Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

What?!?  Sabotage your own success?  Who would do that?  Well, you'd be surprised how many small business owners think they are effectively marketing their business, when in fact they are cutting their own throat.  

Yes, they may be running ads that are pulling in leads or customers.  And yes, they may be writing a regular column for their local newspaper so they are perceived as the expert in their industry.  And yes, they may even be doing a pretty good job of marketing on a regular basis to their prospect list.  

So if they are doing all of these things "right," how are they sabotaging their success?  Well there are lots of ways.  

Following are just a few of the ways small business owners unknowingly sabotage their own success.

(1) They have not taken the time to develop a marketing plan.  

A plan focuses your efforts and allows you to make the most of your marketing budget.  Unfortunately, you can market without a plan.  Yes, you read that right.  You can do it, and people do market without marketing plans everyday.  

But that does not mean you should.  To make the most of your marketing efforts and budget, make sure you take the time each year to create a plan.

(2)  They don’t have written goals 

Smart business owners have written goals and objectives for what they want to achieve with their business and for each of their marketing activities. I know this sounds b-o-r-i-n-g, but it's a fact.  

There is proof that people who put their goals into writing have a higher success rate than those who do not.  Plus, how can you develop a plan if you don't have concrete objectives?  You need a clear vision and target to aim for. You can't possibly determine what marketing or how much marketing you need if you don't know what you are aiming for.

(3) They have a short-term attitude.  

They are reactive in nature, and while on the surface it appears they are doing a lot of marketing, they are not doing anything consistently or long enough to make an impact. Running an ad or sending out your newsletter a few times and giving up when you don't get immediate results is worse than doing nothing at all.  

How so?  Because at least when you do nothing it doesn't cost you any money.  Pulling the plug too soon costs you money.  And statistics show it takes somewhere between three and 10 exposures to a message for the average consumer to notice it and take action.  So it is quite possible your audience was just beginning to take notice right about the time you threw in the towel!  

(4) They don't know their USP. 

Probably the worst way business owners sabotage their marketing efforts without even realizing it, is to NOT have a clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  

The greatest marketing plan in the world will not be effective if you have not clearly defined why someone should buy your product or service instead of all the other products or services available to them.  

If you have not figured out what is unique and better about your product or service, and found a compelling way to communicate this in everything you do, you can market 'til the cows come home and you will be wasting your time and your money

10 Tips to Banish Marketing Sabotage

(1)  Develop a marketing plan. Make sure you make it your number one priority to develop a marketing plan every year.

(2)  Write objectives. Write at least one objective that states what results you would like to achieve with your business over the next year.  And, write at least one objective for every marketing activity you undertake, that states what results you would like to achieve from that activity over the next year. 

(3)  Stay the course. Check in on your progress toward your objectives every three to six months, but give your plan a good nine to 12 months to work.

(4)  Determine your unique selling proposition and make sure it is represented clearly and in a compelling way in everything you do.

(5)  Don't try to be "everything to everyone."  Focus on a few specific benefits and a specific audience.

(6)  Track all of your marketing activities so you know exactly what is working and what is not working.  

(7)  Don't rely on one marketing activity. Employ a mix of several marketing activities to reach more people more times.  

(8)  Create a system to help you stay on track with your marketing activities every month and to help you plan ahead for future activities.

(9)  Create a realistic budget based on a percentage of your projected revenue, or the dollars you have available for marketing and stick to it.  Marketing is an investment in your business. You have to spend enough to make progress but not more than your business can financially support.

(10)  Understand your environment.  The economy, competition, the strength of your particular industry, your prospects' situation.  You have to understand them all so you can create an effective plan to either overcome obstacles or take advantage of opportunities.

Follow these guidelines and your business stands a much greater chance of succeeding.  All of these activities are part of a good marketing plan. And no business that wants to succeed should be without one.

Are You Missing Out on Free & Easy Marketing?

 Did you know there's something you do every single day that you 

could be using as an opportunity to market your business?

What is it?

Sending email. How many email messages do you send in a day? 

I recently went back and counted the messages in my Sent folder. 

I use several email accounts, but in just one of them I found an 

average of 10-12 messages a day. That's 70-84 message per week!

Two Chances for Free Promotion

Did you realize every time you send out an email, you have two 

opportunities to market your business?

#1 With Your Email Address

Take a look at the email address you're using for business. Are you 

using an email address such as "crazyjane@yahoo.com" or

"fitbodyhunk@hotmail.com"?

Okay, so I'm poking a bit of fun, but you'd be surprised at some 

of the email addresses I see. Granted some of them may be 

reserved for ezine subscriptions, but I also receive a lot of email 

from small business owners with these types of email addresses. 

So what's wrong with this?

Well, for one, they are missing out on a free marketing opportunity.

When you use an email address such as debbie@10stepmarketing.com  

you have the opportunity to get repeat exposure for your company 

name with every email you send out.

You Can Build Your Brand and Business

What, everyone you send email to already knows your business 

name? That's okay. It's good reinforcement. And it doesn't cost a 

dime, so why not do it? Plus, it presents a much more professional

image. It says you are a real business. Even if you are sending 

out your emails while wearing your pajamas in your home office. :-)

Use Your Web Site Domain Email Addresses

Ideally your web site domain should be the same as your business 

name. And you web hosting should come with at least a handful of

free email addresses. It's fairly easy to set up, but if you're not sure, 

check with your host. Odds are they've addressed it in their FAQs 

or online help.

#2 Use An Email Signature

The second way you can market for free is with your email signature.

Even if you don't have a web site, or if your web site address is not 

the same or similar to your business name, you can easily take 

advantage of this.

Set It Up Once ... Use It Everyday

Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express (and probably other email 

software as well) offer a Signature option you can program so every 

email you send is signed off with a consistent signature. 

Create Your Own Personal Signature

You will want to consider including some of the following information

in your email signature. I wouldn't suggest including all of this 

information or your signature will be too long. Pick what's important 

to you, and include information that represents how you want people

to contact you.

Your First and Last Name

Your Title (if appropriate)

Your Business Name

Your Tagline

Your Email Address

Your Web Site Address (include the http:// so it becomes a live link)

Your Phone Number

Your Fax Number 

Your Snail Mail Address 

An Invitation to Subscribe to Your E-newsletter, Ezine or 

Receive a Free Report (or any other free information you provide)

Following is an example of the email signature I include on every 

email I send out:

Debbie LaChusa

The 10stepmarketing System

“If you can answer 10 questions, you can

successfully market your business!”

619-334-8590 phone

619-334-8591 fax

debbie@10stepmarketing.com

http://www.10stepmarketing.com 

Subscribe to the free 10stepmarketing Ezine

to receive weekly marketing how-to articles, 

low-cost marketing ideas, tips and advice at 

http://www.10stepmarketing.com 

It Equals 70-80 Free Promos a Week!

By signing off all your emails with an email signature, you are 

constantly promoting your business. Plus your contact information

is right there if someone wants to get in touch with you. They don't 

have to take the time to look up your phone number or web site 

address.

A good email signature also clearly communicates to people what 

your business is all about or what you do.

Who Knows Where Your Email May End Up?

You never know where one of your emails is going to end up. It 

may be forwarded to someone who could just become your next 

subscriber or client.

Build Web Site Traffic With Special Promos

You can also use your signature to build traffic for your web site

by inviting people to visit your site to get a special report or to 

subscribe to your e-newsletter.

You can even use it to announce new products or promotions. 

In fact, I just changed mine today to promote my new 

Extreme Marketing Makeover program.

Your Email Address Format

Make sure the email address you are using is formatted something

like this: yourname@yourdomain.com

How To Set Up Your Email Signature

If you use Microsoft Outlook, simply go to the Tools option on 

your toolbar, click on Options, and then Mail Format. You'll see 

Signatures down at the bottom of the window. You can set up 

one, or as many as you want. You select the one you want to

use as your default and it will automatically be added to all your email messages.

By doing these two things, you will be building your brand and 

your business without spending any extra time or money.

Are You Derailing Your Business with Details?

 Details can kill your web business. And I'm not talking about details killing your business from the standpoint of being careless about them. While it's true that being careless can hurt your business, everybody knows that (even if they don't always put it into practice).

The way I'm talking about that details can kill your business is if you focus too much on them.

Say what?

How on earth can focusing too much on details hurt your business?

Ever tried to walk on a railroad track?

When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had a house right next to a railroad track. My uncle once challenged me to walk on the track without falling off.

Hey, it's not like walking a tightrope. That track was as wide as my feet. Should be no problem. So I started walking it, carefully watching my feet with each step to make sure I stayed on the track. But I couldn't get more than a couple of steps before I'd lose my balance and fall off.

My uncle taught me that the only way to walk that track successfully was to look at a point a ways down the track - not down at my feet. By setting a goal and focusing on it, I could walk on that track as easily as if I was walking right on the ground. It was only when I focused on my feet that I tripped up.

It works that way with business, too. Our natural reaction is to put all our attention into "watching our feet" as we deal with this short-term detail and that. But when we do that, we "fall off the track" of where we wanted to go.

Now, I'm not saying that we should ignore the details of our business as we gaze wistfully toward our vision of the knock-out business we dream of building. You never get anywhere without taking step after step after step to reach your goal. But you never get anywhere, either, if all you look at is the present step.

The point in the distance that you need to focus on is the need your audience has and the solution you have that will fill it. It requires you to understand your audience - who they are and what they need and what concerns stand in the way of them choosing your solution.

It's way too easy for us to focus on details, namely, on the latest traffic building tips or tools, the latest bells and whistles we can add to our site. Details are usually driven by facts, and facts are something we feel we can learn and control. Understanding the people who make up our pool of potential customers is a lot more scary. It requires us to step outside ourselves into the hearts and minds of other people.

Given the choice between dealing with predictable facts and details or dealing with unpredictable human nature, most of us will jump at dealing with facts any time.

But that just gets us stuck staring at our own feet as our feet inexplicably slip off the track. The only way to stay on track is by looking toward your ultimate goal: you helping people solve some problem in return for them repaying you fairly for the time and effort you put into it.

That's really the most simple definition of what business is. The details are not your business. The facts and the tips and the tools are not your business either. They're merely the steps you take to get to that point in the distance. And the more you take that to heart, the more easily you'll stay on the track toward your goal.

Angel Investor Groups

 Angel investor groups are acquiring better acknowledgment as primary patrons in early-stage industry, attaining eminent rankings in industry-related annual surveys of private equity investment firms for entrepreneurs. 

Angel assets are an up-and-coming part of the financial order, similar in significance to venture capital in the Seventies, according to experts in the field. Angel groups are starting to be viewed with importance by the present financial companies.  

An important angel investor group is the Band of Angels, a formal assemblage of 100 current and former high-tech executives who put in their time and money into fresh, progressive startup companies. Band members have established reputed companies like Symantec, Logitech, and National Semiconductor. 

Angels are characteristically high-net-worth persons or "cashed out" entrepreneurs who are involved in nurturing other entrepreneurs and are vigorously associated with the ventures they support, both pre-funding and post-funding. Recently, a growing number of angels have come together to develop angel groups, with a view toward putting together capital and investment proficiency.  There are an estimated 200 such angel investor organizations in the United States. 

Angel investor groups have emerged as important participants in offering equity capital to early-stage ventures. Angels have developed from investing as individuals and at times fashioning informal groups for particular investments, to forming official groups with vigorous venture-capital-like procedures. 

With the venture capital society becoming more complicated, angel investor groups have also changed according to the needs of the new situation. A majority of present day angel investors are highly enlightened about investments, due to the presence of experienced angel groups who have common performances.

Any individual angel investor can obtain an immense advantage from the group's expertise if he decides to become a part of a considerate group of angel investors.

Advice About Setting Up Your Own Business

 Are you thinking about setting up your own business? Have you an idea for a new business but are unsure about how to proceed? If you have answered yes to either of these questions, this article could be of benefit to you. I am going to write about how to plan and create a successful small business.

Many people are looking at ways in which they can become self-employed as they have had enough of being dictated to and fed up of long and frustrating commutes to work. They want the freedom of being their own boss and to be able to choose their own hours of work.

Leaving a full time career can be quite a scary prospect however. The security of having a regular income and other benefits such as a pension and a share save scheme can seem hard to let go. I am sure many people whether rightly or wrongly have opted to stick with this security and to merely keep their business plan as an idea, which they never see through or use.

Other people are willing and happy to take the risk and see it as a way of getting out of the rat race. 

When you have an idea for a new business you then need to think of a name to call it. I would keep this name quite short as it makes it easier to remember for people. It obviously needs to have something to do with the business sector you are entering.

You will now need to work out how much money you will need to set up the business. This can be quite daunting but is essential. In the short term I would advise to keep these start up costs as low as possible, you can always buy or rent better machinery in the future as an example.

Once you are aware of how much money you need, you then have to find it. You may have enough yourself via savings or a redundancy payout, however most people are not in this position. If you do not have enough money, you could try and raise money via the family, by seeking a partner or by releasing the equity from your house. There is also the option of a business loan.

The next stage is to market your product or service. There are many ways of doing this including:

The internet via a website

An advert in the newspaper

Direct marketing in the form of leaflets

An advert in the yellow pages

Exhibitions

Trade fairs

I would advise finding out where other people from your industry advertise as they will have tried and tested many of the above options.

You then need to work out how much to charge for your product or service. I always keep these charges fairly low at the outset in order to attract as many people as I can and to get some income in. I then hope that word of mouth will take over and the idea is that after a few months I will be in a position to increase my fees.

It is also important to realise that we will make mistakes along the way. When this happens we need to think positive and not to beat ourselves up. It is an experience we can learn from.

Always have belief in yourself. At times any business will go through a rocky period, this is when we need to be strong. In my opinion the more work we put in, the more rewards we are likely to obtain.

Self-discipline is one of the keys to your success. Being able to choose your own hours of work may seem like a dream but it can prove to be many peoples downfall. We have to ensure that we work the required amount of hours. It is far too easy to stay in bed for that extra hour or to arrange yet another game of golf. These things are fine once you are established, but this is a long way off at this stage.

A Whole New World

 If, like me, your career in life has not involved any form of marketing or selling, then to get involved in internet marketing is one hell of a giant leap.

I was first introduced into internet marketing through an email that I received twice weekly. I kept seeing an advert for something called GoogleAds. Now ,at this point, all I used the internet for was either playing games or just browsing in general for any information that I needed on any subject matter under the sun.

The advert said that all I needed to do to make any money was place adverts onto Google’s search engine and people would buy products and I would receive a generous commission. Simple ,I thought ,that is until you try it as an uneducated marketer.

I lost more money than I made, but this can be quite normal for the beginner. I accepted the fact that I had lost money but vowed to continue looking for something that I could do.

So, being curious about money making on the internet I decided to investigate further.

I came across many money making opportunities that promise this that and the other, which I am sure a lot of you have seen yourselves.Anyway, after a while I found an offer that I thought I could try out and see what happens without losing an absolute fortune.

After starting a venture into internet marketing for the first time you will find yourself seemingly lost in a world of information. There is so much to learn and so many ways to learn it.

It takes time to learn what you need to know about internet marketing And I don’t think that there are any real secrets, just techniques.

On the internet there are thousands of people trying to make money and they are all either making new products or looking for products to help themselves financially. There are endless programs and E-Books and ideas available that try to help you succeed in whatever money making business you are involved in.

I am not trying to promote anything here, I am just trying to say that when you go into internet marketing, take your time, learn, read, re-read, and learn again.

Nothing is right if it is not right for you.

If you don’t fully understand something, keep asking questions until you do understand it or don’t do it.

There is no easy answer for the beginner, it is just a matter of that person finding out what is right for them. I just hope that anybody who tries internet marketing for the first time takes my advice on board and succeeds.

A Simple Get Rich Quick Idea

 In the immortal words of Emmerson, "all I need is one idea" Overnight wealth has a certain stigma that "sensible" people seem to be resistant to. The idea of the get rich quick variety is an object of ridicule and derision in alot of peoples eyes. However, with a little focused action and the right knowledge, rapid wealth is not only possible for you, but inevitable for the determined. 

The first thing I want to do is qualify the above by saying "quick" means several years not overnight. Sure, you could write a hit song or contemporary book but these have alot to do with chance. People with determination generally don't like chance because control is a solid aspect of wealth generation. 

Anyone can have an idea. By that I mean virtually any idea can become workable unless its just totally "out there" What matters is that you act. But more then that, before you act, you must know how to make it work. Thats really what most people with a good idea lack. 

So knowledge again is where the central workability comes from. So let me give you some knowledge right now. The knowledge of the wealthy. There are many ways to get rich very rapidly but I offer you an example below and some insights about what the wealthy know and have known for centuries. 

Arbitrage is a concept that you should learn more about. Its a word that circulates in financial circles and is therefore obscured to the average person as just some odd french word that the stock market people use. 

The truth is that arbitrage is the single biggest idea about wealth that you should understand. Doing an arbitrage deal is literally this........If I offered you 70 cents for your crisp clean dollar note would you take the deal? What if you had $100,000 and I had $75,000 and I said look, let me deposit this money into your account in exchange for your money? Straight swap. How would you feel about that? 

Well I imagine you'd say no. I wouldn't blame you, its hardly a fair deal. Arbitraguers do this all day long. But this is the difference. 

We deal in value and perceptions not numerical currency like cash. Or we deal wholesale and sell retail. There are hundreds of ways that I can swap my 70 cents for somebody elses dollar. 

The wealthy have practiced arbitrage for as long as currency existed because arbitrage is the secret road to wealth. A secret that will never be openly talked about because it is so tightly held. My little contribution here will do nothing to change that balance, but consider yourself fortunate to learn about this and maybe it will spurr you on to a new life. 

Here is a real world example of arbitrage that I practiced many years ago, when I was starting out broke, dejected, but hopeful. 

It wasnt long ago but seems like centuries ago. Its pre-history now. One form of arbitrage is the concept of economies of scale. This arbitrage strategy relies on a single fact. An irrefutable reality about fiscal life on the planet earth. Here it is. When you buy something (of anything) in bulk, you are entitled to and more often then not get a very large discount on your purchase. When this bulk amount is "split up" and re-sold in traditional more popular chunks, your investment will return a decent profit. 

So here is a get rich quick idea. One you can use right now to establish an income stream to replace your daily job. It can be reproduced and systemized to manufacture a very healthy income indeed. 

When you look at newspaper and local journal price lists, you will notice they are very yielding to this concept of economies of scale. Simply a small ad may cost $140 for example. But buy a full page and you only pay say $900. Why? because its less work for the publication. Well my idea was to start a weekly page called "Martins Market" I approached 200 business owners face to face and told them they can get a small ad in my one page spread "Martins Market" for just $90 a full $50 cheaper then if they bought their ad from the paper directly. Do you think this offer interested a good percentage of the business owners I approached? You bet! Not only that, but they got a further discount if they paid up 6 months in advance. 

I could fit 40 ads of that size onto my page. Being filled up, I made $3600 every week for an outlay of $900 for the page. I added value with nice graphics and the page got quite well recieved as my clients reported good returns from their ads. This was reproduced 20 times around the country, with 2 sales staff for every "Martins Market" I was netting close to $20,000 per week for a fairly lengthy period. 

You will need a few dollars to try this, but its inevitable that if you do your research properly you can make this work and get exactly the same results.