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marketing planning

SIFTING THROUGH THE MARKETING CHAOS

by Cidnee Stephen on November 29, 2011

I was having lunch with a peer the other day and we were talking about how incredibly different today’s marketing tactics are from even 5 years ago. Quite frankly all these new shiny objects seem to be overwhelming small businesses instead of helping them grow their client base. This isn’t because they are in ineffective, but because there are so many, and business owners are unclear as to what the heck they are supposed to be doing with them. Here’s what I hear a lot lately. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

Do I need a Google+ Business page now? I don’t even know what Google+ is.

I’m on Facebook and posting regularly but not seeing any results.

I hate my website! Should changing it be my main focus?

I am 10 pages away from the first page of Google – I need to fix this now!

Direct Mail is dead.

I will NEVER Twitter.

I’m on LinkedIn but I really don’t want to connect with ½ those people approaching me!

I’ve tried EVERYTHING and NOTHING works!

It’s sad. There have never been more affordable and effective marketing tools at the fingertips of small businesses, and yet here we are – overworked, overwhelmed and feeling completely FRUSTRATED!

You know I’m going to tell you to start with strategy. Strategy always pays off. You know I’m going to also tell you to get your branding and content strong and consistent so you are effective in converting leads. ONCE you have done this and are READY for TACTICS then…..

Take a deep breath, relax and regroup. There is a great analogy you may have heard. “How do you eat an elephant (or for you vegetarians, think an entire vegetable patch)?” The Answer – “One Bite At A Time.” It’s time to stop trying to eat the elephant for tonight’s dinner and determine what bite you want to take first.

In other words you want to avoid being the Jack of all Marketing tactics, the master of none. You don’t need to master them all to be successful. Pick 1 – 3 you want to master this year – that’s it!

So where do you start?

Start with one(s) that you enjoy

 and

one(s) that provides you a big bang for your buck (and your time)

You might be thinking okay I know what I enjoy, but how the HECK do I know if it’s going to pay off?

Ask yourself this:

Do I feel I have control over the results (in other words, where I do it, how much I do, when I do it, etc.)?

Can I afford to do it consistently both in time & money – day or week in & day or week out?

Do I know other business owners similar to me who have had results doing this activity that I can glean advice from or pay to help me?

If you can answer yes to these 3 questions…you are on the right track to finding a high pay off activity. Start there, stick with it and let the other shiny objects sit in your toy box for now!

 

 

Feel free to use this article as long as you include the following:

by Cidnee Stephen of Strategies for Success www.strategiesforsuccess.ca

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Happy Planning

by Kristen Langham on December 30, 2008

I read a really useful post by Brad Sugars on Entrepreneur.com the other day and it reminded me of what Tim Berry and John Jantsch often have to say.  The post was about marketing planning and listed five things to avoid when putting your plan together. These words particularly caught my eye:

A good marketing plan is like a battle plan or a game plan; it should serve as a guide and a blueprint for the actions you need to take to grow your business. It should also have some flexibility because as you start testing and measuring tactics, you’ll need to shift strategies from time to time, to capture or gain share in a particular market. That said, a good plan doesn’t need to be complicated.

This post resonated with me because planning is what we ‘preach’, but it also resonated with me because it is so true. John Jantsch, marketing guru, always has tips on how to effectively market your business, and Tim Berry, business planning expert, always has tips on how to effectively plan and create a business or marketing plan. So much of what Brad had to say seemed to align perfectly with what John and Tim regularly blog about and teach.

As you enter into 2009 and think about how to keep your company charging forward, think about your marketing plan. Have you truly thought about and narrowed down your ideal customer? Do you have a marketing budget or know how much your marketing initatives cost? Do you have a handle on how to acquire new leads and customers? Are you tracking your progress? Make sure you have some sort of plan in place – but be flexible and know it is not set in stone. It is simply a guide to help you get to where you want to go and see your business succeed.

Happy planning in the New Year!

Kristen Langham
Manager of Business Development
Palo Alto Software, Inc.

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