7 Tips a Marketing Strategy Will Expand Your Business

"What is the best money I can spend in marketing to grow my business?" Without a doubt, this is the question I'm most frequently asked by small business owners. It may seem like a question that is promptly followed by an "it depends" type of answer, however, it's actually quite easy to pinpoint one tool that is relatively inexpensive, delivers a high ROI and, sadly, is not commonly found in a small businesses' toolbox. It's a marketing strategy.

Why is a marketing strategy the most powerful tool for growing business? The straight-forward answer is that a solid marketing strategy will address current challenges and map out paths by which a business can grow in the future. It will audit a business's brand and message, but isn't limited to branding alone. Rather, a marketing strategy is a combination of big picture and detail analysis that incorporates a wide range of marketing channels tailored for that business's industry, market, and budget. The majority of marketing strategies I write for small businesses include a high number of items that can be performed for free by current in-house staff, resulting in a plan that won't lead to a fortune spent. In fact, a good marketing strategy is an investment in saving money because it targets a business's efforts and helps avoid waste.

At this point I need to qualify my earlier statement; the best money spent in marketing is a smart marketing strategy written by an experienced marketer on behalf of a specific business, not something sketched out by a rep at a service shop (think printer or web firm) or from a generic, 'small business strategy' check list. For a marketing strategy to be truly effective, it needs to be a customized effort involving research, analysis and a careful matching of opportunities with the business's resources and budget. This can never be a quick or off the shelf effort - a smart marketing strategy takes some time to develop properly. My own typically take less than a month and are generally under $2,000.

It's important to keep in mind that while a smart marketing strategy won't force a business beyond its means, it will present a mix of opportunities that meet immediate goals and show paths for growth. A marketing strategy's advantage is that it paints a picture of a business, highlights who that business is targeting, focuses its marketing budget, and develops a schedule for reaching out to buyers. It accomplishes this in 7 key ways:

1. Develops Brand & Message

A brand is simply a business's public look and message. Businesses all have the beginning of a brand - an official name - and some have taken steps to identify a logo, tagline, and possibly a general color scheme or style guide. In small businesses, these are often a reflection of the owner's personal taste rather than an evaluation of the market and targeted buyers (years ago I had a client who chose her corporation's color scheme from her kitchen wall's paint chip). They may be a result of a family brainstorming effort or an owner's flash of inspiration. Sometimes they are geographically influenced or an attempt at gimmickry. The point is that while it's rare to find a small business that developed its name, logo, and message as the result of true market research, it's a universal rule that, for good or bad, small businesses will refer to these items as their business's brand.

7 Tips a Marketing Strategy Will Expand Your Business

And this is where a marketing strategy steps in. A smart marketing strategy will thoroughly evaluate a business's brand through experienced and unbiased eyes. The marketer is not (hopefully) a member of the family and most likely hasn't seen the kitchen's walls. Instead, an experienced marketer will audit the brand as both a buyer and a marketer, and evaluate its ability to quickly convey the business's story, whether or not it targets the appropriate buyer, and if it is unique enough within the marketplace to set the business apart from the competition. The marketing strategy will highlight any brand challenges, inconsistencies, or weaknesses before suggesting modifications and improvements.

Unfortunately, 'brand' seems to be a point at which many small businesses abandon their strategic efforts. A business's brand is essential and well worth a hefty effort, but 'branding' isn't enough of an action item to grow a business and isn't where a smart strategy ends...

2. Audits Current Program

Which segues nicely into the next stage of a strategy: auditing the current marketing program. This stage goes beyond branding to review all of the business's marketing efforts and is an essential component to any smart strategy. It's at this stage that wasted money or effort is discovered, missed opportunities highlighted, or where I find that a client had started down a positive path in the past but either abandoned it too early or was off in its message. Has the business's marketing program been well thought out or has it been a shotgun approach through a series of one-off efforts spread over time? This is where we find out.

My audits look for strengths as well as holes and weaknesses in a business's marketing program by dissecting the marketing channel mix, promotional locations (both online and traditional), frequency, and more, then matching the entire program to the targeted buyer profile. I spend quite a bit of time looking through the business's marketing tools such as its web site, brochures, newsletters, and social media and evaluate the business's staff resources, factoring any strengths into the final evaluation.

3. Profiles Buyers & Marketplace

It may be hard to fathom but there are small businesses that face each year without knowing much about their own marketplace and the very buyers upon which their livelihoods depend. As a marketer, it baffles me how any business can hang its shingle without taking the time to first evaluate who it will sell to and from whom it will grab market share. Questions such as, "how many buyers are out there?", "how do they like to be reached?" and, "who am I competing against?" are all fundamental to business success because it's only through this knowledge that a company can adapt and grow. The only way to create this profile is through research!

I start by pulling information directly from my clients through a combination of interviews and surveys filled with carefully crafted questions. I'll ask then re-ask until I've developed a complete profile from my client's perspective. My work then turns to generating a buyer profile from a marketing perspective that stems from my client's high level buyer description. I'll dig and research until my profile is complete, then compare my profile with that of my client's. Hopefully we're in synch, but if not, I'll point out where we differ and evaluate where my client can hone his or her efforts.

At this point I'll also want to look at the marketplace from my buyer profile's point of view, and will "shop" the competition. I'll look at the business's geographic reach and investigate both demographic data and local economic growth plans. All of this data will play into the final evaluation of whether my client should continue in its current market or branch out into an area that's buyer-rich.

4. Evaluates Competition

"Who is my competition and how do we differ?" That's a question every business owner should be able to answer at any given time! Business owners should be aware of who is snagging market share from them and how each competitor compares in services, quality, customer service, messaging, and overall marketing efforts. It's wonderful to be the best service provider available, but that won't mean anything if the competition is signing more buyers!

For this stage of a marketing strategy, I like to shop the competition from a buyer's perspective before comparing my findings to my own "client shop". Since I'm an outside consultant, it's fairly easy for me to assume an unbiased buyer's approach to most shopping efforts, be it B to B or B to C, and I look for easy shopping situations, who could satisfy my buyer needs, would entice me to make a purchase or conversely would turn me off as a buyer. I use these results to suggest ways my client could improve his or own business's message and to...

5. Determine Marketing Mix

This stage of a marketing strategy is a game of, 'find the buyers'. After all, what is marketing if it isn't an effort to communicate with buyers and lure them to a business? To me, this is the truly strategic stage of a strategy, but one that could not exist without all the previous steps. It is at this point that the strategy should answer questions such as, "should a business adopt the latest trends or stick to more traditional methods?" or, "what will provide the biggest bang for a limited budget?"

It's also the stage where experience really pays off as there are many, many ways to spend money in marketing and only so many options that will reach the right buyers. I enjoy this stage the most and spend time looking under rocks to discover new options and find cost effective solutions. No two strategies should be ever be the same at this stage, making this the most custom portion of the entire process. A good strategy will look beyond paid search and Facebook ads and find new ways to present the business - within budget.

This is also the most flexible portion of a smart marketing strategy. I like to include a variety of options that range from 'incorporate immediately' to more longer term efforts that make sense once the business has grown or has put other marketing tools in place. A good mix will pull in multiple marketing channels and allow a business to reach buyers on many levels.

6. Finds Internal & Low Cost Options

Many businesses have low cost and free marketing options already at their disposal and may not realize it. A good marketing strategy reviews a business's internal options, evaluates the business as a whole, and discover resources that can be used in the marketing plan. I like to empower my clients and give them the chance to save their budget for bigger ticket items down the road.

7. Designs 1 - 5 Years Marketing Plan

I wrap up every marketing strategy with a 1 year, month by month, marketing plan. This marketing plan lists carefully selected marketing efforts determined in the strategy and provide a schedule for when they should be launched and evaluated. For smaller businesses, I try to stick to the low cost options that can be maintained internally with optional efforts that may cost more money or should happen after an early goal has been achieved. More expensive or involved opportunities are generally reserved for a 2-5 year plan and are contingent upon achieving goals.

By incorporating the above 7 stages into a thoroughly researched and carefully crafted strategy, a small business will have a map by which it can achieve its goals and grow its business. It's money well spent and something a business really shouldn't exist without!

Crafting a Successful B2B Marketing Strategy

For many B2B marketers, the traditional marketing funnel that motivates prospects to self-identify and then move to a sales funnel, is ingrained in our minds. However, in the Age of the Customer, Forrester Research's phrase for a customer-driven marketing landscape, the funnel has evolved to reflect a new customer expectation requiring sales and marketing to work in tandem.

With this in mind, B2B marketers must evaluate how their current B2B marketing strategy is aligned with the psychology of their buyer journey. In other words, B2B marketers must know how to craft a marketing strategy based on the predominance of the customer.

So, we have outlined a series of steps to follow when crafting a customer-centric B2B marketing strategy. Ask yourself and your team, "have we checked the following boxes when crafting our B2B marketing strategy?"

IDENTIFY TARGET PERSONAS IN YOUR B2B MARKETING STRATEGY

Going through the exercise to develop personas based on market and customer research is fundamental to understanding not only who is your audience but how to engage them in the buyer journey. Incorporating marketing personas makes websites two to five times more effective and easier to use by targeted users. However, only 44% of B2B marketers use buyer personas. So, ensure your B2B marketing strategy includes persona-based experiences that moves buyers forward in their journey with your brand.

MAP A PERSONA-BASED CUSTOMER JOURNEY TO DRIVE YOUR B2B MARKETING STRATEGY

Building out your influencer and decision personas to understand your target audience is only part of the process of laying a customer-centric foundation for your strategy. Next is to map the touch points of your buyer journey through all buyer stages. In order to close the loop from awareness to revenue it's critical to know the touch points along the journey that are motivators and detractors in order to influence all parts of the customer experience. When developing your B2B marketing strategy answer the following, "How do I craft a strategy with the framework that aligns with your customer's journey to gain clarity and define priority?"

Crafting a Successful B2B Marketing Strategy

DEFINE AND MEASURE B2B MARKETING STRATEGY GOALS & METRICS

Perhaps a no-brainer for a data-driven B2B marketer is clearly-defined metrics for success. With a heightened emphasis on personalization and customer experience (CX), B2B marketing goals and metrics must be established to measure the success of the marketing efforts supporting a customer's progression through the buyer journey. Your B2B marketing strategy must outline how it will create direct contribution to revenue with a return and fuel high growth.

A recent case study example from one of our technology platform and services clients is Viewpointe, a leading private cloud managed services provider. Viewpointe was challenged with continuing to engage customers over the course of a 6+ month sales cycle. After clearly defining their B2B marketing goals, they aligned their content marketing plan with their persona-based customer journey. As a result, Viewpointe stayed engaged with their customers throughout the buyer journey and closed more deals. One way Viewpointe measured customer engagement lift was a 52% increase in persona aligned website content and 164% increase in blog content engagement from organic search referrals.

YOUR B2B MARKETING STRATEGY INCORPORATES ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS WITH SALES

Referring back to our earlier customer funnel illustration, the traditional hand-off from marketing to sales, with no feedback loop when a lead is "flipped over the fence to sales", causing misalignment between B2B marketing and sales teams. In fact, 25% of B2B marketers have no idea what is their customer conversion rate. In the Age of the Customer, your marketing strategy should outline how to rip out the proverbial fence and instead encourage inter-team collaboration. Ensuring this marketing and sales alignment is crucial to creating a consistent customer experience along a buyer's journey. Being intentional about sharing insights between teams is one way to encourage broad acceptance of a successful B2B marketing strategy execution.

YOUR NEXT STEP

With only 45% of B2B marketers confident that they have decent, if not high, levels of customer centricity, the time to is now to author your new B2B marketing strategy that elevates you above your competition.

7 MLM Tips - How To Explode Your MLM Business

The following tips are struggles that I personally went through. I'm sharing these 7 MLM Tips with you in hopes that I can help you cut some corners in your journey in network marketing

MLM Tip #1 Master One Marketing Strategy - When jumping into on-line marketing you really want to have one marketing strategy mastered before you start jumping into others. Let me help you see this so that its loud and clear. I recommend indulging your self in a "buffet" of strategies for roughly six to seven days. Explore all avenues of attraction marketing and choose one that resonates best with you it being online or offline marketing. This MLM tip is great if you get it down.

MLM Tip #2 Create Leaders (Alphas) Not Followers (Betas) - Don't hear me wrong, betas are awesome, but if you're new to network marketing you want to prospect people who have leader qualities (Alphas). Create ten leader in your down-line, then fish out betas. Betas take time build up to alpha state, if you have the time to build that, it's a very powerful long-term strategy. Look to see who shines in your crowd of friends or local networking events.

MLM Tip #3 Know That Your First Year In MLM Will Be A Learning Experience - Ninety-five percent of new network marketers quit within their first six-to-twelve months. I found that one needs to educate them self in the industry to know what to expect before plowing in to MLM. This industry is about NET-WORKING, it's a people business. One must listen, see whats going on around them and take action. Basic "things" to master right off the bat are: Prospecting, Rapport-Building, Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up and Closing The Deal! I learned this MLM tip through experience, the hard way.

7 MLM Tips - How To Explode Your MLM Business

MLM Tip #4 Envision Your Success - This Is Extremely Hardcore - You have to - have to envision your self succeeding at this game. One needs to envision the results that one is desiring in conjunction with taking action every day. Every day you should be doing something - anything that is getting you closer to your dream. Find the reason WHY... you're doing this business, that's the motivation behind everything anyone does. We all do something for a reason, that reason is the WHY we do anything and everything in life. FIND YOUR WHY

MLM Tip #5 Follow the Formula - Every MLM company out there for the most part has a training system, if your company doesn't have one you have to ask your self "Am I with the right company?". What I consider a great "FORMULA" is a training system has Rapport, Prospecting and Closing modules, goal setting training, weekly training events available to you 24/7... Your company has a system - follow it. Talk to your leaders and start cranking the wheel...hard. My personal recommendation is creating 1-2 pieces of content everyday [article & video], Invite as many qualified prospects to watch your company presentation online or offline, attend every MAJOR event, NEVER pitching your opportunity, grab everyone elses business card and follow-up...

MLM Tip #6 Get Money in the hands of others - If you're doing online marketing I recommend promoting other peoples product. Get attention from the people you want to be like. They will help if and when you put money in their pockets, trust. Now, if you get cash into the hands of your new recruiters and teach them how to make cash online to give them a return in their investment, trust me when say you will be successful in this business. This builds a great down-line culture.

MLM Tip #7 Work on your mindset 15-20 min per day - Personal growth is something I strive for on a daily basis. For fifteen-to-twenty minutes a day I work on my mindset and envision how I would like my day and future to manifest, similar to tip number four, but different. My mindset is How I started gaining the confidence to approach and invite anyone I thought would make a great fit in my personal team on top of that my mindset allowed me to receive money from others yes receive money. Many have issues allowing money in their life. Not having enough or having more than enough is a mindset. I Love this MLM tip, if you haven't yet, pick up "Think And Grow Rich" from your local book store.

These MLM tips and strategies are worth as much as you apply them. These MLM Tips can make or break your business. Absorb these MLM 7 Tips to explode your down-line.

Written By: Umair

Best Marketing Tips For Business Marketers 2018

No matter how passionate someone may be about something, the end result will still meet with a major exchange and/or sacrifice. For the average Joe.. well, that might be a little hard to swallow but it makes scientific sense. Don't worry though, I won't get too crazy on you with algebraic formulas with glass beaks.. but for sure this science will make sense.

Let's start with this marketing tip... In order to receive you must give; now chances are when you are dealing with a business & want to make a strong investment into marketing tips & information, the exchange of money for information has to take place.

You know something, I once stepped into network marketing, very shy of the blind truth behind the industry that produces the most wealthiest 6 figure & 7 figure earners Ever! So what makes these marketing Guru's so wealthy in the network marketing industry? Well let's just stay tuned for the best marketing tips.

Marketing Tips That Have To Be Taken Into Serious Consideration

Now we can actually start narrowing down some marketing tips that will help you in the long journey to prosperity. Everyone has this theory of making money for free, I honestly have to agree with a few of them, because here is the deal.. The truth is freedom doesn't start until you are willing to invest into yourself.

When talking about investing into you, don't use a lot of short-cut terms.. think about some very broad connections with the right type of tools. If you are looking for proper leadership & that particular person calling themselves a "Marketing Coach" tells you that you don't need to make any type of purchases and/or invest into proper marketing tools.. you should run away very fast.

Here's some "I heard it all before" marketing tips that will awake your nerves a little bit, You have to spend money in order to make money & wait here's a good one.. You get out what you put in. Now let's elaborate on these moral marketing tips just a tiny bit ok.. you can't expect the best when you don't put in the best; See i told you it was only a tiny bit. Make sure you head over to the bank & put those marketing tips in a saving account forever because trust and believe they will always be needed for emergency purposes.

Marketing Tips Broken Down To A Science

I will break down the science behind the best marketing tips when it comes down to finding out what is necessary in regards to applying proper business marketing investments.. Alright so here it goes:

1). Always be prepared to make financial business investments- Remember my friend.. this is business, a business does not operate without the proper tools to produce revenue(money). So the truth behind the hype of not needing financial commodities for exchange of marketing tools is a Big fat lie. So make sure you have your head on straight when it comes to having the proper mindset for a business to properly establish itself.

Best Marketing Tips For Business Marketers 2018

2). Seek mind-set improvement material- I can't stress to you how important the asset of the mind is when it comes to becoming successful at anything you do in life. You have to be willing to invest into personal development material that will help you keep your mind sharp for progression. The reality behind it all is that you must experience failure in order to become successful, You can minimize your bad ways of thinking when troubled times arouse & convert those negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Your mind & your way of thinking will determine the type of results you produce externally from within yourself for your business.. and that's real.

3). Have a consistent motive with no excuses- So listen my friend... here's the bigger picture of the marketing tips: Do what it takes to make it happen without making excuses about things not happening in you business. Be willing to invest the time when it comes down to your market & business venture. Another reality is that you won't put in the time to see the results that you dream of if you are not passionate about your investment.

Six Sigma Jobs

The demand for people with Six Sigma expertise is constantly increasing. More and more organizations are discovering the many ways that the Six Sigma methodology can help them grow and improve. As the methodology spreads to many different industries beyond its genesis in manufacturing, you can now find many service and government organizations advertising for Six Sigma help. Plus, it is no longer the largest corporations looking for Six Sigma help. Smaller companies also are taking on the projects and hiring people as consultants or permanent staff. The need for full-time Six Sigma professionals will only increase.

Types of Six Sigma Jobs

There are many Six Sigma jobs in many industries at junior and senior levels. The positions have descriptions and requirements unique to that organization and its requirements. It is true that many positions are filled internally as organizations train their own people already familiar with the organization's culture in Six Sigma skills. However, organizations frequently reach outside to add personnel with Six Sigma expertise to lead projects or even the full-scale implementation of Six Sigma throughout the organization. These positions are usually dedicated full-time to Six Sigma projects.

Six Sigma jobs are advertised under many titles, not always as obvious as "Six Sigma Black Belt," "Six Sigma Consultant," or "Six Sigma Analyst." Other possible titles include things like "Functional Project Lead" "Six Sigma Program Manager," "Lead Analyst/Project Manager," "Director of Operational Excellence," "Business Process Manager," or "Senior Projects Manager." Whatever the exact title, the organization is looking for someone with the skills of a Six Sigma Black Belt. A Black Belt is an individual trained in the Six Sigma methodology and experienced leading cross-functional process improvement teams. They will lead individual Six Sigma projects.

Six Sigma Jobs

Very senior Six Sigma positions are sometimes advertised. These are Master Black Belts, individuals trained in the Six Sigma methodology who acts as the organization-wide Six Sigma program manager. They will lead Six Sigma implementation at the organization and will oversee Black Belts and process improvement projects and provides guidance to Black Belts as required. Master Black Belt positions understandably demand the highest level of Six Sigma experience and qualifications.

Qualifying for Six Sigma Jobs

To be considered for a Six Sigma job, you need a combination of relevant academic and work experience. The first and foremost qualification is to be trained in Six Sigma, ideally as a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. This means formal training from qualified Six Sigma consultants who have extensive experience in training and implementation of Six Sigma. Specific training in Six Sigma DMAIC and/or DFSS methodology is often requested. The best teacher is, of course, experience and organizations will strongly prefer, if not insist, on people who have completed at least one Six Sigma project.

In addition to possessing Six Sigma training and project experience, organizations will ask that you have experience working in the industry of the organization's business. So if the company is a manufacturer, they will usually want you to have direct experience in a manufacturing environment. Organizations will ask that you have a certain minimum period of experience (often five years) in that particular industry.

Management experience is a huge plus and will almost certainly be a requirement for a Six Sigma project team leader. Having on your resume proven project management success within a structured environment and being able to demonstrate good managerial skills will take you a long way. That's because leading and facilitating Black Belts, Green Belts, and business teams through a Six Sigma project is often the role organizations are seeking to fill.

There are also essential personal skills. You need to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of processes and quality methodologies and a willingness to take an initiative and lead change. Another crucial skill is the ability to link strategy to execution. The aptitude to look beyond the surface and be creative to think conceptually about strategic business issues and develop creative but practical solutions is key.

Supplier Performance and Supplier Information Are Useful to Save Businesses Money

Businesses are always looking to increase revenue from sales. Thus, they advertise to increase customers and sales to achieve this. Actions like this often result in increased site traffic and profit.

However, many businesses neglect to evaluate their spending. Spending on supplies, products, services, and other things add up. This is another place businesses can save money for their company.

This area is only neglected because the usual focus is on sales. Many firms online specialize in financial management solutions. One of these solutions is supplier performance to help save money.

Supplier performance solutions continuously evaluate performance. They also identify risks in supplier chains and places to improve. Supplier performance solutions offer customers wonderful results.

Supplier performance evaluates purchasing standards with suppliers. These are helpful in identifying worst case purchasing scenarios. Additionally, supplier performance identifies potential new suppliers.

Potential new suppliers may help a business lower cost on purchases. This can save a business a lot of money which is useful elsewhere. Saved capital may be reinvested or put into additional advertising.

In addition to supplier performance there is supplier information. Supplier information also helps save money on the purchase side. This is where solution monitors and uses information from suppliers.

Supplier information solutions consolidate a lot of information. The information consolidated is on contract agreements and purchases. This solution identifies when a supplier charges a different amount.

Identifying an increase in a charge is vital to saving money. Supplier information solutions help to settle this charge dispute. It allows a business to question a supplier on this increased cost.

Supplier Performance and Supplier Information Are Useful to Save Businesses Money

Supplier information is also useful in identifying supply ability. It pinpoints suppliers who fail to deliver regularly and timely. This allows firms to look at potential suppliers in the industry.

Supplier information and performance are all part of analysis. This is spend analysis which evaluates all company spending. Spend analysis offers detailed reporting on all ways to spend money.

Spend analysis is vital to know exactly how much one spends. This is vital to identify new saving opportunities available. A detailed opportunity assessment is possible with analysis.

Spend analysis is very detailed with supplier data in categories. This analysis is useful to spend one's time on useful actions. This means strategic activities which automates spend classification.

Spend analysis solutions are available to companies everywhere. Financial firms offer spend analysis solutions on a global level. The return on investment for spend analysis is quite high for clients.