| |
| |
|
Online Advertising |
Guaranteed Targeted Website Visitors from just $0.45 per 1000. 24 Hour Unique Visitors, Online Stats, 30 Day Guaranteed. We offer Country Targeted or Mainstream Traffic at wholesale cost.: CLICK HERE |  |
|
|
Consistent Marketing Provides Big Rewards
Being inconsistent when it comes to marketing your business can be a recipe for disaster. Nothing is more irritating to a potential customer than inconsistency. When we consciously create consistent messages, brands, systems and communications, our customers begin to relax and know that we are trustworthy and reliable. This consistency enhances our marketing messages and fuels our marketing machine. Perception is everything. And, how you do everything, from completing projects on time, to returning phone calls is critically important when trying to build a strong brand. What can you do on a consistent basis that will rev up your marketing efforts? 1. Clarify your target market or niche. Your target market, also known as your niche, is the group of people to whom you wish to market your products or services. It is vitally important that you have your target clearly defined so that you aren't wasting your time doing activities that will not produce the results you're looking for. When you have a clearly defined niche, it's easier to craft marketing messages, materials, seminars and articles that will serve your clients and build your business. 2. Set up a time for returning phone calls to clients. It's really important, not only for your personal sanity, but also for creating a sense of consistency around your business operations, to set up a clearly defined time for returning telephone calls. First, from a personal energy standpoint, it's much easier and time efficient to return calls at one or two time intervals each day, than to react and respond to calls as they come in. You can "train" your clients or potential clients to understand how you operate, by simply leaving a message on your voice mail that you will return calls promptly twice per day. Of course, you can alter the schedule to fit your needs, but then you don't need to feel overwhelmed or overburdened reacting to every ring of the phone. 3. Create folders to handle email. Most people will agree that handling email is one of the most time consuming tasks. To deal more efficiently and effectively with the volumes of email you may be receiving, create email folders within your email program to handle the mail sorting. Almost every email program contains the ability to design custom email folders which email is automatically sorted into as they are received. You can create folders for your clients (by client name), vendors or suppliers you deal with, family members, as well as for newsletters or other frequently received materials. Whether you choose to categorize folders by names or subject matter, email folders will cut down the time consuming process of wading through one long list of emails. 4. Schedule email handling. Similarly to handling your telephone calls, it's important to set aside regular times to answer your email. It is so tempting to keep checking your email to see if you have any new mail or surprises! Unfortunately, that activity wastes your valuable time and is distracting to your mental energies. You may find that answering your email first thing in the morning, immediately after lunch and then at the end of the day (allocating no more than 30-minutes at each sitting, if possible) works well. No matter how tempting it might be, discipline yourself to look at email only at these times unless there is an overriding circumstance. Just like in the case of returning phone calls, this will allow you to keep your mental energies focused on the work you have to do. 5. Use a calendar system. Scheduling your activities, while it might sound dull or boring, is actually the best way to ensure that you are operating in an optimal way! To do lists are wonderful, however, to do lists get done faster when they're actually integrated into your calendar. Giving yourself due dates serves to motivate you and pull you forward to accomplishing things. When putting items from your to do list on your calendar, make sure you break each of these items in to smaller items which are easier to do. Completing shorter, smaller tasks will give you a sense of achievement that will help motivate you to move to the next step. Also, make sure you build in slack time by either scheduling it or taking each task and blocking out more than enough time to get it done. 6. Schedule creative time to balance your energy. You may have heard the phrase, "all work and no play makes us dull". Dull is not a quality that will lead to business success. Creative time gives you the space to re-vitalize your mind, body, and spirit - its playtime! Having time to balance out your energy is critical to your business success. It's important to have new ideas and points of view to keep your business perspective fresh. Using the calendar system described in Tip #5, make sure you schedule in creative time at least once per week. Creative time can mean different things to different people. Your creative time might consist of taking a walk, enjoying a bubble bath, reading through magazines or books for pleasure, or even listening to music. 7. Hire a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant or a VA, as they are commonly referred to, is a wonderful addition to any business operation. They can be just as valuable to a new businessperson as they are to one who is experienced. If you are feeling overwhelmed, or you don't have a skill in a particular area, instead of spinning your wheels and wasting valuable time, find someone who can help you out. A virtual assistant can be hired by the hour or by the project or even by some other creative arrangement. You don't need to hire a full-time assistant or consultant to get through some of the challenging issues in your business. 8. Use technology to your advantage. Technology tools will make your business operations much easier. One excellent tool you can use to save a lot of time and energy is auto responders. An auto responder is a system that allows you to automatically send information to your clients. Let's say that you have a free special report that you want to be automatically sent to anyone who requests it. Instead of manually processing each of these requests, you can actually set up an auto responder that automatically emails the report for you. 9. Creation in bulk. What do you do in your business that you do a lot of? Do you write a lot of articles, or marketing letters, or do you have a monthly newsletter or weekly eZine? In order to make the most of your time and ability to concentrate your energies, try to do many things at one sitting or over a one or two day period. We all know how hard it is to get started on a new project! It is a lot more efficient to write several months of newsletters or marketing letters in a single sitting than to do them at separate times. You'll feel great when you can sit back and see that you've accomplished a year of work in a day or two. And, don't forget to schedule this time in your calendar! 10. Consistent messages. Communicating a consistent message in your marketing is important to your business success. For example make sure you website, your email signature and your business cards and stationery all have the same look and feel. The fonts and styles and colors should all be similar. If you are serving different marketing niches, make sure that you have separate and distinct materials for each, including a separate website. Don't confuse your potential clients by communicating things that are inconsistent. If they are confused, then more than likely, they'll think that you are! © Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites. (You also can email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com.) http://www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com http://www.discninja.com http://www.InternetAssessments.com
MORE RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing Yourself and Your Business to Thriving! We all watch the commercials on TV. We hear them on the radio. Private Practice Marketing: A Soaking Wet Marketing Marvel Last week I took our two boys on an all guy vacation to the Nickelodeon Family Suites Hotel in Orlando. It's the only one of it's kind in the world, with two separate mini-water parks on site, with a mall in the middle. How To Make More Money The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by most outsiders. It is not reported in the media. Promotions That Build Profit Promotions are everything you do to let your customers know you exist. Good marketing techniques can help eliminate the "I didn't knows" from your clients and would-be clients. Marketing: Are You Focused? In early 1992, President George H.W. The Illusion of Print Mail Services If ever there was a lazy way to easy profits in mail order it hasto be the concept of letting someone else do all the work foryou. In theory, it works like this: You send a camera-ready circular or ad to someone who advertisesa print/mail service and they will print and mail it (along withmany others) to 1,000 to 25,000 names on their own list. The Power of a Survey How many times have you been asked to participate in a survey? If you are anything like me then the answer is probably hundreds. I am often being stopped in the street and invited to take part in a survey that will only take a few minutes. Mortgage Marketing - Viral-Email, Referral Marketing Strategy This is a devastatingly powerful way to extend your marketing reach. For this to work right you need a website that promotes your business. Wise Man Marketing It's a sunny morning and you're sitting in your office. With a cup of hot coffee by your side and memories of your last holiday still fresh in your mind, even if you say so yourself, today at least, life is sweet. Always Sell To New Eyes And New Ears One of the hardest things for you to do as an advertiser to do is to step into your prospect's shoes and really understand what makes him buy, and to find out how the prospect reacts to your marketing and advertising efforts. It's easy to get caught up in thinking that just because you spent $14,000 -- or $140,000 -- on your latest batch of ads that every person on Earth saw the ads and paid really close attention to them. Testimonials - FREE Quality Advertising FOR YOU! Every business person who has any kind of product or service, and the merest beginning of marketing sense, invites TESTIMONIALS. These might be called "reviews" or "peer reviews" or "customer comments" but they are all testimonials - a third party endorsement as to the merits of a product which helps another potential customer decide whether they wish to engage with this product or service. 3 Ways to Gain and KEEP Customers Using Postcards In today's competitive (sometimes cutthroat) marketplace, savvy business owners need to constantly look for ways to get and, more importantly, keep their customers. When used properly postcards offer a great opportunity to do both. Specialized Mailing Lists Make All the Difference If there is one thing I can't say enough it is that the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists - who to mail to - so that your mailing efforts aren't wasted. Practical Advice to Generate Successful Campaigns Using Merged Lists You could end up with poor results when designing a direct mail campaign that combines your inhouse list with one or more rented lists. Merging lists generates a set of conditions that you may not have thought about at the conception stage. Create A Business Card That Sells and is Effective Why does your business need a business card?Business card is a powerful piece of card handed out to your clients or given to you by someone which has all that information in such a small space. Business cards are an important part of any business and that gives a first impression of your business to anyone. Name the Top Cable Network When Cable began as Community Antenna Television in 1948, all it did was collect over the air TV signals and send them down a cable.When Cable networks began, so did Cable advertising. Terrific Titles, Happenin Headlines You've probably heard the slogan, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." It may be a sales pitch, but in the world of advertising and promotion, it's right on the nose. 5 Tips for Getting the Most out of Exhibiting at Trade Shows Exhibiting at trade shows can be a cost-effective way to generate business, whether you are a new entrepreneur or have been in business for years. Some exhibitors, however, do not experience the success of others. Fundraising Renewal Letters: Four Goals to Strive For With Each One You Write In the fundraising profession, appeal letters that you mail to existing donors are called renewal letters. They are designed to solicit a gift, but, more important than that, they aim to persuade your current donors to renew their support of your organization. Loyalty Cards Systems - Beware, Some Should Be Avoided Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor who was selling quite a number of his systems to restaurants. I was shocked to discover the lack of detailed information that this vendor catered for, and the opportunities the system he provided squandered.
|
| home | site map | bad credit loans |
| SUBJECTS: • Advertising • Book Marketing • Domain Names • Email Marketing • Ezine Marketing • Ezine Publishing • Internet Marketing
|