5 Marketing Mistakes You Can’t Afford To MakeWritten by Debbie Allen
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to: info@DebbieAllen.com 5 Marketing Mistakes You Can’t Afford To Make In virtually every area of business, there will be pitfalls along way. Marketing is no exception. Time and time again, retail stores of all sizes make same costly mistakes. But knowing how to avoid these mistakes can save you energy, disappointment – and money. Mistake 1: Eliminating marketing efforts when times get tight. When cash flow slows, advertising, direct mail and other forms of marketing are easiest expenses to reduce, right? But cut these, and you eliminate very activities that will bring in new customers to turn your business around. This is time when you may be spending more time analyzing results of your marketing efforts. But by stopping marketing efforts, you will be setting yourself up for additional loss of business. Mistake 2: Not measuring results. Don’t wait until times get tight to start measuring results of your marketing efforts. By analyzing regularly, you will be able to reinvest in what is working, and drop what isn’t. Ask customers how they found your business, and then track results. Use in-store or on-line coupons. Or host a focus group of a variety of customers to discover what attracts them to your business. Mistake 3: Putting all your marketing dollars in one area. If your entire marketing budget is used on just one method of promoting your business, you won’t realize highest return on your investment. Diversifying your efforts will increase frequency and reach of your messages and stretch your marketing dollars. Businesses can get hooked into one large advertising program with a local newspaper, magazine or radio station, and put majority of their marketing dollars there. They feel as if they have to advertise with same media source, just because they always have or because fear they will lose ground since their competitors are advertising there as well. Some business owners actually stay with a company for fear of upsetting their sales associate.
| | 5 Tips to Step Boldly into the World & Set Yourself Apart from OthersWritten by Beth Tabak
"Real champions believe in themselves even when no one else will!" Author UnknownTo take your life and business to a level that makes you ecstatic there is a good chance you will need to step boldly into world and stand distinctively apart from others. Here are 5 tips to support you to embrace unknown in a big way and maximize your results. Fully Express Your Self~ Concern for what others will think often results in presenting “a diluted version of ourselves to world” says leader of Think Big Revolution, Michael Port (http://www.MichaelPort.com ). When you fully express your authentic self without fear of result you take more risks and show up as confident, unique, and intriguing. Fully Express Your Passion~ We tend to bury our passions under responsibilities with underlying notion that our day will come. The clock is ticking! What are you willing to stand up for? What difference do you want to make thru work you do on a daily basis? What gets you juiced? Fully express your passions and you will enthusiastically show up in a big way. Boldly Take Action Daily on What Matters~ I wonder how much time is spent daily on stuff that doesn’t make a difference. What if you made a commitment to yourself right now to spend time daily taking action and becoming 100% absorbed in activities that make a positive impact on others, your business, and your life. How would that make your life different from today? Leverage Your Connections~ No one has made it to top alone. Your connections are unique to you. No one has same network as you. We all learn and grow from these connections. When we create win/win relationships and connect by sharing information, resources, and connections we grow together. When you develop and leverage these assets within your network you create a tool to set yourself apart from others.
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