Over the years, I've heard countless small business owners utter the phrase, "We get most of our business from referrals." or "We don't do any advertising...our customers come to us." As a marketing and advertising consultant, businesses who rely on referral marketing alone make me cringe a little (okay, a lot). I understand the logic behind their perspective. They are some of the … [Read more...]
12 Marketing Tips for a Successful Year
For those companies without the luxury of a large sales and marketing department, I thought I would gift you with 12 ideas (one for each month of the year) on how to positively impact your marketing results in the coming year. Refresh your Brand: Is your current company brand up to par? Consider revising or re-designing your company’s logo. If you have a logo you’re happy with, make sure … [Read more...]
How to Keep Your Local Business Thriving
As a marketing consultant, I help coach small businesses how to succeed in this competitive marketplace. So I have seen the confusion business owners face when trying to determine how to raise awareness in the community for their store or their services. Whether it’s a local retail shop or business-to-business operation, they face many of the same issues. “Where do I put my advertising dollars so … [Read more...]
The Secret Approach for Marketing Success
For business owners looking to make a quick profit off of a shotgun marketing approach, I have three words for you: It takes time. No matter what kind of advertising or marketing or communications you do to promote your business, if you don’t put enough time into testing your chosen tactic, you won’t see the success you desire. Let’s take the case of print advertising, such as advertising in … [Read more...]
10 Steps to Better Business Writing
When I read most of the small business copy these days, frankly I'm a little bored. It's the same, product-focused, third-person language that I've read for years in advertisements, web copy, print brochures and more. As a business with a unique product or service to sell, how can you spice up your writing to help you stand out against the herd of ho-hum marketing writing? Here are 10 ways to … [Read more...]
Marketing Strategy – Start with the End in Mind
When deciding how to create and spend your marketing budget, it makes sense to take a step back and evaluate your current business, your goals and customers. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you look back on your previous year in business: How did your business perform overall last year? Did we attract new customers? If so, from where? Did we retain or sell to … [Read more...]
What is Content Marketing?
You may have heard the term ‘content marketing’ floating around lately, but how many of you know what it means, and how to apply this strategy to your business’ marketing plan? First of all, to understand content marketing as a strategy, we need to define content marketing. All forms of advertising have content, of course. Types of marketing content include: Headlines Taglines or … [Read more...]
Yard Signs: Not just for Realtors and Politicians Anymore
In the Indianapolis area, there is something I’ve noticed a lot more of in the last few years: yard signs. Formerly, when you would see a sign on the lawn of your neighbor’s house, it was announcing the house was for sale, the location of an upcoming garage sale, or to show support of a particular local or national political candidate. There are many advantages of using yard signs, including: … [Read more...]
Your Biggest Business Challenge: Marketing
Over and over again, small business owners – from startups to seasoned pros – when asked about their biggest business challenge – admit that they struggle when marketing their businesses. Why do companies have so much trouble in this area of their business? I have some ideas on why this occurs, and what business owners can do now to change their fate. Are you making one of these marketing … [Read more...]
Doing without a Marketing Plan
Why are small businesses today going without marketing plans (and why is it a bad idea?) When I talk to Indiana small business owners about their marketing strategies, I often get a blank stare. Many of them don't have a formal marketing plan, but rather some marketing ideas they've written down or advertising tactics they've tried. They are looking to me for answers or a "quick … [Read more...]
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