SubscribeSMALL BUSINESS LEADER June 2008
"Lead Your Business to Success" ISSUE #106
June, 2008
In This Issue
One Page Marketing Plan
Event: Brain Exchange
Feature Article
Success Tip
Business Success System Course
Small Business Leader Marketplace
About The Publisher & Feedback
Quick Links
Past Newsletters
More About Us
Note from Marian:
My husband, Marty, and I spent this past weekend in Saratoga Springs, NY, a charming town of 45,000 located in upstate New York. In the late 19th and early 20th century it was the summer home of industrial magnates from the Northeast. It's known primarily for its annual horse racing season each August and its mineral water springs which provide the basis for dozens of health and beauty spas. We didn't partake of the waters or visit the racetrack, but we did have a lovely time.
Here we are with our hosts, Gary and Beth Harker, and their daughter, Elspeth, outside the front porch of their gorgeous 1885 Victorian. For more photos and what I learned in Saratoga Springs, go to my blog at http://primestrategies.com/blog.
Our May Brain Exchange Roundtable was a sell-out, so we're doing it again this month. Our topic will be "De-Mystifying Online Marketing" and our guest expert is Jasmine Sandler, Online Marketing and PR specialist. The space limits us to 12 (only 2 spots left), so if you can be in NYC on June 17th, sign up n0w to reserve your spot, http://primestrategies.com/bxrt-6-17-08.
Marketing is our theme again this month. Everyone is realizing that having an active marketing strategy and plan is one of the ways to recession-proof a business. (See last month's article for more strategies, http://www.primestrategies.com/7_strategies.htm. Our feature article, "How to Create a Marketing Strategy That Delivers", walks you through the steps and dispels the mysteries of strategy creation.
Apply the techniques in our feature article to your own marketing strategy using the Prime Strategies One Page Marketing Plan, http://primestrategies.com/one-page. The intro price ($27) expires on June 30th, so n0w's the time to order. The Plan template comes with complete instructions and examples. Even if you have a Marketing Plan in place this downloadable product will help you refine it and streamline the process next time.
To your success,
Marian Banker
Publisher
Small Business Leader
P.S. - There are two new kitties in my office, Duffy (the tabby) and Jasper (black & white). We were charmed by their personalities when we recently visited the Humane Society, so we had to take them home. They are 10 month old brothers (neutered, of course) and are exceptionally affectionate with each other and with us. They behave like big kittens and are into everything.
NOTE: We have had to disguise some words in order to keep them from getting caught in the $pam filters. Please bear with us.
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One Page Marketing Plan
Everything you need to create a Marketing Plan specific and timely to your business. You'll be amazed at how easy it is when you know the exact steps to follow. It's more than an e-book; it's a "system"; based on the same "take command" principles used in all the Business Success System materials.
Special intro price (expires June 30th) = $27 (save $10)
http://primestrategies.com/one-page
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Event:
BRAIN EXCHANGE ROUNDTABLE
Topic: "De-Mystifying Online Marketing"
Date: Tuesday, June 17 2008, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: City Space Virtual Offices, 817 Broadway, New York City
Guest Expert: Jasmine Sandler, CMO, Agent-cy, an Online Marketing and PR agency.
Are you using online marketing...or contemplating using it? As the fastest growing form of marketing, every entrepreneur needs to be knowledgeable about how to use it effectively.
Join with a small group of peers where we will learn from each other what's working and what's not. You'll have lots of time to share your experience. Put it on your calendar and join us.
Reserve your seat now! Only 2 seats left.
http://primestrategies.com/bxrt-6-17-08.
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Feature Article
How to Create a Marketing Strategy that Delivers
By Marian Banker
One of the most challenging parts of marketing is creating effective strategies. That's because it's impossible to be certain what outcome any given strategy will bring. But there are ways you can increase the probability of success.
First, let's define strategy and consider why it's needed.
Wikipedia defines strategy as "A long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often "winning." Strategy is differentiated from tactics or immediate actions with resources at hand by its nature of being extensively premeditated, and often practically rehearsed. Strategies are used to make the problem easier to understand and solve."
My definition is a bit simpler, and hopefully, easier to understand. I consider developing a strategy as the "thinking" part of the process. It's where you gather all the pertinent information, analyze it, and then make "informed" decisions based on what you learned. A strategy is an informed decision that provides a framework for actions.
Here are the steps to assure you're making informed decisions.
Start with your Goals.
Decide what you want to accomplish through your marketing efforts? As you know Goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely). Use sales, units sold, orders placed, or whatever is the most meaningful number for you. Target a specific amount and date (i.e. $1.3M sales by December 31st).
Answer basic marketing questions.
The questions you want to answer are:
1) What is your value message
2) Who will value what you offer
3) When will they be most interested in your offer
4) Where will you find your target market
5) Why should they buy from you?
Read more about these in my Business Success Article, Five Questions to Help Create an Effective Marketing Plan, http://www.primestrategies.com/createmktgplan.htm.
Review your marketing history.
In reviewing the history focus on what lessons can be learned. Have past marketing efforts been successful? Compare marketing costs with results achieved. Assess what worked and what didn't. Something that worked in the past might work again tomorrow with a slight tweak or maybe a complete overhaul. Was your product or service appropriately positioned compared with competitors? You'll want to expand on successes and eliminate unproductive actions in the future.
Talk to staff, customers, service providers, colleagues.
The prudent business owner knows there's a wealth of valuable information within these groups. Ask them what's working and what's not working as they see it. I've seen business owners make big changes to their original thinking after gathering this information.
Consider market trends.
Determine if your product or service is in a waxing or a waning market trend. The credit crisis and market volatility has prompted average citizens to start educating themselves about personal finance, investing and retirement. Offering educational information in the financial services industry is a growing (waxing) trend.
Today's marketplace is more global than ever, and so what happens in one market impacts other markets and, eventually, the economy in general. Even if your business is strictly local, it's prudent to know what's going on in global, national and regional, as well as local markets.
Analyze findings.
Review all the information you've gathered. What patterns do you see? How does your product or service fit into existing trends? Where is there a market gap? Where is there an opportunity? How can you build on past successes? Do you need to strengthen your brand image or modify your market position? What past and/or future problems or barriers might hold you back? How well have you communicated your value message? Keep asking questions of the findings until you feel you've covered what's there.
Consider possible outcomes of each strategy being considered.
You might want to develop several possible strategies that appear to take advantage of what you learned in your analysis. Be sure to include the cost of what would likely be involved in carrying out each strategy. Think Return-on-Investment (ROI). If your Goal is $1.3M sales this year, you're looking for the strategy that all your information (and your instincts) tells you will most likely get you there.
Once you have a clear written strategy or strategies you're ready to identify the specific actions to carry out your Marketing Strategy. Having completed a meaningful preparation you'll be much more likely to stay with your plan...and much more likely to achieve your Marketing Goals.
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Create your own Marketing Strategy using the tools and guidance provided in the Prime Strategies One Page Marketing Plan, http://primestrategies.com/one-page. Developing a strategy is step number two in your Plan. You'll be making informed decisions for your business and learn exactly how to do it. Get this great tool before the intro price ends June 30th.
Success Tip
Make the competition irrelevant. Find out how at http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/compirrel.htm.
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Business Success System Course
Want your own Personal Roadmap to Business Success? Take Command of Your Business with the Prime Strategies Business Success System Course. Gain the confidence to make well-calculated strategic business decisions in spite of challenges and crossroads.
Included is a step-by-step guidebook, interactive tools to organize your thinking and your actions, plus coaching audios to support you as you take each step in the system. It's totally risk f*r*e*e because it comes with a 100% satisfaction *guarantee*. http://primestrategies.com/business-success-system.
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Small Business Leaders' Marketplace
Introduce your product or service he.re.
Get your own Wordpress blog and website up and running.
Small businesses are using blogs as a new form of marketing. For $99, Dean Hua of Sachi Studio Web Design, can help you get your own blog installed onto your domain with ease. Learn more here; http://sachistudio.com/wordpress-blog-installation/
Adrian Miller
Sales Training, www.adrianmiller.com, provides customized sales skills training and sales strategy solutions for businesses interested in generating more new business as well as increased business from existing accounts. Adrian's programs are provided on site or thru teleconference or webcasts and Small Business Leader subscribers will get a 15% discount.
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The Power of Networking
- If you're like most small business owners or entrepreneurs who network like crazy but still just can't get results and for whom networking has never really worked, I found the solution for you. It's "The Power of Networking", a 5 Step Program to Maximize Your Networking Results. Learn more at http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=496107
Up to 50 words in 3 issues, only $25.
Send your ad to marian@primestrategies.com with Subject as Newsletter Ad.
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About The Publisher & Feedback
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
Marian Banker has been publishing Small Business Leader since January, 1999. Her focus is on bringing to the busy entrepreneur a quick look into the current world of small business from the perspective she's gained through coaching, consulting and training entrepreneurs in both service and product based businesses.
Marian offers individual coaching, business support groups, seminars and workshops on topics of critical interest to small business owners. Her monthly Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable has proven to be a popular way for business owners to come together around a specific business topic without leaving their office. See notice about this month's topic in the content above.
To learn more about her services, visit http://primestrategies.com.
FEEDBACK:
Your feedback is always appreciated. Please write to marian@primestrategies.com.
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A publication of Prime Strategies, 333 East 23rd St., New York, NY 10010
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