The Holy Grail of Marketing
The quest for the Holy Grail of Marketing is that of most small business owners and many marketers. It’s not unlike the holy grail of day-trading. The constant hunt for the sure thing, the guaranteed success blue print. Well I have good news and bad news…
The bad news is that there isn’t one miracle solution. One quick fix pill that will put zeros on the end of your bank account balance. If it really were that easy, everyone would be doing it. We’d all be entrepreneurs and successful business owners.
The good news is that you can find “Your Holy Grail”. It’s not a snake-oil or magic-wand. It does require some work and effort on your part. It won’t be easy. But you knew that when you started your business or by now you’ve well and truly figured out that Marketing is the most important aspect of your business.
The Recession Won’t Last Forever (Thank God) and with that timing is even more so important. If your business is breaking sales records, you’ll want to systemize your marketing efforts and grab market share. For the majority of small business, that happens to be dealing with cash flow issues, lower sales figures, and the harsh reality of recessionary times. Now is the best to Market.
Market Now or Never and put your Marketing Efforts on Steroids. How? Well that’s not a question that should be answered quickly. There are many factors and the future of your business shouldn’t be determined in haste. First and foremost you need to have focus and a clear understanding of where you’re at, where you want to be, and how to get there. Your current business assessment should be conducted by a Marketing Consultant that without bias will assess your current situation and lend you rock-solid advice on the next steps. From there you’ll want to work on your Marketing Plan, customize it to the future direction of your company, with consideration of your present state, along with milestones and key performance indicators to measure your future success.
Your Marketing Plan needs to have a solid foundation, be fluff-free, focusing on the big picture, yet be drawn up in a way that is easy to follow like a to-do list. Regular checks and balances need to be in place to stay on track and hold you and your Marketing efforts accountable.
Executing your marketing efforts can be as easy and as difficult as you want it to be. It can also cost you an arm and a leg… or next to nothing. Regardless of how much you are able or willing to spend, you’ll want to start with low-cost and no-cost marketing tactics. Well thought out marketing tactics that is that fall into the bigger picture. Avoid impulsive marketing decisions and spending at all cost. You’ll want to allocate a larger budget if and only if your no-cost / low-cost tactics have proven worthwhile and delivered a reasonable ROI. If they don’t, it’s time to re-think your marketing tactics and perhaps revise your plan.
Once you’ve made it, sales are increasing, perhaps doubling while profits triple and business is going better then well, then it’s time to look at systemizing and focusing on an exit strategy.
It all starts by taking the first step and putting your business in the hot-seat by a Marketing Consultant and Small Business Coach like myself that will analyze your business and provide you with a clear direction of next steps to achieve your ultimate goals. For a complimentary 15 minute consultation call me at 604.435.4459 and mention this article. It’ll be the best 15 minutes to improve your business, guaranteed!
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