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March 30, 2006
Why You Need A Strategic Marketin Plan For Superior Sustainable Long Term Profits
Why small businesses need a superior strategic marketin plan for superior sustainable long term profits.
In a world full of short-term promises, the real challenge for business owners like you is finding ideas with staying power.
Patience doesn't seem to be a virtue for many start-up business owners and existing businesses, alike. If they can't make additional revenue on a marketing concept in a few days or weeks, they're out of that technique and off to the races with a different one.
But that approach isn't really workable for most business owners who have to live and compete in the real "long-term," business world. Frankly having a long-term strategy is the only viable way to sustain an ever-prospering business.
It's the only proven path to multiplying your successes over the years and decades.
The challenge, of course, is finding a master business and marketing strategy that will truly produce compounding increases for years to come. It needs to be a strategy that can endure and work in "bumpy," competitive, hard economic times... as well as the good years.
Imagine you're one of those "grasshopper marketers," as I like to call them. You know the type. Today they're trying one marketing guru's mantra; then tomorrow it's another. Then another, and another.
Most self-anointed experts are purely tactical. Few really know what works marketing makeovers for virtually any size or type business. Fewer still have ever actually had to first-hand apply their ideas to diverse real-world business situations.
They can oftentimes be dangerous to your business' health and wealth. By following their "pied-piper promises," you can get totally detoured from the success and financial goals you're after.
For those of you who have short attention spans, low tolerance for ramp-up periods or get frustrated if the first attempt you try isn't a grand-slam "home run," your patience will be severely tested by what I'm about to say.
Yet your reward for following my recommended course-of-action will be more bountiful than any other action you could choose.
It may seem elementary to say it, but your business needs a great long-term marketing strategy to guide and direct its course... through all the challenges and possibilities you face.
You can't get caught up in momentary fads or in the "get-wealthy-overnight" promises many promoters make these days. For the most part, those kinds of deals simply don't... they can't... exist.
Certainly, there are always exceptions to the rule. But they are so few and far between that mere mortal business people like you are rarely (if ever) the lucky beneficiaries of those largesse's.
Instead, what you should focus on is how to secure your business future. Construct or develop framework of a powerhouse strategy plan that spotlights the way you'll want to start running your business and marketing approach from today onwards.
Certainly, a powerhouse strategy isn't right for everyone. And definitely if you're someone who really believes in the "instant gratification," tooth fairy... it's not going to be appealing in the least.
But your strategic plan needs to be one unified action game plan should, at least it should help you refocus on a better way to generate hefty bottom-line business gains over the years ahead.
One of my all time heroes once said that... oftentimes the greatest growth and success strategy is so obvious that most business owners look right past it. Sort of like the forest-and-trees analogy.
When I do private consultations with entrepreneurs, I'm surprised at how few see where their business' biggest growth and earnings potential lies... until I point it out for them.
I can't think of anything that can add more upside income advantage to your business bank account, than putting a killer marketing strategy to work... starting right away.
Almost no small business has a great long - term integrated marketing strategy driving it... including none of your competitors. So, applying a great marketing strategy of your own is the real "slam-dunk" growth and prosperity idea you've been looking for (in all the wrong places).
My optimism about a marketing strategy's big payoff for you is rooted in my assumption that you really DO want to find a way to grow your current business many rungs higher... and keep it growing and thriving for years to come.
I'm also assuming you're not lazy or closed-minded. Also I'm hoping your mind is in a phase of shifting your thinking and actions. Hopefully you're ready to move yourself upward to a higher plane of possibilities and achievement.
The difference in following a strategic rather that tactical plan will translate itself into long term sustainable profits. This plan is real, enduring; they work in fiercely competitive markets. All those other marketing people fail to understand that the competitors you deal with today are tough, profitable, formidable players.
So you really DO need a fresh strategy that doesn't merely sound enticing... it has to generate meaningful cash-flow and put really significant dollars in your bank account.
I believe the potential for your swifter-marketing driven business to displace your more tactical-minded competitors has no limits.
But for that to happen you must put your actions and activities behind a brilliant, long-term master marketing strategy. The powerful impact you can bring to bear, through strategic marketing is massive.
One thing I've known for years is that all great business concepts get disparaged at first.
So if you think that mounting a superior master marketing strategy sounds too simplistic... I understand. But if your business growth is lagging behind your expectations or desires, what do you possibly have to lose by examining the alternative approach?
The only way your business can make more revenue is to find ways to offer your market more of what it wants. Your proposition should put you squarely in a great position to capitalize on those gaps in your market that no other competitor sees.
Many of the business growth promises other marketing people made you may not have panned out. You should therefore consider an alternative plan.
Unlike other complex or costly plans, you should invest in a plan where you can apply the same efforts you're spending currently. The same time and the same capital... but directs its financial output many times higher and better.
If you want to boost revenues and earnings, don't be at the mercy of hope and fate. Make your own fate. Change your own business future.
The future for most others in your type of business is volatile and risky. But this could be the absolute best time to turn YOUR business into the strategic business and marketing force to be reckoned with.
You should invest in a marketing game plan that fortifies your business so it can ride the wave of long-term, strategic growth and prosperity that none of your competitors grasp.
Your business could actually become a veritable "earnings machine," just by implementing a perfect marketing strategy.
Your business fortunes can rapidly (but sensibly) improve... if you apply a strategic marketing approach.
If you believe your business deserves a long-term upward "wealth shift"... then at the very least you should start with a SWOT analysis and put together a strategic plan
There's plenty of prosperity still available to businesses who become long-term strategic marketers.
Remember: In a business world full of short-term distractions, the challenge for business owners is finding great ideas with staying power. That's why you need a long term, strategic marketing plan.
Resources
SWOT analysis
SWOT Analysis
Sample Strategic Plan
David
Small Business Resource
Posted by David at 9:57 AM
March 29, 2006
Internet Advertising: The Internet Is Boosting Growth In Advert Spending
Is the increase In Internet advertising spend a threat or an opportunity to Internet entrepreneurs?
Advertising expenditure on the Internet will account for almost half of this year's growth in advertising spending, according to Zenith Optimedia, the media buying group.
The increase in UK advertising spending is expected to total £556m, of which £255m will be spent on the Internet. This year's overall advertising expenditure is expected to be £12.2bn against £11.65bn last year.
The Internet has become the fastest growing segment in advertising over the past few years. According to Zenith Optimedia, advertising spending on the Internet is expected to total £1.1.bn this year, compared with £7m in 1997.
The increase in the uptake of broadband has meant that more people spend their free time online, prompting advertisers to spend more on Internet advertising. Advertisers like the fact that the Internet is an accountable medium where they can see who has clicked on their adverts and the impact on the advertising expenditure.
The main source of growth for Internet advertising has been search-based adverts, according to executives.
Anthony Young, chief executive of Zenith Optimedia, said online advertising would continue to develop as part of the core marketing strategy. "Marketers are looking to diversify their advertising risk into different channels beyond traditional media."
The growth in Internet advertising has hit radio and regional newspapers. Publishers have said the decline in print classified revenue was partly due to the decline in consumer activity but have been busy buying online recruitment, property and auto sites.
The world cup is expected to provide a boost to budgets. Spending on advertising overall is predicted to grow 4.8 per cent this year against 3.3 percent last year.
So what impact will the increase in Internet advertising spend have of small businesses?
Based on the research carried out by Zenith Optimedia my take on the impact on small businesses are:
1. An opportunity for skilled Internet entrepreneurs to exploit opportunities relating to Google Adsense, Overture / Yahoo MSN and small niche targeted advertising web sites.
2. An opportunity for skilled Internet entrepreneurs to benefit from pay-per click advertising where cost per click, value per click and conversion is geared more towards writing effective direct response ads ("salesmanship in print").
3. An opportunity for skilled Internet entrepreneurs and SEO (search engine optimization) firms to benefit from getting web sites to rank high in the search engines.
4. An opportunity for skilled Internet entrepreneurs who can drive traffic to web sites and use the "funnel method" to drive and convert prospects towards higher product propositions.
5. An opportunity for entrepreneurs to use the "two step" method to drive traffic to web sites to build their lists and convert prospects, also following up prospects and customers offline with higher priced products and services.
David
Small Business Resource
Posted by David at 3:19 PM
March 26, 2006
Small Businesses And The Parthenon Principle Of Multiple Streams of Income
Small Business Owners Better Be Prudent And Build Multiple income streams. It's All About Mitigating Risk.
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” — no doubt you’ve heard this adage many times before, especially as it applies to the investment world. A diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash is often touted as the best way to protect your assets by minimizing downside risk. What is true of investment, however, is just as true in business.
A business especially a small business may focus on delivering a single product or service. You may not have the overhead that larger businesses sustain; you can therefore dedicate yourself to selling your offerings at a reasonable price, while aiming like a laser at your target market. However, nothing is certain, and economic cycles will come and go. It is wise, therefore, to focus on developing multiple streams of income for your business as a hedge against any possible market downturns.
One practical application of this idea is in selling what are commonly known as “bread and butter” items on the side, while you keep selling your main products. For example, consider the case of a store that sells, and services, personal computers. The computers represent their main product line. However, the store also sells “accessories”.
These accessories come in the form of cables of every variety, printer cartridges, CDs, and so forth. While these are certainly small ticket items, it is fact that they have some of the largest profit margins. Therefore the store wisely stocks up on a wide assortment of accessories—their bread and butter items—while continuing to sell and service personal computers.
The smaller products may not be protection against as catastrophic a risk as complete business failure, but they help bring in extra streams of income to bring in a consistent cash flow during times that the main revenue streams fluctuate.
Look for a way to spin-off your main income-generating business into multiple revenue streams. Perhaps, in addition to providing your main service, you can also derive extra income by imparting what you know to others. You may be able to conduct—and charge for—seminars in your line of work, or work part-time at a community college, vocational school or business college.
Think of the big, wide world of information products as well. You could write an ebook selling important information related to your line of work, and sell it from your company’s web site. While you’re on the web, consider the lucrative side profits that can be generated by affiliate programs. Find companies with products that complement your own, and become their affiliates. Some affiliate programs provide high commission rates that can earn you a tidy income on the side.
The key is to think in terms of what kinds of new, but related, income-generating products can be derived from your core business. A catering service, for example, can put together a series of cookbooks, and sell those to its customers as well. The same business might even engage in a concentrated Internet marketing campaign, selling its services from its website and even contributing to various ezines, sharing their expertise with consumers on the world wide web.
It’s important, however, that you do not treat your web site or Internet marketing campaigns as nothing more than glorified advertisements. In order to sell on the web, you will need to provide quality, usable information, time and again, that people will come to rely upon. This method of ‘soft selling’ will qualify your prospects, and make them all the more eager to buy into your products or services.
Are you a service professional, such as a computer programmer, writer, or graphic designer, for example? One popular way these days to market your services is by joining the increasingly popular ‘reverse auction’ outsourcing web sites, such as Elance.com. These sites function as talent auctions, drawing buyers and providers from around the world who post, and bid upon, various projects.
The advantage that the outsourcing sites provide for service providers is that they are usually low-cost venues in which they may market their services. Sometimes only a small monthly fee is charged; apart from this, no money is spent on advertising. You may wind up networking with important business contacts in these sites who can take your business to a whole new level.
However, you will have to know what your minimum hourly rate is, and how efficient you can be in delivering the end product to your buyer. A fixed-bid approach does not allow for much flexibility, should the project scope change during the course of the work. Therefore, you will need to be clear about requirements, communicate often, and know how to work quickly while maintaining a decent standard of quality.
None of these ideas may evolve into anything more than supplemental income. But imagine if you have multiple ideas going at once. Each of these income streams becomes like the multiple tributaries of a river; little by little, you will be bringing in extra wealth, and who knows where one or more of those tributaries may ultimately extend.
David
Small Business Resource
Posted by David at 7:27 AM
March 23, 2006
Big Ideas On How To Rescue Your Resolution Strategy
It's time for small Business owners to revisit their new year resloutions.
By April of the New Year, the resolutions made are in disarray, compromised, abandoned. And the resolute determination to make this year, finally, the year you stick to them, forgotten altogether.
The point of this essay is not to make you feel guilty. Instead, it is to identify the real reasons resolutions and the determination to achieve them are lost, year after year after year - and to help you get on track to systematically set and achieve your goals.
Big Idea #1: You Can't Achieve New Goals or Make Desired Changes Without Allocating Time to Do So.
Many resolutions never become reality, simply because no room is made for them on the daily schedule. If your days are already full and you resolve to get in a half-hour a day on the treadmill or writing your book, that half-hour has to come from somewhere. Something's gotta give! You have to find one or two or three things that you can cut 5 or 10 or 15 minutes from.
Big Idea #2: Priorities Should Govern Your Schedule.
The vast majority of business owners and entrepreneurs make the same mistake: They operate like workers instead of bosses and leaders. They report to a workplace, then they allow people and events and interruptions to take control of their day.
You have to wrest control away from the priorities of others and govern by your own.
Big Idea #3: Resolutions Aren't Resolutions Without Resolve.
Only you can decide what really matters to you. Don't bother with faux resolutions made to appease or satisfy others. Being honest with yourself is a pre-requisite for success.
Big Idea #4: Resolutions Require Resources.
Almost anything you decide to do ... any change you decide to make ... any goal you set out to achieve ... requires new or different resources. That might mean investing in a piece of home exercise equipment, stocking different food in the cupboard, or establishing a private workspace outside the office. You can't be serious about a resolution unless you have what you need to make it happen
Big Idea #5: The "Do One Thing Every Day" Rule.
In talking about how he built The Sharper Image from a college kid's coffee table start-up to a nearly billion-dollar business, founder Richard Thalheimer says he did it by taking "baby steps" - and still approaches every new project that way.
I used the same approach to write four books last year and four more this year ... putting in one hour a day to produce a handful of pages.
The idea is to refuse to end the day without doing something, no matter how small, that moves you toward your goal.
Big Idea #6: Who Motivates the Motivator?
Paul Meyer, founder of Success Motivation Institute, posed this provocative question: As an entrepreneur, as the leader, you may be doing a lot to motivate others. But who motivates you?
For the most part, you need to motivate yourself.
It's a big help to create a structure for yourself by breaking down your goal into monthly, weekly, and daily objectives. But you can also get into a coaching group or tele-coaching program, hire a one-on-one coach, or just pair up with a like-minded buddy. That way, there will be somebody to hold you accountable ... somebody to report your progress to. And as any professional sports coach will tell you: Measurement automatically improves performance - and measurement monitored by someone else improves performance even further.
Big Idea #7: Build Up to Change.
I neglected the treadmill for six months, but on January 1st, I went back to it.
My goal was to do 30 minutes a day. But I knew if I tried doing that out of the starting gate, I'd be a goner. So I started with a measly 5 minutes a day for the first half of January, 10 minutes a day for next 15 days, 15 minutes a day for all of February, then 20 minutes a day in March. I'll be up to the full 30 minutes in another week - and, as of right now, I haven't missed a day.
Easing into goals like this is a good way to make them more achievable. Say you resolve to get up an hour earlier every morning to work on an idea that you hope to turn into a side business. Start by getting up 15 minutes earlier for two weeks. Then 30 minutes earlier for a month. Then 45 minutes earlier for two weeks. And so on ...
D Kennedy
Posted by David at 5:38 PM | Comments (0)
The Power Of Product Naming, Business Name And Branding
The power Of titles whether a business name, product name can make all the difference to your business success
The Importance Of Names And Titles In Business.
In high school, I was in a play 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'. I thought it was about character. Turns out it was the guy's name. Anyway, mail-order veteran Melvin Powers once told me the most important thing about a book is the title.
Some titles are so powerful you can get something just by looking at them even if you never read the book. Think And Grow Rich. Magic Of Thinking Big. Tony Rubleski's new book: Mind-Capture Advertising. You say, well, that's right, I need to think! I need to think bigger! I need to advertise in a way that captures their attention and interest.
Some titles brilliantly convey the much desired promises of speed and simplicity. One-Minute Manager. (Wanda Sykes said she'd dated the author of another book in that series: One-Minute Lover). Some titles convey superiority. Ultimate Sales Letter. Ultimate Marketing Plan. Some convey an attitude or a position. Renegade Millionaire System. No B.S. Marketing Letter.
But this does NOT just apply to books or info-products. Or titles on free reports or other literature offered in lead generation.
Names And Titles Actually Applies To All Sorts of Things.
Names of businesses.
Budget Rent A Car's name conveys a position. Avis and Hertz don't, so I think more work is required to link those businesses with a position in the public's mind.
Naming A Product
I was always proud of a weed killer product I named: Kills Weeds Dead. (I took it from Black Flag, a bug spray with the ad slogan: kills bugs dead. Seemed to me the slogan was better than the name.) Hef's Playboy was a much better name than Penthouse.
Menu item names in restaurants. Homemade meat loaf. I've noticed at the grocery store I shop at, there are two kinds of macaroni salad sold at the deli counter Melch's and Grandma's. My informal survey says: everybody chooses Grandma's.
Ways guarantees are said. Bottom-of-jar satisfaction guarantee vs. satisfaction guarantee. Marketing 'things.' Free recorded message or Free Recorded Consumer Awareness Message.
If you're going to put a title on something your book, your product, services, process, entire business, guarantee, offer - you should give some thought to what you want the title itself to convey, to telegraph.
Get the cheapest and most popular tool for generating a business name, product name and also for developing a brand from Business Software
Dan Kennedy
Posted by David at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2006
Pay Per Click Fraud
How big of a deal is pay per click fraud? A lot of people ask me about this.
Last week Google agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $90 million for click fraud. They're going to give advertisers a credit for future clicks, based on improper charges going back to 2002.
Ninety million bucks sounds like a lot of money, but compared to well over ten billion dollars of clicks they've sold since AdWords started, this is spare change. It's less than 1%.
A lot of people are paranoid about click fraud. I haven't talked about it a great deal, so let's talk about this right now.
How are click prices determined in the first place? By advertisers' bids. And how are bids determined?
Well obviously a lot of people determine their bid prices by guessing a number and then bidding. But the right way to determine your bids is to figure out how much a click is worth in the first place, by tracking conversion of sales or sales leads. Then pay accordingly.
Are you doing that?
If you're not, you're losing WAY more money than click fraud would ever cost you. A few months ago I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about click fraud. They were interviewing this guy who sold private airplanes, and he was complaining that he didn't know what he was getting for his Google AdWords investment, he'd seen signs of click fraud and his faith in the whole system was being shaken.
It seemed pretty clear that this guy had no idea what his cost per lead and his sales conversion was. So he was throwing darts in a blizzard. Sort of like a store owner who never takes inventory, complaining about shoplifting.
Let me repeat: If you're not tracking conversion of clicks to sales leads or sales, it's costing you WAY more money than click fraud.
Last year I had what amounted to a click fraud problem on one certain keyword. For about 3-4 days I had 3X the normal amount of traffic. But you know what happened?
My Click Thru Rate went up, my ad moved from the No.3 position to the no.1 position and once it was in No.1, Google started charging me less for clicks because of the high CTR. I got 4X the traffic but it only cost twice as much. The cost per click went from 19 cents to 7 cents.
Again, for those few days I was spending twice the money as before. But not 4 times. Google's CTR formula inherently gives you discounts for click fraud. Not a total solution, but it does help.
If you've paid much attention to this you see that Google doesn't say very much about it. Why? Because they just can't. If they told everyone what techniques they use to detect it, people who do click fraud would find more ways to get around it.
What I can tell you is that if someone clicks on your ad twice or more in 30 days, you only get charged one time. The most obvious kinds of click fraud, like your competitor repeatedly clicking on your ad, are easily detected and you don't get charged. Furthermore, AdSense advertisers who get caught for click fraud get clicked out.
You know what's way worse than click fraud though?
Trashy "AdSense sites."
If you syndicate your ads on AdSense, these sites cost you WAY more in terms of crappy, costly traffic than click fraud ever does.
We've all seen them - sites full of junky, nonsense text and non-content, whose only purpose is to get people to click on AdSense ads.
You don't want your ads on those sites. Not only do they do a disservice to Internet users in general, they bring you only the lowest quality visitors.
I'm not against AdSense sites - the late Ken Giddens had hundreds of quality examples in his portfolio, with real articles and real content. What I am against is filling web pages with garbage that looks like content to a search engine but not to a real person. And there are undoubtedly dozens or maybe hundreds of gurus teaching people how to do that. This is worse than click fraud.
How do you protect yourself against that? You HAVE to bid separate prices for your AdSense traffic, and you have to track its conversion rates separately. And you may want to deliberately exclude certain sites from showing your ads.
THIS is the No.1 biggest place where Google advertisers lose money. They make money on Google traffic and give it all back on AdSense.
Buyer beware!
Posted by David at 3:52 PM | Comments (0)
March 2, 2006
'Mold Dog' Example Of A Business Opportunity or Idea Just Waiting For You.
What about "Mould" As A Small Business Opportunity?
Maybe you are unaware of the toxic mold epidemic in U.S. homes. You will be rudely educated when you go to sell your home, as I was when I sold one of mine. Once there was no "mold detection" and "mold treatment" industry; today it's a billion dollar business.
Sort of like sexual harassment litigation. Both prove a point: entire industries are created constantly out of thin air. From ideas. From long standing problems no one paid any attention to before. Each one spawning tentacles, each an opportunity octopus.
For about $13,000.00, you can get into the mold detection biz by purchasing a trained "mold dog". Such dogs outperform detection equipment, putting their sensitive snouts right on the spot of the mold, even when concealed behind walls or under floors. A mold inspection can run $500.00 or so, so it only takes about 26 jobs to recover the investment in the pooch, not including, of course, shots, flea powder and chow.
I marvel.
An entire industry of mold dog trainers, mold dog trainer certification schools, the mold inspection businesses, certifications for the inspectors, advertising and marketing services for the inspectors, a trade magazine, association, convention and on and on. I presume there's www. mold-dog.com.
In your category of business, whatever it is, there is probably an entirely new industry waiting to be birthed and exploited and multiplied. Beneath your feet lies a fortune waiting to be uncovered. "Acres of diamonds" and all that.
There was a kid in my neighborhood who owned a great big (to us) sheep dog. Like the kind that have a flask under the neck and go save people buried in avalanches. He tied the dog to his wagon in the summer, sled in winter, and charged other kids ten cents or a comic book in trade to go for rides. On his command, the dog would lumber along at a heady pace, dragging the bouncing vehicle and passenger over hill, rut and rock. About five minutes for ten cents.
Lost track of that kid. Wonder if he's selling mold dogs.
In your next Success Marketing Strategy I'm going to talk about adapting and finding a market for anything.
Dan Kennedy
Posted by David at 5:33 PM | Comments (0)
