Extraordinary Business: Seven Steps to Thrive in a Down Economy - Step 2: Re-evaluate Your Marketing

Step Two... Re-Evaluate Your Marketing

In the last newsletter I talked about Step One - Work on your Mindset. I explained that the only way to reach your goals is to take ownership for everything happening in your business and if you've been making excuses or blaming you needed to find a way to stop that behavior or things will never change.

This week we'll specifically talk about your marketing programs and how to make sure you're getting the most from them. As I'm sure you're aware, marketing can be extremely expensive or a great investment depending on how well you manage it. So, let's manage it properly!

The first thing you MUST do is: Test and Measure.

Before you spend lots of money on a single marketing strategy, take it for a test drive and carefully measure the results. For instance, if you decide to use direct mail; instead of mailing to 50,000 homes and hoping the phone will ring, mail it to 1,000 homes and measure your results. To measure it, simply keep a piece of paper by the phone and ask everyone that calls, "how did you hear about us?" If they say, I got a postcard in the mail - voila! Make a "tick mark" on the paper. After a week or so, compile the total number of leads you recieved and make your decision. You may decide...

1) It worked great - send the rest

2) It worked okay - make changes to the marketing piece or tweak your list

3) It didn't work at all - scrap the idea and try something else

When you measure the results of your marketing and only do those things that consistently work, you will guarantee a great return.

The second thing you MUST do is: Stop All Image and Brand Advertising.

Brand or image advertising is advertising that doesn't make a direct offer or ask the prospect to take action. Examples of brand advertising could be putting a replica of your business card in a printed program, sponsoring an event or a team, or printing items with your logo and not distributing them properly.

This is a golden rule for companies that don't have an unlimited marketing budget or who need to drive revenue TODAY. When you don't put a specific offer in your advertising or ask your prospects to take action immediately, they may or may not do business with you right away. Can you afford to wait?

The third thing you MUST do is: Reconnect with Your Past Customers.

Why? It is far easier to sell to someone that you have established a relationship with, than to start from scratch. And, once again, if you have a limited budget it is far smarter to sell more to your current customers and reconnect with past customers because it will give you a much better return on money you are spending to market.

In fact, Jay Conrad Levinson, who wrote the book Guerilla Marketing, says that you should allocate your marketing budget like this:

60% On strategies that go after your current or past customers

30% On strategies that go after specific prospects in your target market

10% On strategies that go out to the "universe at large"

Obviously, if you are planning to reconnect, you need to know who they are. So, if you haven't been collecting that information it's time to start! And, if you do have names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, consider a strategy to reach out to them right away. If you connect effectively, it will mean more sales sooner than later.

The fourth thing you MUST do is: Look at Past Marketing & Promotions.

If you know your results from past marketing strategies consider whether they should be repeated. Many times business owners do something that works really well, but then they get bored and stop doing it. That's crazy! If something worked well for you in the past and you got a great return on investment, start doing it again!

Bottom Line: Re-evaluate your marketing efforts today and you'll be reaping the benefits of a significantly better return on investment tomorrow.

What is your greatest marketing challenge this month?

The next step in our series - Step Three: Upgrade your Sales Process and Sales Skills (coming in two weeks!)