Ask Andi: How do we keep marketing on a tight budget? What do we continue or change? We know that when we stop marketing we’ll lose momentum. How much is enough, too much, or too little?
Thoughts of the day: Keep marketing in the mix, even when busy. Increase demand. Work on your marketing programs. Develop a specialty to pull new clients in. Keep in mind that in marketing, you need to have several initiatives going at the same time. Finding the money for marketing is essential.
Keep marketing in the mix
Marketing is a broad field. It is the one discipline that most business owners feel overwhelmed by. It’s hard to measure results, it takes time and persistence to get anywhere, there are lots of things to try, and mistakes can be costly.
It’s all about building a set of complementary activities that build awareness and increase the number of people who pay attention to you. Whether your business sells B2C (Business to Consumer) or B2B (Business to Business), marketing is all about grabbing individual eyeballs and keeping their attention fixed on your business.
Establish and stretch your budget
Keep marketing with this list of ideas to keep you going. Define one thing to accomplish in each area. Determine costs. Decide on the order in which to do each.
- Email information campaign
- Direct mail campaign
- Keyword advertising
- Logo, Look and Feel
- Print advertising
- Proposal development
- Public Relations
- Public Speaking
- Referrals Program
- SalesForce Tools, Handouts, Scripts, Qualification Process
- Telemarketing campaign
- Trade shows
- Vertical Market Plan
- Videos on YouTube
- Website development
Put emphasis on internet marketing tools, as they are generally the cheapest, but don’t avoid complimenting those efforts with hard copy and direct mail. Avoid the mistake of leaving marketing to last, as you plan your company’s overall budget, allocate resources, and think about the upcoming year’s plans. If your funds are very limited, pick 1 or 2 simple things to try.
Creative preference is held in the highest regard
While you know very well what your company does well, don’t assume your prospects are as well informed. Break your customers into groups. Define the common needs of each group. Gear a message to the specific needs of each of those groups. Make your product or service look like it’s customized to the group. Do research to find more companies with similar demographics. Ask your customers where and when they look for information about the products or services available from companies like yours. Use marketing tools to push customized promotions to specific prospects in the most likely venues.
Have several initiatives going at the same time. Work to build brand awareness and recognition. It takes 6-8 impressions to break through the noise and clutter. Then a target becomes aware of your company. Budget a campaign. Better to have multiple efforts targeted at a smaller group. Avoid one effort that targets a larger group. Start small. Test to see what gets a reaction. Build on success.
Marketing can be the fuel for the future growth of your business. If your business has new prospects, it can grow. Without enough clients in the door, it struggles. Put money, time, and effort towards marketing in order to build a strong pipeline of new business opportunities. As clients come in from one successful campaign, that builds the funds for the next marketing effort.
Looking for a good book? Incremental Marketing on a Micro Budget, by Michelle Chance-Sangthong
