http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com Part of marketing is tracking and measuring how well individual marketing tactics are working. The reasons for this are: o to measure how well your tactics are working overall o track individual marketing activities to see any patterns o know ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_691404_15.html 22nd November 2008 Pretty well every marketing strategy or tactic that exists can fall under one of these three areas: writing, speaking and networking. Most of us usually have a clear "winner" in terms of which activity we enjoy doing the best or know the most about. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_688139_15.html 18th November 2008 Many small business owners dislike marketing and do it grudgingly, even though we know it's absolutely key to having any success. There are many reasons why people seem to procrastinate with their marketing: they don't really understand the tactic or ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_683808_15.html 10th November 2008 Every business needs a marketing framework - but many new small businesses get confused about which steps they need to take first. I define a marketing framework as the basic structure of your overall marketing action plan that also encompasses the cor... http://www.articlealley.com/article_678145_15.html 30th October 2008 As small business owners it's easy to fall into the habit of believing you're too busy to market. However, this is like saying that you're too busy to invest in your ongoing success. Below is a list of simple and quick marketing actions that you can s... http://www.articlealley.com/article_675873_15.html 27th October 2008 Follow-up strategies are not only for use with your prospects and clients. They are also very successful in fostering beneficial relationships with everyone else you'll come in contact with through your business life: strategic partners, peers and colle... http://www.articlealley.com/article_672379_3.html 21st October 2008 Follow up is all about giving people the valuable information they need and want; showing them you understand their problems and concerns; creating opportunities for them to get to know and trust you; and proving your credibility and the value of your pro... http://www.articlealley.com/article_669210_15.html 20th October 2008 There are 8 components that will help you make the most of your follow-up marketing strategies and ensure they are as effective as possible. Pay attention to these different components because they will help you to systematize your follow-up activities... http://www.articlealley.com/article_666571_15.html 15th October 2008 There are 9 reasons why follow up is such an important part of your marketing strategy. I'll explain each one briefly below. 1. Build relationships People need to learn to trust and like you before they'll enter into a relationship with you and tha... http://www.articlealley.com/article_661489_15.html 13th October 2008 There are 6 main areas, or reasons, to employ follow-up tactics in your day-to-day business life: thank you; personal; gather information; administration; provide information; and product and service sales. In a previous article I talked in detail abo... http://www.articlealley.com/article_658640_15.html 07th October 2008 There are 6 main areas, or reasons, to employ follow-up tactics in your day-to-day business life: thank you; personal; gather information; administration; provide information; and product and service sales. In this article I'll look at 3 of these area... http://www.articlealley.com/article_655581_15.html 06th October 2008 I believe that marketing is connecting with people and forming a relationship, and connecting on a consistent basis. Having said that, is there an actual process for fostering this relationship? My experience has taught me that yes, there is definitel... http://www.articlealley.com/article_650258_15.html 26th September 2008 There are different ways that you can schedule your marketing to ensure that you are doing it consistently and as easily as possible. What appeals to you depends mainly on the level of detail and structure you like to have. One person's organized is ano... http://www.articlealley.com/article_646083_15.html 23rd September 2008 Scheduling your marketing activities is key to ensuring you are consistently and successfully getting the word out about you and your company and all the great services and products you have to share with people. There are several formats that people u... http://www.articlealley.com/article_642987_15.html 19th September 2008 Your marketing message describes the core of your business and your clients. It's essential that it accurately reflect your offerings so that new and future prospects and customers know exactly what you offer and how it can help them. The whole idea o... http://www.articlealley.com/article_639745_15.html 16th September 2008 I was talking to the owner of a new laser clinic that helps people quit smoking. He just opened his doors a month ago and like any new business, he needs an infusion of cash. He knows the exact number of clients he needs for the next couple months in ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_636491_15.html 12th September 2008 I talked in a previous article about the importance utilizing "pull" marketing, which is simply drawing people into your business by ensuring you constantly provide value to them. Sounds good, but how are you supposed to provide value to your prospects... http://www.articlealley.com/article_633704_15.html 09th September 2008 I was talking to a client the other day about the difference between push and pull marketing and why you want to use pull marketing. Briefly, "push" marketing is as it sounds - you're pushing the prospect or client into buying your product or service. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_631841_15.html 09th September 2008 Your mindset, or attitude, towards marketing has a direct impact on: * your satisfaction with your business * the number of clients you find and keep * the quality and quantity of the products and services you offer * your sales - your bottom ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_629423_15.html 09th September 2008 I talked in my last blog post about the importance your marketing mindset/attitude has on your success. Whether your mindset about marketing is negative, positive, or most likely a little of both, I've found that an "adjustment" is essential every now an... http://www.articlealley.com/article_626322_15.html 08th September 2008 In an earlier article I talked about consistency being key to your marketing success. I was talking about the definition of consistency as steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc. However, there is a second definition of consiste... http://www.articlealley.com/article_623494_15.html 06th September 2008 Make something happen...or nothing will happen. It's as simple and brutal as that. You can sit around and complain - that you don't have enough time to market...that marketing is too complicated...too hard...that you aren't any good at it. How to a... http://www.articlealley.com/article_621127_15.html 05th September 2008 You've heard me say over and over again that the key to marketing is to take consistent action. If you don't take any action with your marketing, then nothing much is going to happen in terms of finding and keeping your most profitable clients. One of... http://www.articlealley.com/article_616839_15.html 03rd September 2008 Life is busy and our business keeps us hopping too. There is never enough time to get everything we want done and need to get done - and there never will be enough time! That's why it's so important to schedule things and especially your marketing act... http://www.articlealley.com/article_614495_15.html 02nd September 2008 The main definition of consistency is: steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc. One of the major reasons that small businesses (and large businesses) do not have success with their marketing is because they don't apply the princip... http://www.articlealley.com/article_611626_15.html 28th August 2008 Your marketing message describes the core of your business and your clients. It's essential that it accurately reflect your offering so that new and future prospects and customers know exactly what you offer and how it can help them. The whole idea of... http://www.articlealley.com/article_608909_15.html 24th August 2008 USP stands for Unique Selling Point or Unique Selling Proposition. It's a term used in marketing that is supposed to tell prospects and customers what it is about your product or service that is unique, valuable and relevant to them. A great USP makes... http://www.articlealley.com/article_607163_15.html 22nd August 2008 Your marketing must answer the question of "What's in it for me?" for your prospects and customers. The fastest way to do this is by showing you understand what they need (their problem) and that you have the answer (solution) for them. Remember that ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_603075_15.html 18th August 2008 What is your solution? Simply put, your solution is the flip-side of your target/niche group's problem. Your products and services are the solution to your potential and current clients' problem or need. Another way to look at it is that the soluti... http://www.articlealley.com/article_600053_15.html 15th August 2008 Once you have identified your target or niche market, the next step is to determine what their unmet needs or wants are - in other words, their problems. You need to answer this question in order to write your marketing message but also for the good of... http://www.articlealley.com/article_596687_15.html 13th August 2008 You need to understand who they are and what motivates them. You want to paint a picture of who these people are - their habits, vital statistics (demographics), their character or personality (psychographics) and their buying habits. Let me expand on... http://www.articlealley.com/article_592448_15.html 29th July 2008 Who are you marketing to? Who are you trying to sell to? You need to be really clear about this - not just to craft your marketing message but for your overall business. It is important to zero-in on a primary group of people and really understand wh... http://www.articlealley.com/article_589289_15.html 24th July 2008 I believe your marketing message is the most important aspect of your marketing. If you don't have the "right" marketing message for your business and your intended customer, then everything else you do is compromised. If your marketing message is wea... http://www.articlealley.com/article_584983_15.html 22nd July 2008 In all my years of marketing and helping people market their businesses, I've found that to successfully and easily market, it helps to view marketing as an ongoing relationship. Finding and keeping clients is another way of saying forming and having a r... http://www.articlealley.com/article_581920_15.html 21st July 2008 A niche market can be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers - usually a portion of a larger target market. For example, a target market is working women, but a niche market is working women with kids at home, or working women in e... http://www.articlealley.com/article_579096_15.html 17th July 2008 A relationship isn't based on one date and a marketing relationship isn't built on one contact between you and your customer. It also works at the other end of the spectrum: a relationship won't be sustained without any contact and a business relationsh... http://www.articlealley.com/article_575862_15.html 14th July 2008 So if marketing is all about fostering a relationship, then how does selling fit in? Well, first off you've got to take a look at your view of selling. Selling is not being pushy, it isn't brainwashing and it's not getting people to do things they don'... http://www.articlealley.com/article_573718_15.html 10th July 2008 Most small business owners do not have marketing plans. This means that their marketing tends to be inconsistent, ineffective and inefficient. Some service professionals do have marketing plans for their business, but fail to actually put it into prac... http://www.articlealley.com/article_568343_15.html 02nd July 2008 The secret to making people sit up and take notice of you and your company is to identify and address the problems they are facing. This is really the only way that you'll get their attention and any resulting action on their part. Sure, people may tak... http://www.articlealley.com/article_565273_15.html 27th June 2008 To find your most profitable clients the first small business tactic that needs to be done is to figure out what exactly you have to offer to potential and current clients. Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that what's important is their exp... http://www.articlealley.com/article_561983_15.html 23rd June 2008 Congratulations, you've done the research into understanding your prospects' hot issues and have gotten noticed because you've demonstrated that you understand what solutions they are seeking. Your prospect has given you their contact information in ex... http://www.articlealley.com/article_560090_15.html 20th June 2008 Marketing is all about creating and fostering relationships with your prospects and your clients. A big part of achieving this is that people need to know, like and trust you before they'll engage in a relationship with you or do any business with you. ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_557603_15.html 18th June 2008 The essential purpose of a small business or company is that your product or service provides some kind of solution to some kind of need or problem. In other words, people's problems are your opportunities. That's pretty oversimplified but holds true... http://www.articlealley.com/article_555163_15.html 11th June 2008 Your marketing message is what forms the background of all your marketing strategies and communications. If your marketing message is weak, unclear or poorly crafted, then it doesn't matter what specific marketing tactics you use...your prospects and cust... http://www.articlealley.com/article_553067_15.html 09th June 2008 I worked in an advertising agency for 5 years and then in the advertising sales department at a radio and television station for another 4 years, and believe me, every client wanted to be on the front cover, above the fold, on during the Super Bowl, or ai... http://www.articlealley.com/article_541047_15.html 20th May 2008 During my marketing work with small and large businesses, and with my own business, I've seen the many ways that we can trip ourselves up and sabotage our efforts. Below are 4 surefire ways to fail: 1. Do not have any written goals If you don't k... http://www.articlealley.com/article_538624_15.html 15th May 2008 The answer is a resounding yes! It doesn't matter what industry you're in, type of business or number of employees (if any besides you!), creating joint ventures will help you gain new market exposure and make money as well. By finding joint venture p... http://www.articlealley.com/article_536684_15.html 14th May 2008 The power of a website for small businesses cannot be emphasized enough. It is a must have marketing tool for small business owners. Your website is a gateway to a worldwide group of customers and prospects; it markets and sells your products and servi... http://www.articlealley.com/article_535581_3.html 11th May 2008 When I worked in advertising and broadcast we always used to roll our eyes when the client would say, "I KNOW that this is the best TV program/radio station/magazine/newspaper to reach my customers." This of course was usually based on their own viewing... http://www.articlealley.com/article_533563_15.html 08th May 2008 The simplest definition of a strategic alliance is: the joining of forces and resources, for a specified or indefinite period, to achieve a common bjective. Partners can share resources such as products, distribution channels, services, customer lists, k... http://www.articlealley.com/article_528791_15.html 02nd May 2008