What Are You Going to Do to Turbo-Charge Your Marketing?
It’s a new year and I just rolled myself out of bed at 8:45 a.m. after spending a great evening eating, drinking, and playing games with friends.  It was a pretty tame evening compared to past New Years Eve celebrations go.  The good thing about waking up on Friday, January 1, 2010 is that I now have three more days to get my business resolutions in order.  I like having that extension; it reminds me of the reprieves I used to talk my college professors into giving me when I came up with another great excuse as to why I couldn’t turn my paper in on time.  Three extra days; I’d better produce a good list.

A Few Tips

For me, it’s fairly easy to create a marketing plan.  I live and breathe marketing and public relations.  I know what things I need to do to turbo-charge my efforts this next year.  But what about you?  What are you going to do to give your business a swift kick in the behind when it comes to getting the word out about your products and services?  Here is a list of things to help jump-start your strategy session.

• Create an actual marketing plan
• Set a manageable budget
• Look at marketing as an “investment” and not an “expense”
• Create a new or updated brochure (pdf)
• Design new business cards
• Create or update your website
• Set up a blog
• Blog at least 300 words ones or twice a week (this post is about 700 words)
• Embrace New Media (social networking)
• Use New Media for business
• Use SMS text (mobile marketing) tools
• Issue Press Releases – at least monthly
• Plan events for prospects and clients
• Create an email newsletter and use it at least monthly
• Network
• Volunteer in your community
• Research your industry & competitors online
• Turn all of your employees into referral sources and reward them for referrals
• Build a referral network with friends, family, neighbors, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, LinkedIn friends, and more.  Reward them for referrals.
• Create a crisis communication plan

These are just a few of the tips I serve up when someone seeks my advice for some inexpensive things they can personally do to market their business more effectively and efficiently.  I’ve seen recent reports that many businesses are shifting their marketing focus.  They are trimming budgets and allocating more resources to marketing online and through mobile phones and PDAs. 

I Need It Now!

Just as I predicted and wrote about two years ago, we are all changing the way we get our information.  We are a need-to-know-now society. We can’t wait for information to reach our mailbox or newspaper box.  Printed newspapers seem archaic and many newspapers are closing down or shifting to 100% online content.  And by the time a breaking story makes it to the evening news, it’s stale.  The same is becoming true for marketing – we need to market in the moment when people are ready to purchase.  We check for sales specials, movie times, dinner reservations and directions to entertainment venues on the Internet, if not our iPhone and Blackberry.  Just this past week I went bowling with my family and discovered how expensive it was for eight of us to bowl.  So, I texted ChaCha and asked if there was a coupon available and they sent a 50% off coupon to my Blackberry right there on the spot.

Are You Insane?

You are probably familiar with Einstein’s definition of insanity, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”   If you are still marketing the way you were two or three years ago and you aren’t satisfied with your FINANCIAL growth, you need to change up the way you market. Notice I said “financial” growth; getting 5,000 new Twitter followers is an awesome accomplishment that doesn’t mean squat if it’s not generating revenue and profit for your business. There’s a BIG difference.  You need to bring your marketing to 2010 and keep your eye on converting emerging technology to producing revenue.

In 2010, commit to learning more about the new media tools available. Reallocate your marketing budget and efforts. And most of all… if you don’t understand something…ask for help.  Email me or give me a call and I’ll be happy to help.

Here’s to a Happy and Prosperous New Year!