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5 Simple Tips for Better Marketing

November 2, 2014 | Marketing

By Suzy Rounce

It doesn’t matter if you are a large or a small company, marketing your business matters. It isn’t about just showing up to networking events, though of course, that is a large part of it. You need to treat your business like a person.

How does that person look, act and sound when you aren’t there to do the talking for her? Do people want to be friends with your business persona? Are they a loyal friend or nothing more than an ‘acquaintance’?

How does that person look, act and sound when you aren’t there to do the talking for her? Do people want to be friends with your business persona? Are they a loyal friend or nothing more than an ‘acquaintance’?

These 5 tips can start you on a path to better marketing:

  1. BE GENEROUS. When it comes to what you know, what you can give and who you can help the possibilities are endless. Having a ‘do-gooder’ mentality in your daily life will open the door to greater opportunities than you could ever have imagined.
  2. HAVE A PLAN. For some reason marketing plans don’t get the same weight as sales plans or revenue projections. Funny how that works. Smaller companies seem to think it’s something that is a ‘nice to have’. That’s just not true. Even a simple, short marketing plan lets you know where you have been, where you are headed and how to be the most efficient in getting there.
  3. PRIORITIZE 1 OR 2 THINGS. If you are new to focusing on marketing, pick one or two things that you can to 100% commit to and make sure you complete them. It can be something as small as sharing your business’ personality perspective on Twitter two times each week. Keep it simple and manageable to start.
  4. COMMIT TO A BUDGET. It doesn’t have to be huge, but it does have to be realistic for what you want to accomplish. Marketing is an investment, and if done right, can be something you continually reap the rewards from.
  5. DON’T TRY TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF. Just because you can design an ad yourself or build your own website doesn’t mean it’s always the best idea. By all means, if you have a knack for that sort of thing and find it exciting then your audience will see and feel the passion you put behind it. But, if you have other things you are a specialist in, just like many things in life, then find a qualified partner you respect and work with them. (Look for Issue 2: article on How to Pick your Marketing Partner).

Think about your favourite brands and companies. Because you love them, you are fiercely loyal and generous, with your words and your wallet. We hope the above tips are useful in developing a similar loyalty and following for your business.