A Lean Mean Marketing Machine
Todays sluggish economy can be tough for small businesses but there are steps you can take to tighten your belt and still get great results from your marketing efforts. One way to do this is to trim the excess from your marketing budget leaving only the best most costeffective tactics to do the work. Below are five tips that can help you save some money as well as help you build your own lean mean marketing machine so give them a try!
- Objective Analysis Take a good look at the marketing activities you are currently investing in. Are they really working for you or are you doing them because its always been that way? Before you renew your ad in the Yellow Pages or print that annual catalog make sure they are still bringing in dollars and are really worth the investment.
- Test Measure By keeping track of marketing campaign results you can easily spot the activities that work well for your business and also identify the ones that dont. Spend your dollars on the winners and dump the losers.
- Update Your Web Site When times are tough customers tend to take longer to make buying decisions and thoroughly research their options before making purchases. And where do they turn to do this research? The web of course! Thats why its important that your web site is uptodate and can stand up to the inevitable comparisons to your competitors.
- Segment Your Lists When considering a new marketing campaign be sure to segment your lists so you can weedout the unlikely prospects. Spend your marketing dollars only on your bestbets to keep costs down and ROI up.
- Use Web Marketing Finding new prospects is easy and costeffective when you use online marketing strategies. Enewsletters web advertising Google clickads and search engine marketing are typically far less expensive than traditional advertising and direct mail activities. Replace the pricey oldschool marketing tactics with some new online initiatives to get great results while keeping the budget under control.
Careful spending of your marketing budget can certainly help during an economic downturn but its also good practice for the longterm success of your business. Dont be afraid to try new things especially new web initiatives that are typically inexpensive to test drive. Keep track of what works so you can build on your successes and drop the activities that dont produce great results for your business.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Lauren Hobson President and CEO of Five Sparrows LLC has more than 15 years of experience in small business technology writing marketing and web site design and development. Her articles have helped the companys Biz Talk ENewsletter reach more than 3500 readers each month making it one of the most widely read small business publications of its kind in Michigan. To read articles or subscribe to Biz Talk please visit www.FiveSparrows.com/biztalk.htm.
Copyright 2008 Five Sparrows LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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