By: Kelly Robbins
Any time of year is a good time to evaluate your marketing vision. Along with this comes goal setting and planning for your company's future. Leading indicators show small businesses are paving the way to economic recovery for the United States in 2004. Are your post-recession marketing strategies in place? Have you recently re-evaluated your marketing messages? Things have changed since the recession began over two years ago and now is a good time to strengthen the messages you have in place, if not change them altogether.
If you do these few things, you'll be four steps ahead of your competition and ready for the challenges the future will bring.
- Be able to explain what you do to a total stranger. . .in one sentence. This sentence should clearly convey what makes you different from everyone else in your field. What is your unique selling proposition? When someone asks what you do for a living, "I'm a Realtor" doesn't make you stand out from the rest of the pack. "I help homeowners find the house of their dreams with little stress and virtually no paperwork" differentiates you. In the sales world, this is known as your "elevator pitch." If you were riding in an elevator with your ideal prospect, could you explain what makes you different than all the other realtors in the world in the seven seconds you have together? Pique your prospects' curiosity and encourage them to ask more about you. With a strong, descriptive statement, who wouldn't want to learn more about you?
- Really know your target audience. It's great to know your typical customer is a 35-50 year old man that makes about $100,000 a year. But do you know what they like to do? Do they hunt or fish, or are they more interested in politics? What are their hobbies? Where do they shop and eat? Doing a little research on this may help you uncover deeper marketing opportunities, or it may help you discover a niche you didn't know you had. This may seem like information only the largest of companies have access to, but it's not. You don't need to conduct expensive focus groups to gather this information. Gather the information through casual conversations on the phone and write them down. You may see a trend. Another option is to offer your customers incentives to complete a questionnaire. Sometimes something as simple as looking at your customers can tell you a lot about them. Do many of them have crew cuts or wear skirts and heals? Were most of them in the armed forces when they were younger? Do they have children? What does this tell you about them? How you acquire the information doesn't matter; the key is to thoroughly understand your customers and what interests them, and then position your messages to them accordingly.
- Evaluate your current methods of communication. Now that you have clearly defined your target audience, should you change your communication channels? Do your marketing pieces directly communicate your strengths to your target audience? Are there any other ways you can communicate to these people? Think about how many ways there are to talk to your customers: print, online, phone, postcards, e-newsletters, websites. . .the list is endless. Is there a company you can partner with now that you have clearly defined your target audience? If you are a realtor and you realized the majority of your clients play tennis, could you sponsor a local tennis tournament or give gift certificates to a sporting goods store for referrals? Any connections you make with the common link---in this case tennis---will help strengthen the relationship you have with your customers.
- Think Big. When making plans for next year, don't hold anything back. Aim for the biggest deals and the largest customers. Network as high as you can. Push yourself to achieve a higher level of success. This keeps you on your toes and forces you to work at a higher level than your competitors. If you keep your attitude positive and your confidence up, people will notice and want to be a part of it. Your customers will see the energy, success and growth around you and want a piece of it. Incorporate your vision into everything you do, especially your marketing plans, and you will see success.
Having strong, clearly articulated marketing messages is key to prosperity. Re-evaluate your marketing messages and be prepared to succeed, and have your marketing initiatives in place from the get go.
Again, the four things to give your small business a head start are:
- Know who you are and what you do down to one succinct sentence.
- Learn what makes your target market tick.
- Make sure you are communicating to them through the best channels.
- Think BIG.
About the Author
As seen in the Denver Business Journal, syndicated columnist Kelly Robbins is a copywriter and marketing consultant. Sign up for her e-zine The Small Business Buzz at www.kellyrobbinsllc.com/smallbusinessbuzz and learn essential marketing strategies to skyrocket your sales. Free to BWA members. Kelly can be reached at 303-460-0285 or at Kelly@KellyRobbinsLLC.com.
©2003, Kelly Robbins LLC
