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Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

by: Debbie LaChusa

What?!? Sabotage your own success? Who would do that? Well, you'd be surprised how many small business owners think they are effectively marketing their business, when in fact they are cutting their own throat.
Yes, they may be running ads that are pulling in leads or customers. And yes, they may be writing a regular column for their local newspaper so they are perceived as the expert in their industry. And yes, they may even be doing a pretty good job of marketing on a regular basis to their prospect list.

So if they are doing all of these things "right," how are they sabotaging their success? Well there are lots of ways. Following are just a few of the ways small business owners unknowingly sabotage their own success.

(1) They have not taken the time to develop a marketing plan.

A plan focuses your efforts and allows you to make the most of your marketing budget. Unfortunately, you can market without a plan. Yes, you read that right. You can do it, and people do market without marketing plans everyday.

But that does not mean you should. To make the most of your marketing efforts and budget, make sure you take the time each year to create a plan.

(2) They don�t have written goals

Smart business owners have written goals and objectives for what they want to achieve with their business and for each of their marketing activities. I know this sounds b-o-r-i-n-g, but it's a fact.

There is proof that people who put their goals into writing have a higher success rate than those who do not. Plus, how can you develop a plan if you don't have concrete objectives? You need a clear vision and target to aim for. You can't possibly determine what marketing or how much marketing you need if you don't know what you are aiming for.

(3) They have a short-term attitude.

They are reactive in nature, and while on the surface it appears they are doing a lot of marketing, they are not doing anything consistently or long enough to make an impact. Running an ad or sending out your newsletter a few times and giving up when you don't get immediate results is worse than doing nothing at all.

How so? Because at least when you do nothing it doesn't cost you any money. Pulling the plug too soon costs you money. And statistics show it takes somewhere between three and 10 exposures to a message for the average consumer to notice it and take action. So it is quite possible your audience was just beginning to take notice right about the time you threw in the towel!

(4) They don't know their USP.

Probably the worst way business owners sabotage their marketing efforts without even realizing it, is to NOT have a clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

The greatest marketing plan in the world will not be effective if you have not clearly defined why someone should buy your product or service instead of all the other products or services available to them.

If you have not figured out what is unique and better about your product or service, and found a compelling way to communicate this in everything you do, you can market 'til the cows come home and you will be wasting your time and your money

10 Tips to Banish Marketing Sabotage

(1) Develop a marketing plan. Make sure you make it your number one priority to develop a marketing plan every year.

(2) Write objectives. Write at least one objective that states what results you would like to achieve with your business over the next year. And, write at least one objective for every marketing activity you undertake, that states what results you would like to achieve from that activity over the next year.

(3) Stay the course. Check in on your progress toward your objectives every three to six months, but give your plan a good nine to 12 months to work.

(4) Determine your unique selling proposition and make sure it is represented clearly and in a compelling way in everything you do.

(5) Don't try to be "everything to everyone." Focus on a few specific benefits and a specific audience.

(6) Track all of your marketing activities so you know exactly what is working and what is not working.

(7) Don't rely on one marketing activity. Employ a mix of several marketing activities to reach more people more times.

(8) Create a system to help you stay on track with your marketing activities every month and to help you plan ahead for future activities.

(9) Create a realistic budget based on a percentage of your projected revenue, or the dollars you have available for marketing and stick to it. Marketing is an investment in your business. You have to spend enough to make progress but not more than your business can financially support.

(10) Understand your environment. The economy, competition, the strength of your particular industry, your prospects' situation. You have to understand them all so you can create an effective plan to either overcome obstacles or take advantage of opportunities.

Follow these guidelines and your business stands a much greater chance of succeeding. All of these activities are part of a good marketing plan. And no business that wants to succeed should be without one.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

About the author:
20-year marketing veteran Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners successfully market their business, themselves without spending a fortune on marketing. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit

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eMarketing Basics
by: Matt Bacak

eMarketing, commonly known as an Internet marketing tool, refers to 'how' businesses market their services or products online. In this new age of technology, an Internet presence directly affects the success of a business. From an ecommerce site to an informational site, eMarketing begins at your homepage.

Utilize a Website

Every website has one goal and that is to heighten the interest of the reader. For the homepage to be an effective eMarketing tool, web content needs to follow the search engine optimized (SEO) techniques outlined by search engine domains like Google and Yahoo. Once landing on your site, the content will act as a sales letter.

Whether you operate a service or sell products, eMarketing is more affordable than the traditional means of marketing. Over 130,000,000 people surf the Internet daily. It would take a hefty investment to reach this number of people in the more traditional means of marketing.

Producing a website that ranks well in the search engines, will assist you in obtaining more visitors and visitors easily convert into customers at a rather amazing rate.

Cost Comparison

Printing promotional material can be quite costly. With a website, this cost is significantly lower because your site eliminates the need for brochures or an abundance of business cards. Instead of sending a new prospective literature in the mail, re-direct them to your website. It will guide potential customers through the basics of your business.

Studies show that the per-reader response rates of newspaper advertisements are low. This is due to the number of readers that scan over your add that really have not interest in your services or products. Online readers, however, are a direct result of search engines. These people want to know more about your services or products. The likelihood of turning visitors into customers is higher.

Advertising Campaign

With eMarketing, the cost of an advertising campaign is drastically lower. The same rules apply but with less effort. You'll need to locate your target market, address their interest, and show how they can benefit.

Typical, ezines or announcements serve as an eMarketing campaign medium. Utilizing these mediums will improve your online business. Here's how you can get started:

Ezines: Ezines are nothing more than an electronic newsletter. There are several services online that will assist you in writing an ezine. But use caution! It's bad business to send an ezine to someone who hasn't subscribed.

Announcements: Announcements are similar to a press release. Using the electronic transfer of news to an email box, you can announce new events, new services, and new products a lot faster.

Hottest eMarketing Tool

Today, e-books are the hottest marketing tool of the Twentieth Century. Once Internet Gurus grasp the concept of selling their services or products with an e-book, the market jumped. Adding an e-book to your tools of eMarketing is a smart move.

E-books consist of hidden links (as in, not apparent) that the inexperienced e-book reader can't see. These links help promote affiliate programs and sell your services or products. The readers click through the e-book and find themselves at your site.

E-books are an eMarketing medium that needs careful planning. It makes no sense to develop an e-book on dogs if you sell household appliances. To be successful at eMarketing with e-books, you need to write content related to your business. For instance:

� Home Improvement - How to Design a Kitchen

� Accountant - How Small Businesses can Benefit From a CPA

� Web Developer - How a Website Can Help

Bottom Line

eMarketing has saved businesses thousands of advertising dollars. It's an effective marketing tool that every business should take advantage of. With a better understanding of how eMarketing can help improve your business, you can prepare for an eMarketing campaign that will exceed all of your expectations.

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