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 The
Marketing Secret for 2011
by John Stanley
Marketing has gone through a revolution over the last
few months and years. It seems like every month a new idea hits the
marketplace.
Gone are the days when all it took to get the job done
was simply to write copy for a newspaper ad. Retailers today have to
consider social media, conventional promotions, word-of-mouth marketing,
loyalty schemes and a host of other ideas to develop their businesses.
All these new marketing methods help grow businesses,
but the challenge is finding the time to develop new marketing ideas and
to implement them into your business.
Time. That is the marketing secret for 2011. Those
businesses that can find time to first develop, then implement, new
marketing strategies are those that will prosper in 2011.
A client recently commented, “I am too busy to do
marketing. I need all my time just to keep the business afloat. When the
business is going well, I will give myself more time to do the
marketing.”
This strategy will work in the short term, but in the
long term, it will result in a loss of customers as other businesses
develop new marketing strategies and attract customers away from your
business.
TIMESAVERS
The key to developing your business in 2011 will be
looking at how you can use time more effectively to allow you and your
team to develop marketing strategies for your business. Here are six
tips for doing that.
-
Write
down your marketing goals. What do you want to achieve? The key is
to write down your goals rather than just think about them. Tell
staff and family members what you are doing so they can help you
develop your goals.
-
Set
deadlines. Assign a date by which you want to achieve each of your
goals. Do not procrastinate. Tell staff and family members about
your deadlines so they can help you meet them.
-
Balance your time between traditional marketing and social media
marketing. It is easy to get engrossed in one at the expense of the
other. You will need both venues in your marketing tool kit for
2011.
-
Delegate. Are there some tasks or responsibilities you can delegate
to others so that you can invest more time to developing marketing
strategies? For some, it may be worth delegating the marketing; for
others, it may be delegating other tasks/responsibilities.
-
Measure the success of your marketing. Track how many new customers
you are attracting as well as the increase in your average sale per
customer. This will give you the motivation and confidence to
continue to develop your marketing skills.
-
Reward yourself when you have achieved your marketing goals.
John
Stanley, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), is an acclaimed retail
consultant and one of the top business speakers in the world today. He
is the author of several marketing, customer service and retailing
books, including Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know.
Visit Mr. Stanley’s website,
www.johnstanley.com.au, or e-mail
linda@johnstanley.com.au
to find out how he can help you grow your business. |
