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Research is key when it comes to marketing and advertising small business.

As a veteran small business marketing consultant of over twenty years, I have spent a lot of time helping entrepreneurs attract, capture and keep the customers they want.

Getting new customers is vital to any business and there is a lot more to it than putting up a nice looking website or giving great customer service. Most people, especially those just starting out in a new venture, don’t realize how different marketing and advertising small business is from promoting big brands and larger companies.

Because larger businesses have more volume, they have more financial resources. Getting their name out, even if it doesn’t directly SELL product, often makes a lot of sense.

After all, those companies already have an established loyal base of customers, prospective shareholders and employees they want to keep their brand in front of. And if an ad campaign flops, so be it. They learn from it and move on. Most small business owners don’t have that kind of spare cash.

Sadly, many small business owners, even solopreneurs, use larger companies as their role models for marketing.How does that make sense when you neither have the funds — or even the same needs — as those organizations? Small companies need to get a return on every dollar they lay out. The only image you need to worry about is the one who interfaces with real prospects and customers.

As a small business marketing consultant, I believe that the biggest reason one in five businesses fail in the first year –– and 50% fail by the 5th year, is a lack of small business marketing savvy.

High impact low-budget marketing starts with understanding the basics and doing your research.

RESEARCH FOR BETTER ROI WHEN
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING SMALL BUSINESS

Consider this research for getting better returns when marketing and advertising small business:

One of the best ways to market is to get other people to market for you. A study in Entrepreneur magazine found that people were four times more likely to buy a product after it was recommended by a friend.
In a recent study by Direct Marketing Association, the number of touches required to convert a prospect into a sales-ready lead ranged from two to nine touches, with an average of 7.51
70% of people make purchasing decisions to solve problems. 30% make decisions to gain something. (Impact Communications)
At any given time, only 3% of your market is actively buying. 56% are not ready, 40% are poised to begin. (Vorsight)
An Experian report found that promotions that conveyed a sense of urgency had at least 14% higher click-to-open rates, 59% higher transaction-to-click rates, and twice as high transaction rates compared to their average marketing emails.
Full-Cycle Social Psychology documents numerous studies that show people are more likely to take action when minimal parameters are set e.g. when asking for a charitable contribution, adding that every penny counts (28% vs. 50%)
More than 90% of visitors who read your headline also read your “Call Your Action” copy. (Unbounce)
Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks 371% and sales 1617%. (WordStream)
In Dr. Robert Cialdini’s well documented book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, he explains the powerful concept of “reciprocity” — if someone does something for you, you naturally will want to do something for them. In one of hundreds of examples, Cialdini reports that restaurant patrons tipped 20% more when servers brought them two mints with their check.
73% of salespeople using social selling as part of their sales process outperform their sales peers and exceeded quota 23% more often. (Aberdeen)

If you are looking for a marketing IDEA for small business AND you cringe when it comes to self promotion, you’ll like what I am going to share with you today.

As a small business marketing consultant, people naturally ask me for input on growing their business. The question I get asked most is:

“Do you have any good ideas I can use for marketing?”

Typically when I get a deeper understanding of their business, and how they are operating, I find that they are barking up the wrong tree because what they need more than an IDEA, is a STRATEGY.

You can have the best, most creative, marketing idea for small business that was ever conceived, but if you don’t get the strategy right, it wont get you very far.

The reason that today’s high-impact, low-budget marketing idea for small business is one of my favorite’s, is because once you truly understand it, the strategies to implement it are relatively easy.

Curious to know what it is?

Drum roll please. . .

THE #1 WAY TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

GET OTHERS TO DO THE MARKETING FOR YOU!

Before you poo poo this marketing idea for small business, consider that people are FOUR more times likely to buy a product if it is recommended to them by a friend. (Entrepreneur Magazine)

Look at your own buying habits. Don’t you seek out recommendations from others either in person or by way of the many online review sites?

There are several effective ways to use this big idea strategically. Here are three

3 STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE “DO IT FOR ME” MARKETING IDEA FOR SMALL BUSINESS

1. GET YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS TO MARKET FOR YOU

Getting repeat and referral business not only satisfies your short-term need of getting more customers, it also builds your brand value. That is because it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing one. Word of mouth business translates into higher profits and more sustainable business.

If you are already in the habit of creating a WOW experience for your customer, executing this strategy is easy. All you have to do is find ways to:

Ask for referrals
Ask for reviews
Reward desired behavior by showing appreciation for the referral
Ask again
Stay top of mind with regular communication

People are busy. If they are not referring you to their friends, that is your fault. Not theirs.

There are lots of ways to to execute this low-cost, high-impact marketing idea for small business success. The best strategy will depend on your specific circumstances. But here are some ideas:

If you sell high ticket items, show appreciation by sending cards and/or appropriate gifts (not cheap, schmaltzy items with no real value that have your logo on them).
Set up a system for getting feedback from every customer. The more personal this process is (e.g. a personal phone call versus an online survey) the more likely you are to deepen that relationship and turn your customers into sales agents for you. More about how to do that specifically in my next post.
Use negative feedback from customers to make improvements. When you have implemented a suggestion, let the customer KNOW. Thank them and INVITE them back.
Ask your customers to review you and share your page on social media.
Implement a referral rewards program

2. GET YOUR EMPLOYEES TO MARKET FOR YOU

People often underestimate the value of their employees. Your employees are part of the community and as such, are probably in contact with people you would like to have as clients.

INCENTIVIZE your employees to bring in business and INCENTIVIZE customers for responding to the call. Incentives are not just about money. Remember to show appreciation when employees make the effort to help you..

If appropriate, have a friend and family day for employees, print customized business cards for them with a special offer for their referrals.

GET STRATEGIC PARTNERS TO MARKET FOR YOU

Team up with a business related to your industry (but not a direct competitor) for cross promotion.What you are looking for are businesses who have the same target market but offer a different product or service.

You can use this strategy locally offline through some kind of special
event, or online with a webinar or promotional giveaway.

You can also exchange guest blogs, introduce each other by email, snail mail, or in person. For example, if you are providing consulting services for online business owners, you may recommend that they use a certain web designer to create their website. The web designer can be your strategic partner. If that designer works with business clients, she can refer those people to you for consulting services.

It’s a win-win. Apart from a signed document and an easy conversation, it doesn’t require much work at all. But as with all partnerships, it is important that clear expectations are set, you have an exit strategy should things not work out and that each partner honors their commitment to do their share.

If you think you might like me to help you grow your business, your next step is to schedule an appointment so we can discuss possibilities.

Most people are ONLY able to effectively communicate, understand, motivate and influence others who think like they do

THIS CAN BE A PROBLEM IF YOU WANT TO MOTIVATE OTHERS (OR YOURSELF) TO ACHIEVE MORE

The problem is that each person has their own unique set of filters through which they see things and experience life.

These filters are shaped by a person’s sense of IDENTITY, their beliefs about what is TRUE and their values about what is GOOD.

Communication becomes even more complex when you consider that each person has a unique way of thinking and processing information.

The WORDS they use describe mental pictures and trigger emotions that only THEY are aware of. Just ask twenty people what “to retire comfortably” specifically means to them and you will get twenty different answers.

There are many misconceptions about mind power techniques and their application. While it is true that there are some charlatans “out there” whose goals are to manipulate and control others, for most of us, mind power techniques are a means to attaining a greater level of self-mastery, for the purpose of leading a happier, healthier, more productive and fulfilling life.

In this article, I will break down what I see as the three most important (and often, the most surprising) elements of self-mastery and pull back the curtain on what I have found to be the most effective methodologies to accomplish those goals, based on over twenty years of teaching various techniques and methodologies.

Whether you realize it or not, you have probably been using auto suggestion techniques your whole life. If you have ever told yourself to wake up at a certain time, “relax,” “sleep,”

“concentrate,” “smile,” “breathe,” or whatever — you have used auto suggestions.

In truth, auto suggestion is the simplest and arguably, the most powerful of mind programming tools. It is one of those simple mind power techniques that is easy, always accessible, can be done anywhere any time (even while driving) and requires no special skill or training.

A personal mission statement is an expression of you, where you fit into the world. Think about it as your own GPS to get you living on purpose.

The steps below will help you create a personal mission statement to inspire and motivate you in your life purpose.

It is also something to hold onto and read again in good times and bad, to help keep you directed.

If you have been looking for your life purpose, I think you will find the exercise below will really change how you think.

When we go through hard times, our thinking can get foggy and we often forget who we are and why we exist.

Often people think that to live your life purpose means having to do some extraordinary work.

People think of the rich and famous– someone finding a cure for cancer, a glamorous movie star, or a best-selling author – but really, even the most ordinary people in the most mundane jobs have an opportunity to live a fulfilling life that has meaning and purpose.

On the other side of the spectrum, when you look at movie stars or famous billionaires — the ones that really seem to be living a life of purpose — are mostly the ones who use their wealth, their stature, their position to do meaningful charitable work that has nothing to do with their careers.

Self motivation techniques are mind power techniques that help you direct your focus away from the “discomfort” of doing whatever it is that you need to do — and toward the benefits of achieving your goal.

In other words, self motivation means using your mind power to make your internal associations of the desired OUTCOME more compelling than the work of getting there. Does that make sense?

If you are looking for workout motivation, for example, and your self talk and/or pictures in your mind are consumed with the discomfort of working out – or something more pleasurable you could be doing instead – you obviously won’t have workout motivation.

That is why you need Self Motivation Techniques

Wow, last year was truly an eventful year with EVERYthing in it.
My frequent flyer miles accumulated quicker than the national debt (if that is possible) as I raced across the country speaking, conducting workshops, strategizing, planning and consulting with professionals and entrepreneurs affected by big changes in their industry and 180 degree shifts in consumer behavior and attitudes.

Change always creates opportunity. It helps you grow.

Look! It doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do, there is a monster growth wave on the 2014 horizon, and if you are not positioned to ride it, you may get wiped out by surprise as your competitors cruise by you.

Change is inevitable. Often it is difficult. Some of it we can prepare for, some happens without warning and leaves us feeling as if we have no control. But no matter what, you can always make the choice to learn, grow and make the most of what is available to you now.
I was taken completely by surprise at the beginning of the year when my dear friend and business partner, Michelle, was suddenly diagnosed with a very aggressive disease- already in advanced stages. While Michelle’s passing in June 2013, was a terrible loss to me personally, as well as to the business, it gave me the impetus to re-imagineer a new vision for the future of my business and refocus on what is important, while appreciating the many blessings I enjoy.

I encourage you to take a moment now to consider your blessings and imagineer a bigger, brighter, more compelling vision for your business and your life. Then join me later this month at the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce to see how our kickass, high achievers programs can help you make it happen.