8 Instant Ways to Create Consistently Successful Marketing Campaigns

It's almost a given that when I speak to a new client, she tells me how much she's always hated marketing herself. "I'm no good at it" and "No matter what I try, it doesn't work" are common complaints.

Worse, many small shops hate marketing so much that they literally avoid it entirely, or do marketing using the "dribs and drabs" method -- you know, a drib here, a drab there.

In order to gain the trust of your prospects, you have to make contact with prospects enough (and make contact with enough prospects) to show them that you're the solution to their problems.

Are you marketing your business enough? It's high time you found out!

1) Outline your current marketing activities. Which techniques work? Which ones are a waste of time? Measure the quantity of new business that each method achieves, as well as the quality of business sent to you by each technique. If something proves to be a dud, think about either optimizing the process or dropping it to free up time for other marketing activities.

2) How often do you contact your current clients? Do you stay in touch with paying customers regularly and reward them for their continued relationship with your business? If not, why not? Is there a good reason for people not to return, or are you losing your most valuable asset -- a bird in the hand, so to speak -- after one-time sales? If your business is a legitimate one-time deal (such as a wedding vendor), is there a way of getting current customers to refer others to you?

3) Do you have an ezine or other marketing tool that allows you to stay in regular contact with your prospects and current client base? People will tend to forget about you if they're not reminded of what you have to offer. Once a month is about the longest amount of time you should wait between contacts, which makes an ezine one of the best ways to get the word out.

4) Do you regularly seek out new prospects? If not, what could you do to expand your marketing horizons? Would a quarterly postcard campaign help? Would participation on online forums send more customers your way?

5) How many contacts do you ordinarily have to make before you close a deal? If the odds of finding a new customer are 30 to 1 and you need 6 new clients a month to grow your business at the rate you desire, are you contacting 180 prospects every month? If not, it's time to start.

6) Is there something you can implement every month that forces you to do the marketing work? As I have already mentioned, an ezine is a good method to ensure that you stay in touch regularly. When there's no one egging you on to get your marketing done, it's hard to be disciplined about it. In my case, my ezine forces me to think about my marketing on a regular basis.

But an ezine is only one of many, many ways to create a marketing schedule for yourself. You could also implement monthly specials, a once-a-month teleseminar series related to your field or set up a blog. Setting aside time on a regular basis turns a chore into a habit that will be a major boost to your business!

7) List the 3 major reasons why you don't take the time to market as often as you should. What can you change to be able to accommodate more time for marketing? Is there work that you could outsource in order to be able to market yourself more regularly? Anything nonessential that you could outsource would allow you more time to bring in more business; conversely, hiring a small business marketing professional can take some of the burden off of you. Changing just 1 habit will make a big difference.

8) Assess your marketing results once a month. What works? What doesn't? What can you do better next time? Learning from your mistakes is the best addition to your marketing mix of all.

If you make marketing a part of your regular routine, you will gain confidence in your ability to generate new business -- and even better, you'll see your business start to grow!

Copywriter/marketing strategist Jennifer McCay helps individuals and small businesses turn their expertise into marketing success stories. She is the publisher of the Avenues to Marketing Success Newsletter, which delivers tips to help you rev up your small business marketing. To subscribe and receive a FREE special report on 7 ways to improve your sales copy, head to http://AvenueEast.com

---

The Value of a Good Sales Letter!

Regardless of how many forms of promotional material you create,... Read More

How Important is Your Marketing?

Bob called last week from Phoenix, Arizona with some stunning... Read More

Attracting Clients With Ease

Whether you are already running your own business, or still... Read More

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More

Is CRM Technology Living Up To the Hype?

Over the last few years the buzz about CRM (Customer... Read More

Open Doors by Building Relationships

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming... Read More

Itchin For Some Nichin

The whole idea of Niche Marketing is exciting! The possibilities... Read More

Your Marketing ? From The Couch To The Cash Register

When you put time or money into any marketing plan,... Read More

Newsletters are Marketing Machines!

Is your business publishing a print or e-newsletter? An informative... Read More

Marketing to Success on a ZERO Budget

TOP 10 TIPS TO GET YOU MARKETING TO SUCCESS ON... Read More

An Internet Marketing Strategy that Works

You can't put up a beautiful (or any) web site... Read More

Ten Ways to Market Your Business by Doing What You Love To Do

Most business owners get so involved in the work of... Read More

Market Research ? How Good is the Data?

"Make money for taking surveys"," Cash for your opinion", "Make... Read More

Digital Printing vs. Press Printing ? A Comparison Guide

When it comes time to print your brand identity materials,... Read More

Read Your Markets Mind - 3 Great Market Research Resources

Starting a new online business, developing a new product, launching... Read More

Focusing Your Marketing Efforts

One of my favorite quotes is often used to describe... Read More

Fax Marketing : Reaching a New Niche of Customers

Traditional marketing and advertising assumes that all of your customers... Read More

My Marketing Budget Is Small - How Can I Make The Most Of It?

Regardless how small or large your budget is, there are... Read More

Ten Crucial Questions

Ten Crucial Questions for Your Business Future I'm... Read More

How to Turn Your Promotional Products Expense Into a Profit Center

If you use promotional products you probably already know the... Read More

Should You Clap For Your Customers?

Does it make sense to clap for your customers? It... Read More

The Greatest Business Tips are FREE

The best way for someone to hang on to a... Read More

Marketing on the Cheap: Write? Right!!

We all know the value of writing articles for promoting... Read More

What You MUST Understand About Your Web Numbers

Two years ago, when I first started selling online, I... Read More

Growing Your Brand Assets

Okay. Raise your hand if you think brand management is... Read More

What Does Marketing Mean?

You can have the best little business ever with wonderful... Read More

Sum of Its Parts

I just spent a week at the beach with my... Read More

Give me a Referral any Day - the Power of Networking

I nearly panicked recently! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration but... Read More

SWOT Analysis -- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

When conducting strategic planning for any company -- online and/or... Read More

6 Article Marketing Smarts: How To Get More Reprints And Exposure

Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers... Read More

Another Commercial? Dont Touch That Dial! Watch & Learn

When commercials come on the television do you get up... Read More

How to Promote your business website using free online resources.

There are many ways to promote your website for free... Read More

Powerful Direct Marketing Numbers

Direct Marketing works!Why? It works because it's personal. It carries... Read More