine is only one of many, many ways to create a marketing schedule for yourself. You could also implement monthly specials, a once-a-month teleseminar series related to your field or set up a blog. Setting aside time on a regular basis turns a chore into a habit that will be a major boost to your business! 7) List the 3 major reasons why you don't take the time to market as often as you should. What can you change to be able to accommodate more time for marketing? Is there work that you could outsource in order to be able to market yourself more regularly? Anything nonessential that you could outsource would allow you more time to bring in more business; conversely, hiring a small business marketing professional can take some of the burden off of you. Changing just 1 habit will make a big difference. 8) Assess your marketing results once a month. What works? What doesn't? What can you do better next time? Learning from your mistakes is the best addition to your marketing mix of all. If you make marketing a part of your regular routine, you will gain confidence in your ability to generate new business -- and even better, you'll see your business start to grow! Copywriter/marketing strategist Jennifer McCay helps individuals and small businesses turn their expertise into marketing success stories. She is the publisher of the Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter, which delivers tips to help you rev up your small business marketing. To subscribe and receive a FREE special report on 7 ways to improve your sales copy, head to http://AvenueEast.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Bond With Customers So That They Stay With You Longer How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly do you know why they are loyal customers?Customer loyalty has been a buzz term in marketing for some time and with good reason. Estimates suggest it can cost 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. How Gratitude Works Want to know what the highest-impact, lowest-cost tool is in your marketing toolkit? First, here are ten reasons to start using this tool right away:1. It won't get tossed out with the rest of the junk mail. Voice Mail Can Be Your Buddy Voice Mail is a classy name for "answer Machine".Problem is, people at home had answer machineslong before most businesses. Mobile Auto Detailers and Newspaper Companies as Clientele If you are a mobile auto detailer or mobile car wash company you might wish to think of attaining the local newspaper as a strategic client for your services. Usually newspapers have large staffs, especially daily newspapers. Postcard Direct Mail Marketing: 15 Ways To Grab Attention If you use direct mail postcards to generate leads or sell a product or service, you need to create postcards that grab your prospect's attention. The place to do that is Side A, the side that doesn't have the stamp and address on it. Direct Mail Formats: How to Choose the Right One for Your Next Mailing Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or a letter? The answer, you'll be irritated to know, is clear. It depends. Marketing the Government for Profit Steps and tips on marketing your business to the government.Fact: Federal, state and local governments buy over $450 billion combined in goods and services each year. Attracting New Business on a Shoestring Budget In a recent marketing workshop I attended, I discovered that most business owners rely on just two or three strategies to attract new business. Even well-established companies tend to rely on one or two strategies. Mobile Marketing a New Age Strategy More and more companies seem to be looking for new and innovative ways to market their products. Overlooking most of the traditional marketing techniques, more companies are pioneering the relatively new mobile marketing campaign. Is Your Marketing Working... That is the question, you should be asking yourself. Many feel that it is I'm sure. Why Do You Need to be in the SERPS? Why does your business need to be in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)?Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing both have the same goal, which is to help visitors find your website. Ten years ago there was probably nobody searching online for your product or service. How Do I Define My Market? Your market is who you want to reach. Your customer. How to Make Profits With a Commission Mailing Business There are many mailorder publications that will list your nameunder this directory.. 4 Sales Strategies with Your Trade Show Exhibition Booth Trade show booths can act as an excellent source for generating sales enquiries in the short run. Companies are able to demonstrate their products or services and get instant enquiries at the booth which on timely follow up can result in sales. Burnout Today I want to share a question from a reader who writes:How do I keep from being burned out while cold calling? My job is to call current customers and also call new business prospects. I have a quota of 60-80 calls to make per day, but it seems as though I cannot stay focused long enough to make even 50 phone calls. How to Expand Your Target Markets Are your products or services geared towards only one target market? You can increase sales and profits by increasing your target markets. Below are some creative ways to increase your target markets by using your existing products and services you're selling right now. Insiders Secret to Selling Mailing Lists If you've got a mailing list of at least a thousand names or more, you're sitting on a gold mine. All it takes is for you to get the word out that you've got a mailing list for rent, at a competitive price, and you should be home free!First of all, you've got to have a bonafide list of customers - a list of names of people that have responded to an ad or bought from you. Marketing vs Selling - Why Theres A Difference Marketing is something that we do to let people know what products we have to offer.Selling is something that we do to show people that the products we have to offer are of value to them. Forward Thinkers Stay Ahead of the Curve What is it like from a marketing perspective to be yesterday's news? We rely on what is tried and true in marketing because it is usually safe, tried, and tested. It saves us time, as well, since we don't have to put on our creativity cap to craft an innovative strategy. Maximizing Your Yellow Page Investment Yellow Page users are the hottest of all prospects - someone who has made the decision to buy, and now is looking for a place to do it. Does your ad convince them that your business is that place?It doesn't have to be the biggest, although that can certainly help.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
