Goals and Money

Yes, it's all about the money ... at least in business, anyway.

I'm sure you have heard it before, but it's time for a reminder: you can't hit a target if you don't know it's there. Too many people run their businesses without clear goals in place, thus setting themselves up for lackluster performance. It's simple: to make more money, you have to set a clear goal for exactly how much more money you want to make. Otherwise you're shooting in the dark.

Next time you consider spending time or money marketing your business, remember that you need a specific goal. What kind of goal? Well, I recommend a dollar amount.

Wonder how you can possibly set a monetary goal for a lowly, boring brochure or a networking event? Call me!!!310.453.7008

Where to Advertise Online

The question of where to advertise online is getting more complicated as Yahoo!'s new search engine, Bing, picks up some market share. Check out the chart from eMarketer.com demonstrating that Google is no longer the be-all-end-all of online advertising targets.

Painkillers

A great way to think of marketing is to remember that it's easier to sell painkillers than vitamins. While people might like to think in terms of prevention, it is pain that usually drives them to buy.

The lesson: when you are marketing a product or service, find the pain your customer feels and address it.

Open Letter to Facebook Marketers

To those of you out there who think that you can do nothing on Facebook except have your assistant post marketing notices of your upcoming promotions and events, you're wrong! Like any face-to-face networking opportunity, you can't just waltz in and focus only on yourself; you need to participate in the community, share items of interest, and refer business around the room. If you focus only on yourself, you will only turn people off.

Here are some quick rules of thumb for people who wish to use Facebook as a marketing platform:

1. Regularly post information and links to articles, books and info that the community might find interesting
2. Regularly post comments on other people's posts - thereby participating in the community
3. Sometimes post something a little personal about yourself - again, so that you are participating in the community
4. Sometimes post information about what your business has to offer

Women Cut Back Spending (MORE)

Uh-oh! eMarketer reports that women are cutting back spending (still - and even more aggressively) in the next 60 days. Do you market to women? How are you going to address this in your marketing? Can you hold onto your female customers even as they cut back on spending?


If you need help, call me! 310-453-7008

Ads: A rule of thumb

Advertising is so tempting. It seems like such an easy marketing option. All you need to do is pay a little bit of money and design a simple little ad and the money will fly in, right? To help you make a decision (quickly), a friendly ad rep is on your back, convincing you that it is the best possible way to market your business.

Before you dive in, consider this rule of thumb: any ad should pay you back at least double. That means that if it costs you $1,000 to run, you should make at least $2,000 each time it runs.

To help your ads make more marketing sense, consider:
1. Research the publication's target audience and consider why you are the best solution
2. Create an ad that has a call to action - people need to know what to do
3. Measure your ads. How many calls are they generating? How many paid invoices? Remember the rule of thumb and dump the ad if it isn't working (no matter what the ad rep says!)

Facebook Demographics Continue to Change

The Facebook landscape has traditionally been dominated by 18-25 year-olds, followed by 26-34 year-olds. But it looks like the balance is shifting as more and more older adults are diving in. Check out the following chart, which shows that, after 13-17 year-olds, the next largest demographic group joining Facebook is aged 45-54.


What does this mean for your marketing? It means that it might make sense for you to get on Facebook, if only to figure out what all the fuss is about and to position yourself for possible marketing activity.

Remember: the only reason you should be using Facebook for marketing reasons is if your customers are on Facebook.