|
Peter Drucker, who I think is god when it comes to business management, said that marketing & innovation are the only activities that produce value for an enterprise; everything else is overhead.
With the above information, let me ask you a soul searching question – is your organization shortchanging marketing because you are too busy managing your day-to-day operation? Based on my survey of small businesses, the answer for over 90% of businesses like yours is “yes”.
Instead of trying to give you a marketing plan, I am listing some random marketing ideas that you can use to generate sales for your enterprise very quickly. Pick the ones that make sense for your business, your philosophy, your style, and immediately start execution:
- Make sure that you have engaged in at least one marketing activity every day. List the activities and track results.
- Jot down any marketing idea that comes to you and add it to a list for later use. You will need a list if you really want to try at least one marketing activity every day.
- Stay up on business trends by reading newspaper, research results, industry newsletter, etc. and watch out for trends that could impact your business. Use the knowledge to try new marketing programs. As napoleon Hill said – knowledge in itself has no value; it is the application of knowledge that creates value.
- Ask your clients and former clients for tips on how you can improve your service. Execute some of the ideas.
- Keep looking for the available market niches for your products/services and act on ones where you see opportunity.
- Form a mastermind group of successful professionals and get their opinion about your marketing and innovation plans regularly (monthly). Use the ideas generated from the group in your business.
- Ask your clients for referral and contact them. Too many of us have a list of prospects who were never contacted.
- Hire a marketing consultant/business coach and use their ideas for your business.
- Monthly evaluate your pricing and make adjustments in order to increase sales/profit.
- Join a barter program for small businesses.
- Send a newsletter with useful information to clients and prospects regularly.
|
|
|
|
- Offer something of value in lieu of the contact information of visitors on your website.
- Create a slogan for your business that is memorable and use it in your marketing materials.
- Include a signature with your business slogan and website address in all your email correspondence.
- Include customer testimonials on your website.
- Test email campaigns to different mailing lists and analyze its effectiveness. Repeat successful campaigns regularly.
- Send oversized mailers for all your direct mail campaigns.
- Do regular press releases; sent it to the relevant media outlet, post it on the website and post it to all online PR posting sites.
- Regularly write articles about your industry in your chamber magazine, local newspapers, and trade magazines. Post these articles on your web and submit it to all article submission sites.
- Publicize all notable things that happened to your company – Ex. Anniversaries, 1,000th client, major client acquisition, etc. in your PR.
- Participate in tradeshows for your prospects’ industry.
- Participate in local charity.
- Mentor students/new businesses in your industry.
- Develop educational CD ROM for your business and make sure they are in the hands of your prospects, not stacked in your back office.
- Work as a salesperson regularly to see what kind of obstacles they are facing and how they can be helped.
- Make sure all business professionals you deal with (attorney, CPA, bank, etc.) have your marketing material. Advertise their services on your website and ask them to advertise your service on their website.
- Set automated email responses with marketing materials on your website that your prospect will also receive when they sigh up to get things of value that you have posted.
- Follow up on all proposals, inquiries immediately.
- Create automatic reminder system for re-orders.
- Sell your product/service through your website proactively. Write a well defined web marketing program and execute it.
- Take clients out for dinner, lunch, golf, or a ball game; especially ones who have referred other businesses to you.
- Send a copy of interesting articles to your clients; either by snail mail or email.
- Spend time/resources on value that you can offer to your clients; values that are above & beyond what you are getting paid to do.
- Join Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations and become an active participant.
- Use coop direct mail program with other businesses (your clients?).
- Advertise during peak seasons for your business.
- Get a memorable phone number for your business.
- Include your website address on all marketing materials.
- Advertise your business jointly with other professionals via cooperative direct mail.
- Advertise your business in the relevant online directories for your business.
- Create a direct mail & email list of "hot prospects" and follow up.
- Code and track your ads for effectiveness, and keep records of results.
|
Check www.gmrwebteam.com for all past marketing newsletters.
|