Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Atricle Dump - 11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
By covering these areas before you get started, you will ensure yourself of not having any major problems down the road. One of the biggest reasons that companies and providers have a hard time getting along is because they do not ask the appropriate questions up front.Listed below are the five critical questions to ask, and points to discuss before you get started on your project.1. Both companies and providers should ask the other for background information before any agreement is put into place. By doing this, you will ensure yourself of knowing who you are dealing with. It is common place for companies to ask providers for a resume, work samples, and a past list of clients. This will allow you to learn as much about the person and their experience as possible. But on the other side, many providers often times forget to ask questions of the party that is going to be hiring them. This can turn out to be a huge mistake. There are a lot of companies that are not financially stable, and may have a hard time paying you according to terms. By gathering information about the company that is hiring you, you will be able to find out if here are any special circumstances that you should be aware of.2. In any business transaction there is money that is going to be exchanging hands. For both parties, this is often times one of the most important points of the project. The first t
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
Who would be the best person to target if you are looking for a pharmaceutical sales job? A recruiter? Somebody from human resources? Actually, neither. The best target will always be the person who will make final hiring decisions for pharmaceutical sales positions which is the district sales manager. I know this for a fact since I was a sales manager and most of the pharmaceutical sales representatives I hired for my district were ones who sent their resumes directly to me rather than go through a recruiter or human resources.Lately, there have been numerous resume services to distribute resumes to all sorts of recruiters, human resources people and other targets that are distant from the sales managers. These distribution services try to convince their customers that having their resumes blasted all over the place is a step in the right direction.The real question is whether the candidates are really better off using such resume distribution services. Let’s put it this way, the resume distribution services are available to anyone who is willing to pay. Customers using these services will be just like all others who pay to get their resumes fired out there and there will be lots of people in the same boat. It’s an easy way to get resumes out and as a result, everyone will be doing the same thing.Rather than separating oneself from the rest of the crowd as
MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 1: Sinking a Fortune Into an Unproven Product
Is your business idea built on market research or a hunch?
Entrepreneurs often fall in love with their products or services before they determine if there's a real market, and they throw fistfuls of money into the venture. If you, your spouse, your uncle, and your neighbor think you've got a winning idea, that's simply not enough qualified input to run to the bank and drain your savings account!
Avoid this mistake by:
- Conducting your detective work (research).
- Testing your business idea with the real marketplace.
Do you think you have a product or service that will practically sell itself?
Trust me - you don't.
There is a misconception among small business owners that, with the right product or service, your customers will simply "find" you when you open your doors for business. Whether you have a physical storefront on a corner lot in the busiest part of downtown, or a graphically pleasing online storefront offering easy access to your hot products and services, your customers will not find you if you do not market to them.
The day you open for business is the day you put on your "marketer's hat" and never take it off. You must consistently move product, or schedule service time.
To stay in business you must profit.
To profit you must sell.
To sell you must market.
The good news is that, with a marketing strategy, you take the control out of your potential customers' hands and put it into your own. If you have a product that will "practically sell itself," then your marketing job will be easy. Just remember that the job must still be done.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Defining your niche market and USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that differentiates you from your competition.
- Developing a marketing action plan and strategy to reach your niche market with your USP message.
Marketing is an age-old practice with some very basic principles. Yet, I'm sure you've read many marketing information products that stress the importance of being innovative and creative with your marketing efforts. It's easy to get caught up in the innovation process and forget that the REAL focus should be on results.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Emulating success instead of trying to create something completely new. Please note that I am not saying, "copy" what others are doing. Look at the basic structure of a tactic, campaign, advertisement, or event and use the same formula as a basis for developing your own tactics.
- Realizing great marketing ideas are used over and over again with just the right twist to make them fit a specific business. Focus on results, and choose imitation over innovation to create your own twist on a proven, winning technique.
The fear of failure can be powerful. So powerful that we do everything we can think of to prevent it. Yet, there is a point at which we are so busy preparing, organizing, and researching to prevent failure that we never get around to the actual marketing of the business. Here are two things to remember:
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
There are two types of trade show display manufactures that you must be aware of. Some of them simply take pre-built display systems that could be pop-up, panel, or any of the other kinds and then customize them with certain graphics or other accessories that a customer might require. On the other hand, for those companies that have more specific requirements for their trade show display, there are custom display booth manufacturers who first design a display system in tandem with you and then build it from complete scratch. These kinds of booths are much more costly and are also typically only bought by companies that are quite large and who also attend trade shows regularly.Most trade show displays and equipment is sold by vendors and also directly from the manufacturers. More often than not the dealers allow you to make direct comparisons, as they usually carry models from a number of different manufacturers. The advantage with buying from the manufacturers and the custom display builders is that they are much more likely to be capable of making any repairs that you might require. Those manufactures that resell pre-built systems may just be able to carry out some simple repairs at the site of the display. In case you have a more serious repair you would then have to get your display shipped to the manufacturer or their repair facility.Some trade show display manufactu
Trust me - you don't.
There is a misconception among small business owners that, with the right product or service, your customers will simply "find" you when you open your doors for business. Whether you have a physical storefront on a corner lot in the busiest part of downtown, or a graphically pleasing online storefront offering easy access to your hot products and services, your customers will not find you if you do not market to them.
The day you open for business is the day you put on your "marketer's hat" and never take it off. You must consistently move product, or schedule service time.
To stay in business you must profit.
To profit you must sell.
To sell you must market.
The good news is that, with a marketing strategy, you take the control out of your potential customers' hands and put it into your own. If you have a product that will "practically sell itself," then your marketing job will be easy. Just remember that the job must still be done.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Defining your niche market and USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that differentiates you from your competition.
- Developing a marketing action plan and strategy to reach your niche market with your USP message.
Marketing is an age-old practice with some very basic principles. Yet, I'm sure you've read many marketing information products that stress the importance of being innovative and creative with your marketing efforts. It's easy to get caught up in the innovation process and forget that the REAL focus should be on results.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Emulating success instead of trying to create something completely new. Please note that I am not saying, "copy" what others are doing. Look at the basic structure of a tactic, campaign, advertisement, or event and use the same formula as a basis for developing your own tactics.
- Realizing great marketing ideas are used over and over again with just the right twist to make them fit a specific business. Focus on results, and choose imitation over innovation to create your own twist on a proven, winning technique.
The fear of failure can be powerful. So powerful that we do everything we can think of to prevent it. Yet, there is a point at which we are so busy preparing, organizing, and researching to prevent failure that we never get around to the actual marketing of the business. Here are two things to remember:
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
The golden age of advertising may be just ahead of us. This is according to Catherine Bension, CEO of Select Resources, one of the largest advertising agency search consultants in the world. Bension presented at a recent ad industry conference in Milan, Italy on behalf of Worldwide Partners (www.worldwidepartners.com). This is an interesting thought to ponder, given the complexities the proliferation of media has brought to advertisers.Consider for a moment how difficult it is becoming for marketers to consistently get their messages in front of their most important audiences. With myriad choices, many advertisers are less visible to their core audiences. A primary reason is that consumers are not consuming media in the ways they did even five years ago. While time in front of video screens is increasing, these screens now include e-mail, Internet web searching, video games, and DVD movies. While much television is viewed, TIVO is giving consumers control to skip over commercial messages.As a result, it is more important than ever that all elements of advertising programs work from the same central theme or idea. Since reach and frequency needs are no longer met by using traditional media methods, an effective program requires that messages rigorously reinforce each other at every point of consumer contact. Given the way most advertisers are organized, this is a tall
Avoid this mistake by:
- Defining your niche market and USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that differentiates you from your competition.
- Developing a marketing action plan and strategy to reach your niche market with your USP message.
Marketing is an age-old practice with some very basic principles. Yet, I'm sure you've read many marketing information products that stress the importance of being innovative and creative with your marketing efforts. It's easy to get caught up in the innovation process and forget that the REAL focus should be on results.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Emulating success instead of trying to create something completely new. Please note that I am not saying, "copy" what others are doing. Look at the basic structure of a tactic, campaign, advertisement, or event and use the same formula as a basis for developing your own tactics.
- Realizing great marketing ideas are used over and over again with just the right twist to make them fit a specific business. Focus on results, and choose imitation over innovation to create your own twist on a proven, winning technique.
The fear of failure can be powerful. So powerful that we do everything we can think of to prevent it. Yet, there is a point at which we are so busy preparing, organizing, and researching to prevent failure that we never get around to the actual marketing of the business. Here are two things to remember:
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
I remember this as though it were yesterday.The images are so clear in my mind: The impeccable dark blue suit, the splashy patterns on a light blue tie and the brilliantly polished black shoes; the suave demeanor, the hypnotic delivery, and the engaging stories.I remember how we sat perched on our chairs watching his every move, listening to every nuance of his intonation, not wanting to miss a word.We smiled at every promise and laughed at every joke and vicariously experienced his life as he revealed it to us.When you have these “aha” moments, you have to capture them. Otherwise they slip into oblivion. Otherwise…before you know it, your old scarcity thinking has taken over -- and you’ve missed that moment when the crack between your past and your future opened up…a precious moment when you could have slipped through and changed the pattern of your reality forever.That day, I believe, everyone in the warm, friendly room experienced this type of epiphany.It was a quantum leap from our limited view of money to the unlimited view of prosperity that he proposed. He told us how he made the leap from scarcity to abundance through the experiences of his life…and in our own minds we made it, too.This remarkable lecture was by a multimillionaire called Randy Gage. I’d like to share with you my experience of that moment—because it complet
Avoid this mistake by:
- Emulating success instead of trying to create something completely new. Please note that I am not saying, "copy" what others are doing. Look at the basic structure of a tactic, campaign, advertisement, or event and use the same formula as a basis for developing your own tactics.
- Realizing great marketing ideas are used over and over again with just the right twist to make them fit a specific business. Focus on results, and choose imitation over innovation to create your own twist on a proven, winning technique.
The fear of failure can be powerful. So powerful that we do everything we can think of to prevent it. Yet, there is a point at which we are so busy preparing, organizing, and researching to prevent failure that we never get around to the actual marketing of the business. Here are two things to remember:
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
How can business, non-profit, government agency or association managers NOT be joyful about deploying a high-impact action plan which does something meaningful about the behaviors of those important outside audiences that MOST affect their organizations?Particularly when they create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives; in particular by persuading those key outside folks to the manager’s way of thinking by helping move audience members to take actions that allow the manager’s department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.Still, many such managers remain stuck in a tactical world wholly preoccupied with simple mechanics like press releases, broadcast plugs, special events and brochures. The high point of their day occurs when a message is successfully moved from here to there, unfortunately denying that manager the best that public relations has to offer.On the other hand, the good news underpinning PR’s premise is the fact that good public relations planning really CAN alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. Achievable, incidentally, only when you as a manager require more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. When that happens, you should receive the quality public relations
- Activity is not productivity.
- In order to sell a million of something, you have to sell the first ONE.
- Doing something! If you believe in your business and have done your detective work, it's time to dive into the marketing pool. Start small, track results and build from there.
- Not being afraid to make a mistake. Mistakes are the entry to success. At the very least, a failed promotion means you have SUCCESSFULLY determined what promotion does not work. And, to learn what does NOT work is a valuable tool in getting you closer to discovering what WILL work.
MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 5: Boredom
When I was working for an ad agency many years ago, I had one client that was running an extremely successful ad campaign. After about six months, I received a phone call from the client. He wanted to develop an entirely new campaign. When I asked, "why?" he simply said, "I'm bored with the one we have."
What?
That client may have had the money to spend on a new campaign due to "boredom" but you and I usually don't. Yet, I've often seen my small business clients switch promotions for the same reason. This is detrimental to your business!
"Losing money" is a reason.
"Boredom" is not.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Remembering that, what is old to you, is new to an untapped target market. If you have a promotion that is consistently getting you results, stick with it until results show you its time for change.
- Testing new promotions without abandoning the current one. Then track results. Never swap a current promotion with a new one that hasn't been tested.
Joining the Chamber of Commerce and schmoozing at association meetings can put you in contact with vendors and possible joint venture partners, and will be invaluable exposure for you as a community supporter - but it will rarely generate substantial sales leads.
Everyone else who attends these "meet and greet" assemblies is there to do the same thing you are. You may be able to make some valuable contacts for future ventures and promotions, but one-on-one networking is time-consuming and results are unpredictable.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Treating networking opportunities the same as any other marketing tactic. Track results by determining your costs and measuring your payback.
It's important to be aware of what your competitors are offering, but do not let it dictate the strategy you use for your own business.
If your competitor wants to be the low price leader, let him. Don't try to become the "lower price" leader. Chances are this will lead you to financial problems because it will thrust you into an ugly price war.
If your competitor wants to tout low prices, then you focus on value. Bargain hunters don't necessarily want the lowest price. They want the best VALUE. Make what you have to offer something of value.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Finding an unmet need or want of your target market, and fill it to differentiate your products and services from your competitors.
- Giving customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. Define your USP, and identify your niche market.
If you believe your market is "everybody," you will struggle to attract people who will buy from you. The value of target (niche) marketing is one of the toughest sells I make to my clients. They understand the logic of it, but the "fear of losing a potential customer" gets the best of them.
Avoid this mistake by:
- Viewing the practice of niche marketing as inclusive, not exclusive.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.articledump.net/article/43911/articledump-11-MONSTROUS-Small-Business-Marketing-Mistakes-and-How-To-Avoid-Them.html">11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.articledump.net/article/43911/articledump-11-MONSTROUS-Small-Business-Marketing-Mistakes-and-How-To-Avoid-Them.html]11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them[/url]
Related Articles:
The Multi-Purpose Character of the Innovative Text to Screen Software Products
What Is It That Separates The Successful Marketers From The Unsuccessful?
Egypt Marches as Next Offshore Outsourcing Hot-Spot
Bookmark it:
|