3 Steps to Take Before You Setup Your Small Business Marketing Strategy
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Along with your business plan, your small business marketing plan is one of the most important long-term plans you'll make for your small business.
Brandt Stoht, from the smallbusinessmktng.com has three steps to setup your small business marketing strategy:
1. Know your market
Ask yourself: Who are my customers? Once you've identified who they are, ask yourself: What are my customers' problems? What are their dreams and aspirations? The surest way to answer those 3questions, of course, is to ask your customers themselves.
2. Know yourself
Ask yourself: What does my business do? How is my business different than my competitors? How does my business help solve my customers' problems or help them achieve their dreams? Brandt Stohr advises answering these questions will help you to define your unique selling proposition those aspects that set you apart from your competitors.
3. Analyze your competitors' small business marketing strategies
First, look at your competitors' small business marketing strategies. Are there obvious gaps that you could fill (and thereby stand out among the competition)? For example, if you see that none of your competitors have websites, you could stand out with a small business marketing strategy online.
Brandt Stoht, from the smallbusinessmktng.com has three steps to setup your small business marketing strategy:
1. Know your market
Ask yourself: Who are my customers? Once you've identified who they are, ask yourself: What are my customers' problems? What are their dreams and aspirations? The surest way to answer those 3questions, of course, is to ask your customers themselves.
2. Know yourself
Ask yourself: What does my business do? How is my business different than my competitors? How does my business help solve my customers' problems or help them achieve their dreams? Brandt Stohr advises answering these questions will help you to define your unique selling proposition those aspects that set you apart from your competitors.
3. Analyze your competitors' small business marketing strategies
First, look at your competitors' small business marketing strategies. Are there obvious gaps that you could fill (and thereby stand out among the competition)? For example, if you see that none of your competitors have websites, you could stand out with a small business marketing strategy online.
Labels: marketing, marketing strategy, small business, unique selling proposition
4 Marketing Attitudes to Avoid
Monday, October 09, 2006
C.J. Hayden, Contributing Editor for RainToday.com and author of Get Clients Now!: A 28-day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, And Coaches has come up with a list of 3 common marketing attitudes to avoid:
Read full article here. Via
1. "I shouldn't have to market."
If you perceive marketing as a dirty business, try thinking of it as the diapers you need to change in order to have the joys of being a parent. But instead of focusing on what you dislike, tie your marketing chores to your vision of a successful business.2. "I don't have time for marketing."
Whether your responsibilities preventing you from marketing are within the business or outside it, you need to allocate a minimum amount of time each week, no matter what. Even two hours per week can make a significant difference, if you consistently use that time for marketing.3. "I don't want to bug people."
Consistent and persistent follow-up isn't bugging people – it's the mark of a true professional. You want to convince your prospects that you are hard-working and reliable, and that you truly care about helping them solve their problems. If they hear from you more than once that you would really like to be of service to them and are available to help, you will build their trust, not their annoyance.4. "My marketing isn't working."
So how many prospects do you need to make contact with for just one to be interested in a presentation? Ten, maybe? That means you need to make contact with 60 prospects each month in order to land your two new clients. If you do this math for yourself, you may quickly find that the only thing wrong with your marketing is that there hasn't been enough of itRead full article here. Via
Labels: attitude, marketing, marketing strategy
