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7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise
Most business owners and managers keep a fairly close eye on their marketing budgets. And nothing throws a budget out of whack faster than advertising. Advertising, or paying good money to get your message in front of your target market, still...
How Do You Get Past A Gatekeeper?
The best joint ventures are with people in your own network – those that already know, like and trust you. However, there’s nothing to stop you from partnering with “cold” contacts – those you’ve never associated with before, and you would therefore...
How to Promote Your Small Business Without Spending a Fortune!
Through starting my own small businesses, I have learnt that what the marketing books tell you is not necessarily always appropriate for your business idea.
Let me illustrate by highlighting some of my mistakes!
MISTAKE NO. 1: Don’t get...
Niche Marketing : The Affiliate Angle
If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of Niche Marketing for the first time then Affiliate marketing is the ultimate low risk choice to get you started. Affiliate programmes cost nothing to join and present an almost infinite choice of...
The Art of Networking
Before there were computers and the Internet, before television and radio, before phones and electricity, business people still had to find ways to promote their businesses. The archaic promotional technique they used is still in practice today. The...
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What Most Marketing Gurus Don't Teach You
If you're not getting the results you want from your marketing,
there's a good chance it's because you're missing one key
ingredient. An ingredient that can make the difference between
successful marketing and dreadful marketing.
You're probably doing "tactical" marketing.
So what exactly does that mean? Isn't marketing, marketing?
The answer is, no. There are two kinds of marketing: strategic
marketing and tactical marketing. And, there is a distinct
difference between the two.
It's what most marketing "gurus" don't teach you
As I look around, most of the "marketing gurus" I see are
teaching tactical marketing. It's not that that's bad ... it's
just that it's only part of what you need to succeed.
They're teaching you how to write copy. How to publish an ezine.
How to market your business by writing articles or by issuing
press releases. How to market by teaching teleseminars or doing
speaking engagements. Or even how to network effectively.
Yes, these are all very valid ways to market your business.
So, what's the problem?
Without a well-thought-out marketing strategy behind them, your
chances of finding success with any or all of these marketing
tactics is limited.
So what exactly is strategic marketing?
Just like it sounds, strategic marketing means you have a
strategy behind your marketing. A "game plan" if you will.
It's what you do BEFORE you start marketing
It involves spending some time BEFORE you market to determine
exactly what you want to accomplish and setting some goals
for
your business. It means establishing an objective for every
marketing activity you undertake.
With strategic marketing you take the time to answer some basic
questions about who you are marketing to and what message will
be most effective.
You take the time to really understand the people you are
marketing to and how your product or service solves a problem or
fills a need they have.
You put all these puzzle pieces together to create a strategy
and a plan to grow your business.
Yes, that strategy may involve things like writing effective ad
copy, publishing an ezine, article marketing, writing press
releases, and maybe even doing some speaking or networking.
But here's the real difference ...
You now have a game plan driving your use of these marketing
tactics. You know what you want to achieve. You know who you're
trying to reach. You know where you can find them. And you know
what you must say to persuade them.
And, most importantly, you have a marketing plan that ensures
you'll stick with your marketing consistently enough to actually
move the needle toward your goals.
(C) Copyright 2006 Debbie LaChusa
About the author:
Debbie LaChusa created The
10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business
as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this
unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing
E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly
10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com
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