Small Business Marketing Tips and Ideas

"What do you do?"

It just might be the most asked business question there is. How well are you prepared to answer it?

Most small business marketers don't think much about this as it relates to their marketing. But, I would contend that it should be one of the primary marketing tools you put into your marketing toolbox.

Are you prepared to answer this question and grab attention at the various business networking and social events you attend? When you go to a business networking event and everyone in the room gets a chance to give a 30 to 60 second introduction of themselves are prepared to gain attention and pique interest from any potential prospects or referral sources in the room? If not, you need to understand the importance of your first words.

The standard responses for "the" question or for introducing yourself and your business are to tell them what you are, what you do, or who you work for. It's what 90 percent or more of the small business marketers out there are doing. And it does nothing to grab attention or pique interest from prospects or potential referral sources.

I go to networking events all the time and see business owner after business owner blowing opportunities with their inability to answer the question "What do you do?" Being prepared for these most common business scenarios can literally mean the difference between great marketing success and huge marketing frustration.

If you want to answer "the" question intelligently and get more attention from your listening audience stop focusing on who you are, what you do, or who you work for. Instead, begin focusing on and articulating who you are out to help and what problems, issues and challenges you are out to help them solve. Assume everyone you talk to is asking themselves the question "What's in it for me?" That's the basis for a great attention getting introduction.

For more on the subject, check out my article Do You Get Attention With Your 30-Second Introduction? at EzineArticles.com.

October 7, 2005 09:07 - Put Your Marketing Plan Into Action

Every small business needs to have a marketing plan even though way too many of them don't.

Without a marketing plan you have very little chance of actually growing you business to the level you want. A well thought out marketing plan will help you and your business stay on track with your marketing and promotional efforts. Without it you might as well be throwing darts in the dark.

Don't get overwhelmed by the term marketing plan. I'm not talking about marketing demographic research analysis or market share reach and frequency blah, blah, blah. For most small businesses if you don't keep it simple there's no way you'll ever get it done anyway. A simple plan needs to clearly and succinctly answer who you are, who needs to know it, what you're out to get done, how you plan to get attention, when and how often do you plan to do it, and how much do you plan to spend.

Lack of adequate planning is a huge factor in why so many small businesses fail. By itself, planning won't guarantee your success, but lack of it has proven time and time again to lead to failure.

Now having said all that, there is another element that leads to lots of small business marketing frustration. One of the things I'm finding with many small businesses is a failure to simply put your marketing plan into action. I have some theories on why this might happen so much (see my September 19 post on Overcoming Marketing Obstacles). Lots of people have ideas about marketing for their business, but still nothing gets done.

You know you need to be marketing, so why isn't it getting done? There are just so many other things to take care of on a day to day basis when you're running a business that end up taking precedence.

Having a marketing plan without ever taking action to implement it will get you nowhere. Turn your marketing plan into an action plan. Marketing plans often cover what you want to do, but not necessarily how to get it done. It could be as simple as creating a checklist of all the marketing activities you want to get implemented. Write out each of the tasks to get each activity completed and then put a date when you'd like to complete it by.

Create a marketing focus calendar. Take the activities from your checklist and actually book them in the calendar. Simply scheduling your time like you do your best client appointments can keep you amazingly focused and putting your marketing plan into action.

October 10, 2005 09:38 - Marketing Persistence

One of the keys to succeeding in any small business is being persistent. Business knowledge, a great product or service, and competent planning are important for sure, but it's dogged persistence that will carry you through the slow times.

It takes persistence to learn the many marketing principles and methods that actually work to attract clients more consistently. It takes persistence to overcome the voice inside your head that says you can't do it and the unsettling fear of failure in putting together marketing messages or materials when you're not trained in marketing. It takes persistence to become more systematic about your marketing instead hopping around from one marketing idea to another.

Ultimately it is "unwavering persistence" that will help you overcome these obstacles and begin to enjoy consistent marketing success.

Be persistent in focusing your small business marketing efforts on continuously moving forward. Unfortunately, too many small businesses focus their marketing efforts on reaching a destination. They put together a web site or a brochure and then they stop and begin waiting for the prospects to start calling. And when that doesn't work, they move on to the next big marketing idea. That's not a formula for success.

Marketing needs to be an ongoing journey for your business. Never stop trying to improve what you're doing, learn new principles and practices, and integrate your efforts so they become "the way you do business."

It takes regular and consistent effort to keep you pipeline full of good, high-quality leads and to keep moving prospect forward to becoming paying clients. It takes persistence in continuously marketing even when you have clients to keep you busy right now.

October 14, 2005 13:38 - Give Clients What They Want

Do you know what your clients want from a business like yours more than anything in the world?

If you knew the answer to this question would you market your business differently?

Most small businesses seem to fall in to one of two camps on this issue. A small number create a product or service based on something that they really want to do, but they really have no idea if anyone would ever want it. A much larger majority tends to have some general knowledge in a particular area, but what they communicate is so broad and vague that they end up reactively taking whatever business they can get through the door.

I'm blown away when I ask someone what it is that their clients value most from their services and they don't know. If you don't know what your clients want, then how can you ever hope to provide great services to them?

Take some steps to position your business for success that others in your field just can't generate.

First of all, I do think you should determine what it is that you do best. What are you committed to and totally passionate about? What are you out to cause? Who do you want to help and what do you want to help them get done? If you love what you're doing it makes the game of business a whole lot more enjoyable.

Figure out what it is that your target market would love to have more than anything in the world from a business like yours. What are their greatest challenges and issues that your company could get involved in helping them overcome? What is the greatest result or outcome you could ever hope to deliver to your ideal clients? If time and money weren't an issue, what service would you offer that would consistently produce the greatest possible outcomes?

Take some time to carefully consider and write out your answers to these steps and questions offered above. You may not know all the answers, but do the best you can. Then call up a handful of your best clients and a couple of your most trusted business contacts. Offer to buy them lunch and then sit down to talk through what you've come up with to get their input.

Sometimes if you want to know what people want, you just gotta ask. But, your conversation will go deeper and you'll get better results when you do it with your thoughts already outlined.

Once you know what they want, you can begin aligning your service offering and developing your core marketing messages around that. And suddenly marketing becomes easier.

October 17, 2005 11:22 - Continously Moving Your Marketing Forward

Marketing is an ongoing journey for your business.

That might seem like an obvious statement, but the actions of many small business owners might indicate otherwise. For many you build a web site, or create a brochure, or go to a few networking events and then you wait for results to happen. Effective marketing rarely works like that.

It takes regular and consistent effort to keep your pipeline full of good high-quality leads that you can work on converting into paying clients. It doesn't have to be an all-consuming effort, but it does take consistent effort.

Here are four ideas for continuously moving your marketing forward:

• Study up on marketing. There is no shortage of resources out there including books, audio programs, tele-classes, courses, etc. Refer to the Resource Links on our Proven Small Business Marketing Solutions web site. Look for the ones that offer proven, hands-on strategies and tactics, not get-rich-quick schemes.

• Form or join a "think tank" or "mastermind group." Find a group of people who will care just as much about your success as you do (and that you'll care about their success). This isn't just a group of friends who will tell you what you want to hear, but a group that will hold you accountable and support you.
  

• Attend talks and workshops regularly. If you go an participate fully, you'll often get just a much from the other participants as you will from the talk itself. Brainstorm with those you meet and find out what's working for them in their business.

• Get hands-on assistance. Working with a marketing coach or consultant who can help you focus, set goals, prioritize, create action plans, and help hold you accountable could be one of the best investments you make in your business.

Support from outside resources like these can help you shift your mindset and make marketing the ongoing journey it needs to be.

October 21, 2005 14:05 - Forget About What "YOU" Like

I was all set to blog about something else today, but a couple of client interactions this week brought me to write about something I need to get off my chest.

When it comes to your marketing and developing marketing pieces, forget about what "YOU" like. So many small business owners get so caught up in how good a marketing piece looks to them that they forget all about the message.

Here are a few examples of the things I keep hearing from small business owners:

"I don't like long sales letters. I don't think people read them." People do read them. A longer sales letter with relevant, useful information and compelling copy outperforms a short sales letter that doesn't say anything.

"I don't want people to have to scroll on my web site. I want the pages to be crisp and clean and everything fit on the screen. I just think it looks better." People don't mind scrolling as long as the content is engaging and providing the information they're seeking. Web pages with just a few bullets that don't really provide any information don't perform.

Wake up! You're not buying from you. Who cares what you like?

Focus on what your clients and prospective clients want and need from a business or service like yours. What problems, issues and challenges are they looking to solve? What kinds of results and outcomes are they looking for from the solutions they seek?

That's what your marketing piece needs to focus on. You can pay someone to make it look pretty later.

October 24, 2005 09:38 - Your Marketing Starts With Writing

Marketing starts with writing. It's an important key to every part of your small business marketing success.

That doesn't mean that you need to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer to get great marketing results. You just need to start writing.

Think about it. Everything you do from a small business marketing standpoint starts with writing. You write your marketing materials, web site copy, articles, special reports, tip sheets, talks and presentations, sales letters, ezines or newsletters, post card mailers, proposals, etc.

They all start with writing - well, at least they should. Some get seduced into starting a new marketing piece with pictures or stunning graphics. But you really need to focus on the message and content first. And that starts with writing.

I even recommend that my clients write out their 30-second attention getting introduction and their 10-second WOW statement. When you write out a couple of versions of your 30-second attention getting introduction you can read it out loud several times and tweak it until you know you just know what you want to say.

When you start writing you gain clarity about your business and your services that you won't have previously experienced. By taking the time to write about what you do for clients and what they get from your service you're able to begin conveying messages more persuasively.

Don't think for a second that you can't do it if you haven't previously done a lot of writing. The key is to just start. Remember we're not going for award winning writing here. Keep your small business marketing messages simple and direct. Stay focused on what you're trying to do for clients and prospects - their problems, issues and challenges and the results or outcomes they're interested in.

Start with an outline. Write something today and set it aside for a day or two before you come back to it. You'll continue to gain clarity and eventually your writing will get better.

Marketing starts with writing. So start writing...

October 28, 2005 09:33 - The Definition of Marketing

What is your definition of marketing? What exactly is marketing supposed to do for your business?

I participated in a very enthusiastic conference call yesterday with a group of people embarking on an exciting journey with John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. More details of this new business relationship will be coming soon.

John started the conference call by giving us his simple definition of marketing. His is pretty close to the one I've been subscribing to for the last several years as I'm building my KPD Marketing practice.

John's definition: "Marketing - Getting people who have a need to know, like, and trust you so they'll contact you."

Here's the definition I've been following: "Marketing - The active use of strategies and tactics to generate a consistent supply of high-quality leads for your business."

The discussion got me thinking about how many of the small businesses I come across define marketing. I'm surprised how many talk about increasing name recognition and creating brand awareness.

Listen, when you're McDonalds or Coca-Cola you can afford to spend millions of dollars on promoting your brand awareness and name recognition. But, when you're a small business and every bit of your time, effort, and money counts, your marketing really needs to result in a steady supply of good quality leads.

Notice the focus on generating a consistent supply of high-quality leads. The other mistake I see many small business owners making is trying to come up with marketing "campaigns" that directly result in new clients. But consider that many of your target prospects won't need what you offer at the precise time your marketing "campaign" reaches them.

Establishing levels of know, like, and trust takes some time. That's why successful small business marketers establish systematic, integrated marketing strategies and tactics that value putting prospects into their lead generation pipeline.

Once in the pipeline, they systematically inform, educate, and build credibility until those people who have a need are ready to reveal themselves to you and contact you.

October 31, 2005 09:38 - Three Steps to Your Ultimate Marketing Message

Have you created a core marketing message to use throughout all of your marketing efforts?

I'm not talking about some catchy slogan or play on words using the name of your business or the service you provide. It's not some meaningless phrase like "we do it right" or "quality service you can trust." Anybody in business can say those things and they're really basic expectations anyway.

A core marketing message clearly and concisely communicates what you're out to do and for who. It speaks to your ideal target market and gets them to respond and seek more information.

So many small business owners and professional service providers never take the time to create this for their own business. Most are creating a new message with every new "marketing campaign." They're constantly trying new ideas. And each new idea becomes a new chance to try and come up with that home run message that gets the phone ringing off the hook like never before.

What you need is an ultimate core marketing message that communicates directly and powerfully to your clients and prospective clients what it is they'll get from your services.

Here are three steps to creating your own ultimate core marketing message:

1. Who do you want to help? Be as clear as you can on who your target market is. Take some time and define with as much clarity as possible who your ideal clients are. If it's not obvious who your message is directed to, why would you expect anyone to get it?

2. What is the primary problem, issue, or challenge you would like to help someone in that target audience solve? This is really at the heart of your core marketing message. Most people are consumed with their own problems and looking for solutions to address them. So when you can clearly articulate a problem your client is dealing with, they'll listen because you may be able to provide a solution.

3. What is the ultimate outcome or result that you'd like to help your target market produce in solving their problem, issue, or challenge? People what to know what it is they'll get from knowing or working with you. When you're prepared to demonstrate that you're focused on delivering an outcome they'd be interested in, they will pay attention and want to know more.

That's it. Now take your answers and boil it down to one or two clear sentences that you can deliver enthusiastically and passionately. Communicate it in everything you do from a marketing perspective, both verbally and in writing.

Forget the catchy slogans. Create and start using your ultimate marketing message right now.