I've had more than one business owner tell me "I hate marketing". Usually this comes from a sense that they are spending tons of money on marketing (or what they think is marketing) and they feel like they are getting no results. Well, my usual response to this statement is this: "Fire your Vice President of Marketing... Today!"
Invariably the business owner then goes on to tell me "I don't have a VP of Marketing - I'm a small business owner and I have to do all the marketing myself!". This is when I get to have some fun. This is when I tell the business owner "I know that you do the marketing. That's why I'm telling you to fire the VP of marketing."
By this point the business owner is either mad at me and ready to throw me out of his establishment, or gets the point and asks me to tell him more. What I mean by fire the VP of Marketing is this: If you're doing your own marketing and the results are not what you expect or need them to be, then it's time for a serious review and a big shake up in the marketing department. First, you have to be measuring every marketing campaign and medium that you're using. Second, if you are trying to grow the business and attract new customers, you need to have at least 10 marketing strategies working at all times.
How many marketing strategies can you name that your business is using right now? Look at the following list of marketing strategies that any service-based business might use and see how many of them you have going right now:
Yellow Page Listing Newspaper Ad Magazine Ad Clipper, Penny Saver, or Val-Pak Coupon Targeted Direct Mail Postcards Website Website Search Marketing (Paid Placement)
Link Exchange Chamber of Commerce Listings Chamber of Commerce Networking Group Other Networking Group Sign on Vehicle Sponsorship of Sports Team Sponsorship of Anything Else Ad in Church Bulletin Outbound Calls to Past Customers Ask Current Customers for Referrals Even Better, Start a Referral Rewards Program!
Strategic Alliances With Complimentary Businesses Radio Advertising Cable TV Infomercials Newsletters to Current and Past Customers Free Trials Promotional Gifts With Company Name Book the Next Visit at the End of Today's Visit Hire a Sign Walker Ad Space in Malls and Bus Benches Hire an Outside Salesperson Share an Outside Salesperson With a Non-competing Business
There's 30 ideas and strategies off the top of my head and the list goes on and on. These are all traditional and "inside-the-box" marketing strategies too, when in reality everything you do as a business owner is a form of marketing from how clean your restrooms are, to the kind of clothes you wear and how promptly you return phone calls. Every action you take as a business owner sends a message to customers and potential customers, and that is the definition of marketing!
There are literally hundreds of marketing strategies that a business owner COULD use, but many owners try one or two things, don't track their performance, and then get mad when the numbers don't show improvement. If that sounds familiar, I think you should fire the VP of Marketing, and light a fire under his or her replacement! (even if both the old VP and the new VP are you) :-)
To learn more about this author, visit Randy Nowell's Website.
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Randy Nowell
(Visit Randy's Website)
My name is Randy Nowell. I'm a Licensed
Professional Business Coach, and the
President of Success Coaching & Business
Development based in Arizona. For 25
years I have been helping business leaders
develop, grow, and improve their
businesses. I specialize in helping owners
of small and medium sized service based
businesses make significant and lasting
improvements in the key areas of
marketing, sales, customer service,
profits, human resources, systems,
financial management, leadership, and
work/life balance. I have a degree in
Business Management and personal
experience growing a business from an idea
to multi-million dollar sales in just
three years. Call me today for a free
coaching session at (623) 225-7997
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