Because the 2009 become the part of history, now is a time to start with preparation of the activities for 2010. Here is a list with the small business marketing advices for the 2010.
1. Build a list
If you’ve not yet begun such a marketing activity now is the right time to start. List of current and potential customers is a powerful tool of each entrepreneur in terms of marketing activities for their own business. You can use the template in the Leads database Template.
2. Segment the list
If you prefer to have improved implementation of marketing activities you must to segment your list. Segmentation can be run based on certain characteristics of the members on the list such as sex, significance, potential customers and clients …
3. Be one step closer to your customers and one step ahead of competition
One rule for each entrepreneur is to be one step closer to potential and current customers, and always be one step ahead of the competition. Everything that you do watch over the question how these things will move you closer to potential and current customers.
On the other hand, constantly analyze the competition and find their weaknesses. What are they doing in the field of marketing? What they don’t do in the field of marketing? Everything that your competitors are doing, you do the same, but in a better way. You can read more in How to Be One Step Ahead of Competition?
4. Make a simple marketing plan
One of the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur makes in terms of marketing, is that they don’t have a marketing plan, while trying to implement marketing activities for their business. Your marketing plan doesn’t need to be some complex plan. The most important is to know what you want to achieve with your marketing activities and to implement that marketing activities.
5. Commit to your marketing plan
Failure to commit to your marketing plan is another possible mistake for entrepreneurs. You can have the best marketing plan, but if you don’t commit to them, it’s better to you do not lose your time in creating the plan. You can commit to your plan if you have milestone and responsibilities of each marketing activity and tasks from the plan.
6. Update your website
If you have a web site for your business, open it and see how much time you don’t update it. If the answer is one, two or three years and more, now is the real time to update it. Add new products or services that your business offer. Update the Copyright section of the web site. Update contact information, you can add Skype’s contact details, e-mail, Google Wave details for possible collaboration with you, Facebook username, Twitter, and everything that you use for communication purpose and do not have it on your website.
7. Create a blog for your business
A website simply isn’t enough for your business. This is a strategy was started from small businesses and accepted immediately from large companies after they realize the possibilities from using blogs for business purpose. However, the most common problem that occurs among entrepreneurs is what to write. You can read about 10 blog topics that you can blog for your business. You must remember that a blog isn’t the toll that will bring you immediate sales but simply the toll for building content that will support today’s and tomorrow’s sale.
8. Create a social media strategy
This simply means to answer the following questions:
- Which social media will be used?
- How to be present on those social media?
- What you must to do on those social media?
- What will be the language of communication on those social media?
9. Start with the implementation of social media strategy
There are too many opportunities available for using social media for business purpose. All you need is a good strategy and implementation of that strategy. It’s nothing to lose, only you can get additional points in the eyes of your potential and current customers.
10. Be present everywhere where your potential customers are
Everyone would be marketing expert if exactly know where are his potential customers. However, the problem isn’t so simple. There is a need for analyzing and gathering knowledge about potential customers to know where they’re present. In that way, you as an entrepreneur and your business can be present there, either personally or through a marketing tool.
11. Measuring the results of each marketing activity
When it comes to marketing, this activity is mandatory for entrepreneurs. The question is how to measure the success of a marketing activity. You must include measurement possibilities when designing each of your marketing activities. For the purpose of measurement, the marketing calendar template is good starting place.
12. Use the results from measurement and improve
When you have a factor of success for each marketing activity, you’ll be able to sort them based on that success. For all those marketing activities that give you good results, try to improve and provide even better results.
13. Eliminate Poor Marketing activities from a marketing calendar
Marketing activities that have poor results should be omitted from your marketing calendar or replaced with another one.
14. Communicate with customers and potential customers
If communication is used as a marketing tool, your business will feel the real power of marketing. You can use other “remote” marketing tools, but if they don’t establish a system of real communication in real time, efficiency and effectiveness of your efforts will be small.
Communication can be verbal and non-verbal, direct and indirect, official and unofficial, serious and funny, online and offline …
15. Analyze through interviews and questionnaires
Analyze through interviews and questionnaires – but what to analyze? Analyze what your current and potential customers want and what does not want. Here are several benefits:
- You will gain knowledge about what you are doing well and why they choose you over the competition. You can improve that to gain better competitive advantage.
- You will gain knowledge about what they do not like you. This is the area that must be part big changes and improvements.
- On the other hand, interview or questionnaire is a kind of marketing tool that presents you in the eyes of a buyer as someone who cares about their opinion.
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Nice list, Dragan. It’s interesting, coming from the perspective of someone who works for a nonprofit that studies small businesses as part of the small business competition the nonprofit I work for hosts each year, that especially for your #s 3, 10, and 14, strong people practices can not only ensure quality performance and results in those measures, but more innovation along the way. In short, stronger employee engagement = better SMB marketing, which is a trend we see in the winners of our competition. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks Mark,
I agree with you about importance of numbers 3, 10 and 14 because they are directly connected to current and potential customers. And about that numbers from a list there must be stronger employee engagement that will lead to better SMB marketing. Furthermore, to receive better innovation.
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