Are You Using a Chess or Checkers Small Business Marketing Strategy?

Until the day I learned to play chess I loved playing checkers. Both games require a strategy that maximizes a player's ability to capture her opponents pieces without first losing her own. Checkers was fun. But the complexities of chess lead to more satisfying victories and defeats.

Chess is a more complicated game than checkers as there are more variables. Therefore, much more thought and concentration is required to win a game of chess than is required to win a game of checkers.

Like chess, marketing your business is a complicated endeavor. A successful chess player anticipates future moves and will position his pieces in such a way that each piece helps add strength to other pieces already in place.

A successful marketing strategy is no different than a winning chess strategy. Every move you make must reinforce previous and future moves. Instead of rooks, bishops and queens the moves made in the game of marketing are made with advertisements, web sites, marketing messages, brochures and so on.

As a small business owner you don't risk losing pieces to your opponent you risk losing business to your competitors.

Great chess players have a strategy that helps them win with consistency. Here's a marketing strategy you can use to consistently win new business.

Focus Your Marketing

Target your market with a marketing message that speaks directly to the population you serve. A marketing message is a phrase or sentence that clearly demonstrates who you help and the problems you solve.

Develop and use your marketing message as often as you can. Doing so will help get your business get noticed by those most likely to buy from you. Use your marketing message in your marketing materials, your website and any and everywhere your business comes in contact with potential clients.

Effective use of a marketing message can be a small business owner's best friend. A good one will work hard for you to generate new business and will never ask for anything in return.

Inspire Action

Once you've used your marketing message to grab hold of your prospects' attention, be it at your website, after reading one of your ads or an article you've written, be sure you clearly instruct them to take the action you want. It doesn't matter what the action is as long as it requires them to provide you their contact information so you may continue marketing to them.

Offer something useful and free in exchange for their information. Give away free recipes if you're a caterer or tips on designing bouquets if you're a florist. Just be certain to give clear directions about what should be done next to move your sales process along.

Build a Relationship

After you've successfully culled from your prospects' their contact information it is now time for you to develop a relationship with them. The nature of the relationship you develop should be one that makes it clear that you know your prospect is out there, that you understand your prospects' problems and that you can help solve your prospects' problems.

Common methods for developing relationships with prospects are distributing articles, publishing an ezine and conducting surveys. Be sure to include your marketing message with every article, ezine or survey.

Over time you will become the obvious solution to your clients' problems when they decide to take action to solve what concerns them.

Move Your Marketing forward

Using each of the above methods will help you position your business much like a champion chess player positions his pieces. In the end victory and more sales will be yours.

Copyright 2005, Jeremy Cohen and Better Marketing Results

The author, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners and professional service providers attract more clients, grow their business and be more successful with his marketing strategy and web site enhancement service and his marketing guides. Get his free marketing strategy guide : Jumpstart Marketing: More Profits, Clients and Success at: http://www.bettermarketingresults.com/

---

Is Your Business Profitable?

What's your job profitability? Do you know?Many business owners are... Read More

Keep TRACK of your Business Relationships and Gain Profits

How do you know when an alliance needs to be... Read More

Big Successes Never Happen Overnight

Treat your business as a serious, full-time business and be... Read More

Got Stimulation?

An observation while returning home from a seminar: Getting away... Read More

Low Cost or Highly Funded Start Up

Many new ventures are preoccupied with all the money they... Read More

Do Home Businesses Complicate Small Business Debt Collection Laws?

The home-based business market, sometimes called the SOHO (small-office/home-office) market,... Read More

Packing Material Thats Cheap!

Shipping materials can be expensive! Even the styrofoam "peanuts" can... Read More

Starting a Small Business: Balancing Risk and Reward

In a perfect world, starting a small business would be... Read More

Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 1)

Is it right for you?If you decide to advertise your... Read More

Sex Up Your Business Growth

A top executive called up me late in the night.... Read More

Small Home Business: Ad Copy Secrets

So it's time to invest some finances into advertising your... Read More

Excuses Franchisees Make; When They Violate Exclusive Territory Agreements

One of the biggest excuses franchisees of home based and... Read More

Earn More Money in Your Small Business by Creating a PIG

If you really want to earn more money with your... Read More

Small Business Ideas - Your Image Can Lose You Business

What image do you and your people portray to your... Read More

Do You Want Your Own Fully Programmable ERP? - Part 3

Continuing from the second article:6. About the aground mathematical model,... Read More

Cabinet Refacing Business Opportunities

With all the cabinet refacing business opportunities out there, you... Read More

Grants vs. Contracts

Commonly folks have asked me what the technical difference is... Read More

The Wrap on Ag Plastic

While driving through Pennsylvania farmland, you have probably noticed an... Read More

But Weve Always Done It This Way

Sacred cows take a long time to die. We get... Read More

Boat Detailers; Add-on Products and Services

As a Boat Detailing Specialist, you may want to offer... Read More

Business Development Is Not An Event

Cash flow. To stay in business, you've got to keep... Read More

Beating the Small Business Cash Flow Blues

Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own... Read More

Small Business - Would You Still Need An Accountant If You Didnt Need A Tax Return?

After over thirty years advising small business it still comes... Read More

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Joining a Professional Association

I'll be the first to admit that I went a... Read More

Small Business Debt Collection Laws

In your small business debt collection laws will eventually become... Read More

Operational Aspects on P and L Statements of Mobile Services Businesses

What kinds of things effect mobile service businesses P and... Read More

How Most Business Owners Sabotage Their Success

Owning a business is a challenging endeavor. If you're like... Read More

Secrets of Cleaning Truck Trailers in Your Fleet from a Veteran Truck Washer

Cleaning the trailers towed by big trucks is not easy,... Read More

Franchise Rule to be Revised; Why?

The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, is considering modifying the franchise... Read More

Mobile Carwash; Senior Citizens and Mobile Homes

Senior citizens are generally not a large marketing segment for... Read More

3.5 Million People And A Possible UK Home Business Opportunity

Has this ever happened to you... 'John, you have a... Read More

Finding a Venture Capital Firm

Many ventures are faced with the challenging task of raising... Read More

Are You Using a Chess or Checkers Small Business Marketing Strategy?

Until the day I learned to play chess I loved... Read More