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Time-Saving Marketing Strategies That Build Your Brand |
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Written by Joan B. Marcus, President, Joan B. Marcus Communications, LLC
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Time is money. In a tough economy, you need to make every minute count to keep your business profitable. You also need to market relentlessly to keep business coming in your door. So how do you make time to market while growing your business? Here are eight strategies to maximize your marketing efforts.
- Develop a marketing message and use it consistently. Your marketing message is a concise statement that defines the client pain points you address, your solution and what makes you different from your competition. When you have a consistent marketing message, it’s easier to reach and sell to customers and prospects.
- Build foundation copy that you can use over and over again. In addition to a marketing message, every business should have foundation copy that explains the benefits you offer customers, your products and services and what makes you different from your competition. Once this copy is developed, it can be used in a variety of ways, from your website to client proposals.
- Build a website that will attract visitors and close the deal. Your website markets your business 24/7. Make sure it is working hard for you. It should be copy rich to make it easier for visitors to find your site and to keep their interest once they land there. No time to develop new copy? Keep a file of ideas, consider questions and concerns raised by clients and prospects, and re-use your own words from blog postings, emails and proposals, as appropriate.
- Develop a marketing plan. Regardless of the state of the economy, you should always have a marketing plan. When time is tight, a plan becomes even more important. While you need to devote time initially to developing a plan, you save time in the long run and get better results when you follow a plan. Define your goals and objectives, focus your message for each target audience and lay out your strategies. Include deadlines, assign responsibility for each task and measure your results.
- Build your database. A well-developed database is incredibly valuable. File new contact information in one location and then once a week add it to your database. This takes far less time than adding contacts one at a time.
- Develop letter templates. Do you find yourself writing the same type of letters or emails on a regular basis? Standardize them! These might include a letter of introduction to a prospect, a thank you to a client for his business or a thank you for a referral. Add a handwritten postscript for greater impact.
- Stay connected. Networking is important to business success. Staying in touch once you make a contact is even more important. If you don’t, you are wasting your time networking. Develop a marketing tool, such as an electronic newsletter, that allows you to contact a large number of people at one time. To be effective, your newsletter should contain information that is valuable to the recipients.
- Schedule time each week to market your business. Okay, the reality is that marketing your business does take time. To make it easier, schedule time each week to work on marketing. Put it on your calendar, treat it as you would any other appointment and watch your business grow!
Copyright 2009 Joan B. Marcus Communications LLC May be reprinted with the following in full: Joan B. Marcus, president of Joan B. Marcus Communications LLC, helps small businesses and nonprofit organizations build their brand through the power of words. Learn more at http://www.joanbmarcuscommunications.com/. Joan B. Marcus, president of Joan B. Marcus Communications LLC, helps small businesses and nonprofit organizations build their brand through the power of words. Learn more at www.joanbmarcuscommunications.com where you can also sign up for a free subscription to Words That Work, a monthly newsletter that offers practical and low-cost strategies to help you market your business.
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