| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Marketing Apathy Solutions: 10 Solutions for Overcoming Apathy Beginning Today
Are you suffering from feelings of indifference or a lack of concern when it comes to marketing your business? Do you lack the passion that's necessary to attract customers to your business? Marketing apathy, characterized by feelings of passiveness, disregard, and a lack of interest is widespread among today's businesses. This attitude is like putting a roadblock between you and your success. Fortunately, there are a number of solutions for overcoming apathy that you can start implementing today. Try one or more of these. 1. Do something. The best way to take a blah attitude and turn it around is to do something. You may have heard the phrase, "an idle mind is the devil's workshop". The same goes for your business. Apathy often disguises itself as procrastination - lack of action. In the case of your business, an idle business can mean financial disaster. When you find yourself not wanting to do anything, do something. Pick up a book and read for a while, call a client or two and ask them how things are going, or contact your coach to get yourself moving. If you have to, get up and do jumping jacks or take a walk around the block. When you engage your physical body, it's usually easier to engage the rest of you. Once you get the energy moving on your end, you'll be able to take it and channel it into a number of avenues that can lead to business success. 2. Gather your support team. A support team is critical to our personal and professional well-being. A support team can consist of our friends, business colleagues, family members, a loving partner or spouse, or even groups that we belong to - like business or civic groups. When we experience rough days in our business we can call on these folks for uplifting conversation, brainstorming, or just to share a friendly "hello". Our support team can mean all the difference in the attitude we have in our business. Not only will you benefit from the interchange, you'll give your support members the opportunity to share their gifts with you. Everyone wins. 3. Obtain more education. Often indifference about our business can find its roots in a lack of knowledge. You've probably heard the phrase "Knowledge is power". Seeking out new knowledge, whether by reading a book, taking a teleclass, or enrolling in a workshop can be a wonderful solution to curing feelings of apathy. Seeking more education can introduce us to new people and ideas, which will often be just what is needed to get our creative juices flowing. 4. Craft a clear vision. Having a clear vision of your business purpose and mission can be critical to your business success. A vision, designed exclusively by you, provides a roadmap to help you move from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. When you don't have a clear vision about why you are in business and what purpose you are serving, it's easy to go in the wrong direction. Craft a written vision of your business. It will help you stay focused and on track. 5. Read a variety of periodicals. Probably one of the best solutions to marketing apathy is to read - and one suggestion is to read a variety of periodicals. Take a trip to your local bookstore. Visit the areas you most enjoy. Peruse cookbooks, business books, or spiritual books - anything that catches your interest. Don't forget to visit the magazine racks, which include hundreds of publications on almost every topic imaginable. You don't necessarily need to be reading books and magazines about marketing to get ideas about new things to do with your business. Look at what other companies are doing to communicate about their products and services. You might find a creative way to adapt something to your own business. One of my favorite things to do is pick up a magazine on a topic I know nothing about and turn to the back where the smaller classified ads are listed. It's amazing how many ideas I've been able to adapt from an industry totally unrelated to mine. 6. Hang out with new people. Look at your Rolodex or database. Do you socialize with the same kinds of people all the time? How about joining a new group - maybe one that isn't related to your business - and start meeting some new people? You may be surprised when something said would open your eyes to a new idea you can implement in your business. Better yet, you'll be expanding your network and increasing your opportunities to introduce others to you and your business. 7. Take failures and turn them into successes. Everyone has experienced a failure in their marketing or in their business. But, how you choose to look at it can mean all the difference in your attitude and determines whether you are going to remain stuck or move forward. Think of a few failures you've had in the past year. How can you reframe those into positive experiences? What did you learn from those experiences that helped you to avoid further issues? Did those experiences create opportunities for you? In many cases, you'll probably be able to see the "good" in the "bad". Whenever you start feeling down about your business marketing, stop your thoughts in their tracks and ask, "Where is the good in all of this?" 8. Focus on the few. Sometimes we find feelings of listlessness and lethargy creeping into our marketing efforts, usually because we're overwhelmed with all we have to do. We don't know where to start, we feel pressured to perform and to get something out there to attract clients, but we don't know which direction to take or which marketing technique to select. The solution to overwhelm, and the accompanying feelings of apathy, is to get focused. Select one or two marketing techniques that you feel comfortable and competent with implementing. Test them and see if you get the results you want. If you don't, then you'll have great feedback to try a new way. Don't try to do everything, otherwise you'll find yourself in a state of overwhelm, and doing nothing. 9. Create alliances with others. Isolation can create environments where we lack motivation and enthusiasm. And, when we're trying to market our businesses, we definitely need these two ingredients! When we work with others, we can move ahead a lot more quickly and, usually, with more ease. Who can you create a partnership or alliance with? Perhaps there is a person in a competing or complimentary discipline with whom you can partner with to create a workshop, e-book, or even a teleclass. Their enthusiasm will motivate you; and your enthusiasm will motivate them. Share your talents and ideas. You never know what kind of success you can create together. 10. Recognize the value in you. Apathy can often find its roots in the attitudes we carry around about ourselves. And, the sad truth is that these often are completely false. As an aspiring entrepreneur, learn to recognize the value in you. Who you are and what you have to offer holds great value. Your gifts, talents, and your unique way of looking at the world are just what your clients are looking for! © Copyright 2004 Alicia Smith Consulting & Training. All Rights Reserved. Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites. (You also can email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com) http://www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com http://www.InternetAssessments.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Is It Time To Revisit Your Marketing Strategy? Small & Mid Sized Business owners, have you revisited your marketing strategy lately? Your Marketing ROI? Some of you have spent this past year just trying to get by-maintaining the web site, sending out occasional press releases, attending various networking events. Yes, you've endured our slow-to-grow economy, but how far have you deviated from your marketing strategy in order to survive? And to correct your approach, what new marketing programs should you add and what should you do first?Simplify what seems like an overwhelming task by asking the following questions:1. Discovering The Benefits That Hook Your Prospect Benefits! They're what marketing is all about. No doubt you've heard the mantra over and over: "Benefits, not features. 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. An Example of Understanding Consumer Thinking A church in my community provided me with one of the best examples of understanding the consumer, which I've ever experienced.Once a month a church in my community provides free lunch, open to the public. Put Your Marketing To The So What? Test Want to get Better at your Marketing today?For many service business owners, marketing can be a real mystery. We don't really know exactly how it works. Looking for Sky In All The Wrong Places Ever sit with a single puzzle piece of clouds and wonder how you will ever put the entire sky together? Life as an entrepreneur is often just like that-- lots of the little pieces, creating products, taking care of clients, wrestling with computers, finances, taxes, etc.-- and a whole lot of sky. Open Doors by Building Relationships "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get others interested in you." - Dale Carnegie -"The same could be said for increasing your professional network. The Beginners Mail Order Business Guide No claim is made that the steps outlined would be successful for someone else. Each individual should obtain whatever professional advice may benecessary for his particular operation. Whats Your Marketing Weak Link? Your marketing weak link could be undermining the rest of your marketing. It is vital that each link in your marketing system supports and builds upon the previous link. A Great Marketing Model - Utilizing the Power of OPM Staying ahead of the marketing curve seems to be a never-ending quest. Marketing doesn't have to be as complex as some people make it out to be. Lessons From a Six Year Old My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Creating Great Charts for Persuasive Trade Show Presentations A well-designed chart can be one of the most persuasive elements of your trade show booth display and literature. It illustrates to your customers why your product is the obvious solution to one of their specific needs. A Good Marketer: What's the Measurement? As a business owner, you know how valuable being good at marketing is. Yet, I have found working with business owners for the past 20 plus years that 99. Hello, My Name Is . . . What Your Name Tag Says About You When you attend networking functions, what kind of name tag do you wear? One of those sticky things you scrawled your name on, or something a bit more sophisticated? For just a few cents to a few dollars, you can have a classy, customized name tag that will draw attention and comments and help you make the most of every networking opportunity.Instead of relying on those disposable sticky tags, you can get your own engraved or imprinted name badge at your local office supply store. Direct Mail Still Works! Direct Mail CampaignsDespite the proliferation of communication facilitators--mobile phones, faxes, emails, PDAs--the mail still plays a vital role in successful marketing. Direct mail marketing continues to be one of the leading methods for effectively reaching prospective customers because it can be focused, predictable and economical. Should You Clap For Your Customers? Does it make sense to clap for your customers? It does not, you answer. You may be right, for the conventional way is for an audience to clap for a speaker, preacher, performer, artiste, player, or marketing professional making a presentation. Joint Venture Marketing: What and Why What is a Joint Venture? A joint venture is an agreementin which two or more businesses work on a project for aset period of time. Usually with a specific project orgoal in mind. 5 Steps to Success: A Surefire Way to Achieve Your Goals No doubt you started this year with some big ideas about what you wanted to accomplish. I know I did!Maybe it was how many new clients you wanted to get, or how much money you wanted to make, or how many products you wanted to sell. Sales and Marketing: Can One Exist Without the Other? Simply put the marketing people and the sales people depend on each other 100%. One cannot say that a marketing department is any more or less important then the guys who are closing the deals in the sales department. Case Study: How to Get a Big Boost in Response by Taking Your Marketing to the Extreme Want a big boost in response and quick sales from your next direct marketing effort? Then take your marketing to the extreme. What do I mean by extreme? I mean unconventional, break the mold, out-of-the-box, reaches-out-and-grabs-people-by-the-lapel marketing.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
