Marketing Makeover Part 1

We’ve all seen the home shows where they take dilapidated old house, rip it apart, throw some money at it, and in 30 minutes (with commercials) take it from drab to fab! If only we could do that with our own homes, or body images, or small businesses!

It may take more than 30 minutes, but over the next six months, we want to empower you to view your business with the eyes of a power-packed marketing team–one step at a time. We will present some insider information, pose some questions for you to answer about your business, and challenge you to implement the changes necessary to get the response and results that you desire for your business.

This week, we will focus on the assessment component of developing and marketing plan. Whenever you’re building anything, the foundation is the most crucial part. As small business owners, you can often be too close to your subject–after all, you’ve taken it from nothing to something, making it difficult for you to observe and critique each and every move along the way. So here are some topics and questions to get you thinking.

• Audience Do you know your audience? We’ve discussed some of the details to consider about discovering your audience in other posts. Don’t assume that you know, but assemble the facts about who they are and how they make their decisions. Look at your products and services through their eyes, and be honest about how they see you.

• Market Share Now this can be an intimidating term, but it simply means: Who is your competition and where do you rank with that big audience? You may be one of three local widget producers–are you number one, two, or three? And again, how do you know? Don’t guess!
• Communication Vehicles How are you currently reaching your audience? And why? How effective are these current vehicles and is your new data pointing you in new directions? This is one area that evolves as new tools are developed. You may need to stop running that expensive phone book print ad and redirect those dollars to a stronger social media presence. Let the data guide you, and don’t be afraid to try something new.
• Goals and Tracking This could arguably be first on the list, but wherever it is in the order–make sure you don’t leave it out. You have to have a target and you have to have methods in place to track your efforts. Research, implement, evaluate, adjust–like we’ve talked about before, marketing is not a science, but it’s not a time to ignore the data that exists for you.

We want to challenge you to journey with us over this series of posts. If this inspires you to do-it-yourself and do your own makeover marketing plan–then GO FOR IT! On the other hand, if this inspires you to call us and let us do the heavy-lifting, then WE’RE HERE FOR YOU!

We welcome your questions or comments, too!