A Marketing Cookbook for Entrepreneurs
A Marketing Cookbook for Entrepreneurs
or less statement about what you do? An advertising tagline (i.e., GE: "We bring good things
to life.")?
If you answered 'no' to these, you're not alone.
Experience tells me that most entrepreneurs simply don't see marketing as a line item that needs
to be taken as seriously as, say, their annual equipment or supply budget, and that's a
mistake. In over 20 years of working in this industry, I've confirmed that most entrepreneurs see marketing as an afterthought or a "necessary evil." Worse, many haven't mined the data right in front of them that could give them a blueprint for how to market to their best prospects.
For example, do you know how you're getting new clients? If you do, do you track it? It could
be as simple as your office manager asking a new client how they heard about you and entering that into a spreadsheet that you can monitor periodically. If they say they were referred by someone, put more energy and focus into developing your referral base, perhaps by sending a handwritten note thanking that person and asking for more. Did the client see an article on you? Increase your visibility in the community by volunteering for a non-profit or by sponsoring a charitable event. Did they see your ad in the newspaper? Consider increasing your frequency in print (but not the size!).
The bottom line is to find the marketing horse that's winning and put more of your dollars there, because knowing is better than guessing. And how do you know? By testing. Put a plan and budget together that includes testing different media at different times of the year. Measure and track the response relentlessly. Cross media is best. In other words, do two or more media at the same time. That way, one reinforces the other.
Here's a simple cookbook for establishing a marketing program:
1. Define your target market(s).
It's the one thing that surprises me the most: how many companies don't even know their target demographic. What's the profile of your ideal client? What percentage are men? What percentage are women? … Over 40? Under 40? High net worth? Middle class? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? At minimum, use the internet to do some research. Study what your competitors are doing. In some cases, you'll want to hire a professional research firm to do a study for you. Proper research done now can save you literally thousands down the road in dollars wasted on marketing to the wrong people.
2. Define your strategy.
Get out a big sheet of paper and do some "free association" of every thought you have about marketing your company. One word will inspire another word and so forth. Soon, you will have a collection of thoughts that can help you to frame a strategy for reaching your best prospects. A written strategy not only gives you a blueprint for success, it also helps you to measure how you're doing as you begin to execute it. But don't get stalled out by thinking that it has to be elaborate. Do a one-page summary.
3. Choose your tools.
Many of the best marketing tools are absolutely free (i.e., public relations). Then, there's paid media: print, broadcast, direct mail, outdoor, the Web. Persistence and patience is where most have trouble. They quit marketing before they get traction, and there's just too much to do. Though you can wear many hats, you can't wear all of them. That's where a professional can help. Hire a marketing communications firm that is willing to partner in your success. Focus on what you're good at (taking care of your clients), and let them focus on what they're good at (building your business using the right tools).
Far from being a necessary evil, marketing in its highest form is an opportunity to help your company connect with your ideal clients. If you do it correctly, including a bit of research and testing so you know how they want to receive your message, clients will indeed be grateful to you for leading them to your company through smart and strategic marketing.
Begin.
A Marketing Cookbook for Entrepreneurs - To learn more about this author, visit Chuck Morris's Website.
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Raise your hand if you have a marketing plan and budget for your company. A unique, 30-second
or less statement about what you do? An advertising tagline (i.e., GE: "We bring good things
to life.")?
If you answered 'no' to these, you're not alone.
Experience tells me that most entrepreneurs simply don't see marketing as a line item that needs
to be taken as seriously as, say, their annual equipment or supply budget, and that's a
mistake. In over 20 years of working in this industry, I've confirmed that most entrepreneurs see marketing as an afterthought or a "necessary evil." Worse, many haven't mined the data right in front of them that could give them a blueprint for how to market to their best prospects.
For example, do you know how you're getting new clients? If you do, do you track it? It could
be as simple as your office manager asking a new client how they heard about you and entering that into a spreadsheet that you can monitor periodically. If they say they were referred by someone, put more energy and focus into developing your referral base, perhaps by sending a handwritten note thanking that person and asking for more. Did the client see an article on you? Increase your visibility in the community by volunteering for a non-profit or by sponsoring a charitable event. Did they see your ad in the newspaper? Consider increasing your frequency in print (but not the size!).
The bottom line is to find the marketing horse that's winning and put more of your dollars there, because knowing is better than guessing. And how do you know? By testing. Put a plan and budget together that includes testing different media at different times of the year. Measure and track the response relentlessly. Cross media is best. In other words, do two or more media at the same time. That way, one reinforces the other.
Here's a simple cookbook for establishing a marketing program:
1. Define your target market(s).
It's the one thing that surprises me the most: how many companies don't even know their target demographic. What's the profile of your ideal client? What percentage are men? What percentage are women? … Over 40? Under 40? High net worth? Middle class? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? At minimum, use the internet to do some research. Study what your competitors are doing. In some cases, you'll want to hire a professional research firm to do a study for you. Proper research done now can save you literally thousands down the road in dollars wasted on marketing to the wrong people.
2. Define your strategy.
Get out a big sheet of paper and do some "free association" of every thought you have about marketing your company. One word will inspire another word and so forth. Soon, you will have a collection of thoughts that can help you to frame a strategy for reaching your best prospects. A written strategy not only gives you a blueprint for success, it also helps you to measure how you're doing as you begin to execute it. But don't get stalled out by thinking that it has to be elaborate. Do a one-page summary.
3. Choose your tools.
Many of the best marketing tools are absolutely free (i.e., public relations). Then, there's paid media: print, broadcast, direct mail, outdoor, the Web. Persistence and patience is where most have trouble. They quit marketing before they get traction, and there's just too much to do. Though you can wear many hats, you can't wear all of them. That's where a professional can help. Hire a marketing communications firm that is willing to partner in your success. Focus on what you're good at (taking care of your clients), and let them focus on what they're good at (building your business using the right tools).
Far from being a necessary evil, marketing in its highest form is an opportunity to help your company connect with your ideal clients. If you do it correctly, including a bit of research and testing so you know how they want to receive your message, clients will indeed be grateful to you for leading them to your company through smart and strategic marketing.
Begin.
A Marketing Cookbook for Entrepreneurs - To learn more about this author, visit Chuck Morris's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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