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You know when your business is failing when...
You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be
appreciated.
YOU KNOW YOUR BUSINESS IS FAILING WHEN…
by Joann Marsili © 2001
Over the years, we have talked with many different types of
businesses. The businesses having the most difficulty being
successful inevitably have the same type of issues.
YOUR BUSINESS IS FAILING WHEN YOU....
Assume Everyone Already Knows What Your Business Is --
Just hang out your shingle and everyone will come running,
right?
Wrong! People won't notice you unless you take the time to
interest them in what you do. Consumers or businesses are
very busy just trying to go about their business. Tell
everyone what you are doing, give everyone your business
card, and volunteer to give presentations in your
specialty. In addition, don't qualify people
indiscriminately -- tell EVERYONE! The bank teller may have
a brother who is looking for exactly your product. You
never know where or how networking connections are made.
When people do express an interest, get their name,
address, and phone number and start a database of potential
clients. These people have pre-qualified themselves and you
need to find out how to sell your product to them. If you
sell to consumers, you might gather names through business-
card drawings, guest books, etc. If you sell to other
businesses, you might run promotional seminars or sign up
to display at a trade show.
DON'T PUT TOGETHER A MARKETING PLAN –
Who needs to market a business?
I'm in a great location and I can't afford the expense,
right?
Wrong! Marketing is the lifeblood of your business. There's
an old saying that goes "nothing happens until you make a
sale." If you have no one to make a sale to, you don't have
a business. Marketing dollars are not an expense; it is an
investment in the success of your business. Plan a monthly
marketing budget and then look for ways to cost-effectively
use your dollars. The decision on where to allocate your
marketing dollars will depend on what type of business you
have, where you are located, where your customers
come
from, and whether you offer a product or service.
Reading anything by Jay Conrad Levinson will help set a
framework for anyone involved in the marketing of a
business.
Take everything an advertising representative has to say at
face value. They understand advertising, so they are
helping me spend my dollars wisely, right?
Wrong! This is not a knock against advertising reps, but
you have to understand, they have sales goals to reach. If
making you spend your money with them will help them reach
their goals, they are going to push for your business.
Spending money on a certain media may not be the best way
to invest your marketing dollars. For instance, I had a
client that opened an organic grocery store in a top 50
metropolitan markets. Before I started to assist them, a
cable-advertising representative sold the store on a cable
network that reached viewers 20 - 50 miles away from them.
They spent most of the budget they set aside for the first
6 months of marketing on these commercials. In turn, they
had nothing left to spend on advertising in their own
backyard. When I audited their advertising, they didn't
even realize their commercial had never run in the same
marketplace as the store. Therefore, buyers beware. The
easiest way to prevent this from happening is to know your
market, know your customers, and talk to many different ad
reps from many different types of media. You'll usually get
a better view of how you can use the media to help your
business. Advertising agency and marketing firms will also
help you plan your media usage.
Joann Marsili has over 15 years of marketing experience
from which to draw for both traditional and on-line
guerilla marketing strategies. Her strength is
conceptualizing and strategizing a marketing plan custom
tailored for your business needs. Visit her web site at:
http://www.b2bstrategicmarketing.com or
mailto:marketing@b2bstrategicmarketing.com.
About the Author
Joann Marsili has over 15 years of marketing experience
from which to draw for both traditional and on-line
guerilla marketing strategies. Her strength is
conceptualizing and strategizing a marketing plan custom
tailored for your business needs.
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