Most small business marketing is done without understanding it.
Lamentable, but the truth, all the same.
If business owners aren?t busy copying each other (not realizing the copiers are in turn being copied by the ones they?re copying), then they?re trying to follow the example of the advertising strategies of the giant corporations, with their deep pockets and vast budgets.
Alas, this form of marketing simply doesn?t work for small businesses. There?s no accountability, no tracking and so no way of knowing what?s working and what isn?t working.
But not all is lost! If you market your business the right way, then your advertising suddenly becomes far more effective, less stressful and a lot more fun. It?s just a matter of following the (surprisingly few and simple) rules.
So, let?s take a look at 5 simple advertising techniques any small business can put to work making money, starting right now.
2. Marketing with a definite call to action (direct response)
The most effective form of marketing is direct response marketing, which, in contrast to ?ordinary? marketing seeks to elicit a specific response from the target market rather than just wishing, usually in vain, to grow the ?image? of the business or promote that most baleful of frauds, ?brand awareness?.
2. Monitoring and testing
Business owners must watch every advertising piece or campaign like a falcon, and determine to the highest accuracy the responses they get. From the shortest email to the most complex multi-step direct mail campaign they MUST know what?s happening with the prospect? who?s buying, how much are they spending and what products are they spending their money on?
In this way it becomes possible for them to discover exactly where the sales and hence the profits are coming from.
And by a procedure of stepwise-refinement, they can take so-so adverts and refashion them into formidable advertising machines that churn out considerable profits like clockwork, year in, year out.
3. Accountableness Sharp business owners recognize every single marketing activity MUST carry its own weight.
There is no conjecture or estimation. It?s all in the cold, hard data
At any time an advert is found not to be bearing its weight, it?s immediately scrapped.
4. Feedback, not failure
Fact: marketing pros will tell you perhaps only one ad in 8 is profitable ? but this one is SO profitable it more than makes up for the 7 ?failures?. Most business owners don?t understand this, and so when faced with a non-performing ad, they assume the whole advertising thing is a waste of time.
Not so your effective marketer. Savvy marketers realize they have just learned something very, very valuable: how NOT to write an advertisement for that market. It means they don?t need to make that error again. Leave your emotional attachment to results behind, and you ?ll fare far better in your marketing, that?s a promise.
5. Every piece MUST include one (and ONLY one) offer
Effective marketers understand every single advertising piece they out out there must have one (and only one) clear and unambiguous offer in it.
Moreover, for ideal results it must be time- or quantity-limited to make it more desirable. This is utterly contrary to what common sense would suggest although it works. We call it ?scarcity? and it?s without doubt the most formidable weapon in the marketer?s armoury.
So there we have it. Just five simple strategies you can put to work for you in your own small business TODAY and start seeing an immediate increase in sales and profits.
Jon McCulloch is perhaps Europe?s top direct response expert. Visit his website now and take just 3 of his 52 FREE small business promotion tips he?s giving away today, and actually put them to work for you and you?ll be amazed by the results.
They?ve all produced substantially better results for small businesses just like yours in the last two years.
Are You Looking To Change Your Life & Experience Financial Freedom? At Virtual Assistant Live We Show You How...Source: http://theboardmagazine.com/2012/02/small-business-advertising-5-secrets-to-higher-profits/
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