Every small business needs a current, actionable marketing plan! I believe that there are 5 key components to having a strong marketing plan. Here they are:
1. A Strong Marketing Message. The first question on the mind of a potential prospect is "Can I trust you." A good marketing message will answer that question in a compelling way. It should say something about your reputation, your experience, your training, your systems, and your guarantee. Once you write your marketing message you can package it and communicate in many ways. .
2. Know Your Best Marketing Channels. There are 100 or more ways to market your business. However, not all channels perform equally well. You need to experiment and find the 5-10 channels that work best for your business. This will be the focus of activity in your marketing plan. For my business, the channels that work the best are 1. Outside Speaking, 2. Seminars, 3. Referrals, 4. Community Networking, and 5. Thought Leadership (through publishing, PR, and social media).
3. Set Your Marketing Budget. Business owners need to create and operate by a budget. Part of that budget is an allocation for marketing expenses. By setting a budget you are more likely to discipline yourself to spend more wisely and effectively.
4. Create a Marketing Calendar. Once you know your best channels/mediums and you know your budget, you should then lay out your marketing activities on a timeline or calendar. Plan what you are going to do each week and/or month. By calendaring your activity you are more likely to generate a steady stream of new business leads.
5. Create and Monitor Your Dashboard. One of the biggest mistakes I see small business owners making is that they do not track and measure the performance of their marketing efforts. The way you do this is to create a "Dashboard" that identifies your activity and tracks to result of every thing you do. You should begin by tracking every new lead that comes your way. Where are they coming from? Evaluate every channel every week or month. Smart entrepreneurs know where every piece of new business comes from! They then spend more time and money on the marketing activities that generate the most and best leads.
For your business to be successful you must have a powerful lead generation system. That's what a good marketing plan does for you. Plan it, track it, measure it, and refine it. Learn to leverage your marketing plan! Also, a good business coach can be a great asset and investment to help you gain this leverage!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Living With Margin
Most small business owners suffer from a lack of "margin." I'm not talking about financial margin (although many suffer from that as well). I'm talking about margin in your life.
Many (if not most) of the small business owners I talk to are overwhelmed and over-worked. They got into business to have more fun, have more flexibility, and to make more money. But soon they find themselves working longer hours than they've ever worked before, feeling like a prisoner to their business. And for all their effort, they often end up making LESS money!
In our coaching we help these professionals improve their business so that they can make more money. But we also help them BALANCE their life! Part of balancing life is learning to build more "margin" into your day and your week. Here are some facts about time -
Your time is limited. You only have 24 hours in a day. Yet, all your time will be spent doing something! You can't save it, store it up for the future, or postpone. Time happens! And you can't stop it. As a result, somebody is going to determine how you spend your time! It may be your customers, your employees, your vendors, your friends, SOMEBODY!
My encouragement to you is to set limits on your workday! Yes, easier said than done. But we must all realize that everyday has limits. If you don't set limits for yourself you will soon discover that there is no margin, no space for rest, reflection, or relationships. The 3 R's (rest, reflection, and relationships) are what give us energy, purpose, and joy in life. But they are only found in margins.
Build margin into everyday. If you need help, get a coach!
Many (if not most) of the small business owners I talk to are overwhelmed and over-worked. They got into business to have more fun, have more flexibility, and to make more money. But soon they find themselves working longer hours than they've ever worked before, feeling like a prisoner to their business. And for all their effort, they often end up making LESS money!
In our coaching we help these professionals improve their business so that they can make more money. But we also help them BALANCE their life! Part of balancing life is learning to build more "margin" into your day and your week. Here are some facts about time -
Your time is limited. You only have 24 hours in a day. Yet, all your time will be spent doing something! You can't save it, store it up for the future, or postpone. Time happens! And you can't stop it. As a result, somebody is going to determine how you spend your time! It may be your customers, your employees, your vendors, your friends, SOMEBODY!
My encouragement to you is to set limits on your workday! Yes, easier said than done. But we must all realize that everyday has limits. If you don't set limits for yourself you will soon discover that there is no margin, no space for rest, reflection, or relationships. The 3 R's (rest, reflection, and relationships) are what give us energy, purpose, and joy in life. But they are only found in margins.
Build margin into everyday. If you need help, get a coach!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
How to Change: The Myth about will Power
When business owners and professionals decide that they need to make a change in their business or personal life, they typically try to muster up their "will-power" and start implementing a new behavior. This nearly always fails!
It has been reported that approximately 95% of all New Year's resolutions are broken by the end of January. Most people assume, when they fail to keep their resolution, that they did not have enough "will-power."
This typically leads to feelings of discouragement and defeat, resulting in less desire to try again down the road. The result is complacency and mediocrity in their business and life.
That is unfortunate because the reason they failed was not a lack of "will-power."
The fact is, your "will" actually has not power! The will is simply the human capacity to choose. Should I wear a white shirt or a blue one? we ask ourselves. Ultimately we choose the white one, and our will is the hinge on which the decision is made. But the "will" does not actually do anything.
The will is actually a responder! There are 3 primary influencers on the will. They are the mind, the body, and the social context.
First, what we think in our mind creates emotions, which lead to decisions or action. This is typically where the most important work has to be done to achieve lasting change.
Second, the body is a complex inner working of impulses that influence the will. Most of our bodily system runs without our help, but when the body has a need (i.e. food, water) it expresses itself to the mind through physical feelings (hunger, thirst) and alerts the mind to send a message to the will: Get food now!
Finally, the will is also influenced by our social context. We are highly influenced by the people around us. This is known as "peer pressure."
The will is neither strong nor weak. It is a responder to the mind, body, and social context. Please know that you are 100% responsible for your choices and actions. You MUST take personal responsibility for your behaviors. But if you want to truly change your behaviors, you must first change your mindset, and monitor/improve the physical and social influencers.
As you work on your goals and your business plan, process these ideas with a trusted friend or coach. This is the path to lasting change and improvement.
It has been reported that approximately 95% of all New Year's resolutions are broken by the end of January. Most people assume, when they fail to keep their resolution, that they did not have enough "will-power."
This typically leads to feelings of discouragement and defeat, resulting in less desire to try again down the road. The result is complacency and mediocrity in their business and life.
That is unfortunate because the reason they failed was not a lack of "will-power."
The fact is, your "will" actually has not power! The will is simply the human capacity to choose. Should I wear a white shirt or a blue one? we ask ourselves. Ultimately we choose the white one, and our will is the hinge on which the decision is made. But the "will" does not actually do anything.
The will is actually a responder! There are 3 primary influencers on the will. They are the mind, the body, and the social context.
First, what we think in our mind creates emotions, which lead to decisions or action. This is typically where the most important work has to be done to achieve lasting change.
Second, the body is a complex inner working of impulses that influence the will. Most of our bodily system runs without our help, but when the body has a need (i.e. food, water) it expresses itself to the mind through physical feelings (hunger, thirst) and alerts the mind to send a message to the will: Get food now!
Finally, the will is also influenced by our social context. We are highly influenced by the people around us. This is known as "peer pressure."
The will is neither strong nor weak. It is a responder to the mind, body, and social context. Please know that you are 100% responsible for your choices and actions. You MUST take personal responsibility for your behaviors. But if you want to truly change your behaviors, you must first change your mindset, and monitor/improve the physical and social influencers.
As you work on your goals and your business plan, process these ideas with a trusted friend or coach. This is the path to lasting change and improvement.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Fulfill Your Promise
At the heart of the World Class Company is its ability to satisfy the unconscious and perceived needs of its customer better than any other company can, not just by doing what any business is supposed to do, but by doing what it is not even reasonable to expect you to do. And to do that time after time. – Michael Gerber
Every business makes a promise to its customers. Every business markets a promise and sells a promise. But once the sale is made, it is the responsibility of the business to FULFILL its promise to the customer! And of course, this is what the customer cares about most!
I encourage every business owner to get crystal clear on the promise you are making. That is what differentiates your business from all the other companies who do what you do. The worst thing you can do is to become a “Me too!” business. That promise simply says “I’ll do whatever my competitor will do.” That is NOT a compelling promise!
Your promise must be both interesting and compelling! But it must be a promise that you can keep. Customer fulfillment means doing what you said you would do for your customer, and you must do it CONSISTENTLY, PREDICTABLY, REPEATEDLY, and with EXCELLENCE!
“But what if we make a mistake?” That is human and most people are understanding and forgiving, as long as it is corrected immediately and it isn’t repeated again and again! So you need a SYSTEM that insures that you will fulfill your promise every time with little or no mistakes! That is called your Customer Fulfillment System!
Whenever possible, you should do MORE than you promised! People are delighted when their expectations are exceeded! They become your promoters. The goal should be to turn every customer into a “Raving Fan.” Notice their reactions, watch their body language, listen to their voice. Every business should be driven by the hope and anticipation of this experience!
I am amazed at how many businesses are unaware of their impact on their customers! At a minimum, keep your promise. When possible, exceed your promise. Pay attention to your customers and be sure you KNOW their opinion of you!
Every business makes a promise to its customers. Every business markets a promise and sells a promise. But once the sale is made, it is the responsibility of the business to FULFILL its promise to the customer! And of course, this is what the customer cares about most!
I encourage every business owner to get crystal clear on the promise you are making. That is what differentiates your business from all the other companies who do what you do. The worst thing you can do is to become a “Me too!” business. That promise simply says “I’ll do whatever my competitor will do.” That is NOT a compelling promise!
Your promise must be both interesting and compelling! But it must be a promise that you can keep. Customer fulfillment means doing what you said you would do for your customer, and you must do it CONSISTENTLY, PREDICTABLY, REPEATEDLY, and with EXCELLENCE!
“But what if we make a mistake?” That is human and most people are understanding and forgiving, as long as it is corrected immediately and it isn’t repeated again and again! So you need a SYSTEM that insures that you will fulfill your promise every time with little or no mistakes! That is called your Customer Fulfillment System!
Whenever possible, you should do MORE than you promised! People are delighted when their expectations are exceeded! They become your promoters. The goal should be to turn every customer into a “Raving Fan.” Notice their reactions, watch their body language, listen to their voice. Every business should be driven by the hope and anticipation of this experience!
I am amazed at how many businesses are unaware of their impact on their customers! At a minimum, keep your promise. When possible, exceed your promise. Pay attention to your customers and be sure you KNOW their opinion of you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)