Ideas for planning your marketing

Quick...It's a Marketing Must

Respond quickly to a customer/prospect "request for bid." This gets them "out of the market" quickly and stops them from searching for another source. It also helps establish your reputation as "the person to deal with" in your business.

Sales Letter Trick

Write up a draft of your next sales letter. When you're done, put it in your desk drawer for a day. The fact that you've "walked away" from it for a while can help you look on the copy with "fresh eyes." You can then edit your copy more effectively.

Increase Sales to the Customers You Already Have

Create a quick grid that can lead to increased sales and profits. Draw a rectangular box in the middle a piece of 8-1/2" x 11" paper. Along the outside left hand side of the box write the names of your current clients. Write the products and services you offer along the space outside the top of the box. Draw vertical and horizontal lines within the box to separate clients and products/services. Starting with the Client #1, put an "X" in the box that corresponds to all the products/services you are currently offering that client. Do the same for each customer you have. When you're done, look at all the empty boxes. These represent the additional products and services you can sell your current customers.

Mind Your Own Business...Every 30 Days

We're so innundated with images and noise these days that most of us forget what we see and hear in less than 14 days. Sending out a mailing once a business quarter is not enough, especially after you've made the sale. Don't become the "forgotten" business. Remind your customers and prospects of the benefits of your services through customer satisfaction surveys, time-limited offers, "fact of interest" postcards, reprints of articles you have authored, fax newsletters, etc. Consistently keep in touch with the people who can help your business thrive.

Create Time to Sell

Everyone is busy these days. It's very important to maintain your sales schedule during the times when you're just swamped with "paying" projects. Take one day and devote the time to setting sales appointments for the next month. This will help keep "paying" projects in the pipeline.

Late Mail Delivery Helps Your Marketing

33% of all business mail arrives on Monday. Don't get lost in the post-weekend crush. Time the arrival of your mailing so it lands on the prospect's desk later in the week in a smaller pile of mail. You stand a better chance of getting noticed.

Change Never Hurt Business Promotion

Have you just won an award? Moved to larger space? Taken on a new partner? Won a big contract? Take advantage of the change and announce it now. Such communications are a wonderful excuse to keep in touch with your clients.

Quick...It's a Marketing Must

Respond quickly to a customer/prospect "request for bid". This gets them "out of the market" quickly and stops them from searching for another source. It also helps establish your reputation as "the person to deal with" in your business.

What Have You Done To Improve Yourself Lately?

Want more business? Get better! Improve yourself and the knowledge that you already have and you'll be billing more in the long run. In a service business? Learn some new skills that can be used as additional services that you can market to your clients. Examples:

1) Graphics Designer learns how to design Web Sites and markets this expertise to her clients. 2) Management Consultant takes sales writing courses and then earns additional income by helping his clients to overhaul their stale sales letters.

3) Computer Specialist learns the ins and outs of a new popular software program and offers one-on-one training to his clients. Constant improvement leads to steadily increased revenues.

Zoom In...Not Out

Not getting the results you expect from your marketing efforts? Maybe you're spreading yourself too thin. Zoom in! Concentrate on a smaller, more targeted segment of prospects. This new tactic can give your business a jump start, making it easier for you to focus your marketing resources on proving that you can meet these

prospects' specific needs.

Market for the Future!

Don't ignore the "start-up" company when it comes to marketing your products or services. Surveys have shown that many of today's affluent buyers still purchase from the people and companies that originally treated them as "winners who were going to make it big."

Have Your Niches Changed?

Business niches adjust to keep up with changes in technology or federal or state laws. Keep an eye on the trends that can alter the niches you're prospecting. Contact the Economic Development office in your county or state to find out where you can find these important business stats.