If you only ever pay heed to one thing I give you, then let this omne thing be it.
If succeeding in business is important to you, then there is no alternative but to take small business marketing very seriously indeed, and to educate yourself to become very, very good at it. Frankly, the level of marketing expertise I see displayed by most small business owners is embarrassing.
At best they have a blurred idea of what they're up to; at worst they simply keep fingers crossed things will turn out well.
But, as I say often: marketing is the most important activity you can do in your business. Because no marketing means no clients; no clients means no cash flow ... and no profit means you rapidly have no business left!
In this artice I want to dispel the myths about your marketing. You must understand these ARE myths if you want to make your marketing successful.
Small business strategy secret # 1: Marketing makes money
Most small businesses operate with a marketing budget. That's mistake No. 1, and a very dangerous small business strategy. Yes, you read that correctly: I am saying you should be willing (and even eager) to lay out an unlimited sum of money in your marketing.
Here's why: marketing is expected to make money. If it doesn't, you shouldn't be doing it. So, if it makes money, then from that it follows for every pound you put in, you get more than a pound back, right?
We call that your ROI Just like the bank paying you a premium
Small business strategy secret # 2: Grab the keys to the Mint!
OK, now let's pretend you have this marvelous marketing system and you know from experience there's a 90 % probability every time you run it you're going to make a handsome profit. A nice place to be, right?
Right. (Any business can do this, and every business SHOULD).
My question is this, and it refers back to the point above: given you have a system faithfully and on a regular basis pumping out more money than you're putting into it, why on Earth would you want to limit your commitment to an arbitrary budget? Clearly, you wouldn't.
Nope. If you had any sense at all you 'd keep pressing that button like a rat with a wire in its head giving it the shots of "happy juice"
This is exactly what happens when you have a proper small business strategy and a tried, tested, and proven marketing system.
This is one of those "too good to be true" things that genuinely IS true. Deal with it.
Small business strategy tip # 3: Test first, dive in later
But, be smart about this. Begin with small tests and monitor responses like a hawk watching a mouse. And even when you have a certain method that works, don't risk more than you can stand losing, because the unforeseen happens, and you don't want to be cleared out by bad luck falling on bad judgement.
That's why you should allocate your "budget" as a fraction of turnover, but always be prepared to change the figures as circumstances dictate.
More than once small business owners have said to me they can't do any more marketing this year on the grounds that they don't have the budget for it, even though their marketing is making them a profit. Some years ago, right at the beginning of the 2007 recession, I heard a real estate agent say she was stopping all of her advertising, even though it was the only thing bringing in business. Now THAT is insane..
Crazy.Entirely insane and a small business strategy beneath contempt.
Small business strategy idea # 4: make sure your marketing pays (here's how)
So how do you know when your marketing is working?
When it's profitable.
How do you know that?
By ruthlessly and consistently recording and measuring everything you do.
Thus lies the problem for most small business marketing: they record and test not a single thing. Rather, they model the "big boys" and churn out useless "image" and "brand" marketing which can not be evaluated in terms of results. And small business owners can't afford the luxury of ineffective marketing.
So the trick is to design your small business strategy so you may find out where every sale you make originated. By doing this, you know what's working and also what's not working.
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Jon McCulloch is Ireland's top direct response expert. Visit his website and take just 3 of the 52 FREE small business promotion ideas he's giving away now, and actually put them to work in your business and you'll be amazed by the results.
They've all produced substantially improved results for businesses just like yours in the last two years.
Get your tips here: => http://www.small-business-marketing-tips.com/52-small-business-marketing-ideas
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